Today�s World of Distraction
Today’s World of Distraction
From Ruth Sova MS, ATRIC,
The average human attention span in 2000 was 12 seconds; by 2013, it was 8 seconds (1 second shorter than a goldfish's), according to a 2015 Microsoft study (Gausby et al. 2015). Media consumption, social media usage, a high technology adoption rate and multiscreening behavior all influence attention. With mobile devices proliferating, people are living digital lifestyles from an increasingly early age.
"The thrill of finding something new often makes connected consumers jump off one experience into another," noted Microsoft study authors. "The 'feel good' neurotransmitter, dopamine, is released when consumers do something they find rewarding. Nineteen percent of online viewers defect [from what they're viewing] in the first 10 seconds" (Gausby et al. 2015). Interestingly, frequent social media users and high–tech adopters have developed a new style of paying short–term attention. Tech–savvy subjects can concentrate intensely for 3–30 seconds, then move to the next activity. While this shows that some people can improve their concentration in bursts, most people suffer from a lack of long–term attention.
Concentration loss affects productivity, happiness and potentially health. Back in 2008, cellphone calls and redundant emails took 28% of U.S. workers' day and created a $650 billion annual loss in productivity, reported Forbes (Van Dusen 2008). In 2010, Harvard University researchers found that 47% of the time, people think about something other than what they're doing—and feel unhappy. Lead study author Matthew Killingsworth said, "How often our minds leave the present and where they tend to go is a better predictor of our happiness than the activities in which we are engaged" (Killingsworth & Gilbert 2010).
Other studies suggest our happiness levels are related to our disease risk—more positive people have less risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions—as well as how likely we are to adopt health–enhancing behaviors (Steptoe, Dockray & Wardle 2009). Perhaps our lack of attention, which leads to losses in productivity and happiness, may also be related to greater disease risks.
