Phones buzzing with text
messages, Facebook notifications and news alerts continually tempt the world to
distraction. Many experts believe that this incessant bombardment, and the need
for instant answers, has eroded our ability to focus.
A 2015 study by Microsoft
surveyed 2,000 Canadians and used electroencephalograms (EEGs) to watch the
brain activity of a further 112 people. Their analysis found that the average
human attention span had dropped from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to just eight
seconds. Goldfish are thought to possess an impressive nine-second attention
span.
This wasn’t just a company
chasing a catchy headline. The research in the area is mostly anecdotal, but a
number of surveys do back up the idea that attention spans are shrinking. In a
2012 Pew Research Center survey of more than 2,000 teachers in the US and
Puerto Rico, 87% reported that their students had short attention spans and
were easily distracted. The same year, UK poll from the learning company
Pearson reached the same conclusion. Of 400 UK English teachers questioned, and
2,000 parents of preschool and primary-aged children, 7 out of 10 said that
children’s attention spans were shorter than they used to be.
Meanwhile in the US, the
Centers for Decease Control and Prevention has reported that 11% of school-age
children have, at some point, been diagnosed with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Before 1990, the figure was less than 5%.
These studies shine a
spotlight on our diminishing attention spans, with modern technology in the
crosshairs as the culprit. More research is needed if we’re to be sure of a
causal relationship, but experts feel certain they’ll find one. “I am personally convinced that technology
has led to a decreased ability to focus and wait, and an increased need for
immediate information,” says neuroscientist Prof Russell Poldrack, of
Stanford University.
(Summarized from BBC Earth Magazine (Vol.9 Issue 1), page
30 by Jo Carlowe)
Verdict:
Yes, the information age has shortened our attention span
Lord, Give
Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)
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