Over the recent years, I’ve noticed that I’m having more and more trouble focusing on any task for more than five minutes. Even while writing this blog, I’m caught up in an endless cycle of writing one sentence, going on instagram for a few minutes, then writing one word, watching a 15 minute long youtube video, then going back to work (so on and so on)… Though at first I thought this was my senioritis not being cured for three years after graduating highschool, it was no longer just a joke when I found myself taking hours to write one single paragraph because I wasn’t able to concentrate.
Before hating myself for being a terrible procrastinator with a lack of motivation or self-diagnosing myself with an adult ADHD, I thought it was better to do some research and talk to my friends. And surprisingly, I was not the only one who noticed the change of attention level in recent years!
Living in the post digital era, we simply have too much distraction. All the social media apps on my phone that constantly rings with notification, having a FOMO from all the cool things my friends are up to on instagram, even my spotify recommended list were all causing me to lose my stream of concentration. Not only are various digital apps distracting, but the way these apps are being developed are causing more and more people to lose concentration faster than ever.
I have noticed that as technology develops, app developers are encouraging faster consumption of media. Decades ago, we had various movies to distract us from reality, which ran approximately 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours. After the increase of popularity of netflix, we started consuming TV shows which one episode was around 45 min to an hour. Then more and more people started watching youtube, which one video was around 15 minutes long. Now with the boom of tik tok videos, we consume videos which are only a few seconds long. Like this, the media we consume are gradually becoming shorter and shorter. I’ve noticed that now I find it hard to finish a movie, or even a youtube video in one sitting. Additionally, the few seconds of tiktoks feel guilt free, making us more likely to watch more of them, which at the end adds up to minutes or even hours.
The effect of this is that our brain starts to crave an instant and easy boost of serotonin, instead of taking time and enjoying the full experience. Which, I assume, is one of the reasons why my attention span became literally shorter than a duck.
Due to my decreasing attention span, I naturally considered the possibility of having an ADHD, as my inattentiveness was (or so I thought) was one of the symptoms of ADHD. This was not a change which only I experience. There has been a concerning increase of ADHD diagnosis in recent years. The “society-wide increase in the disorder’s constituent symptoms of inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity” is making more and more people struggle.
So what is my solution?
Although I still haven’t been to a professional for my lack of attentiveness, I’ve been looking for different ways to keep myself focused on my task. These includes:
- Using apps such as “self control” to block all the websites which are unnecessary.
- Turning off my phone completely. When this doesn’t work, I ask my family member to take my phone away from me for few hours.
- Working in a public space such as cafes and library. I’ve noticed I tend to get less distracted when there are public eyes, and because I spent money on my drink I want to make the most of my time.
What are your experiences of shortened attention span? And what methods do you have to keep yourself focused?
Source
- https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/is-the-adhd-epidemic-a-symptom-of-modern-life-1.154978
I relate to this so much, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started I have watched how my attentiveness has slowly disappeared. What I also struggle with is that I can only work well while I’m listening to music, but after having been in this pandemic for 2 years, I somehow feel like I have listened to all my playlists one too many times. Luckily, I recently got a record player which allows me to play some music I don’t know so well yet to play in the background while als allowing me to get off my chair to switch the record around. This way, I can focus for roughly 20/30 minutes and walk around a bit after and check my notifications! What also works quite well for me is just putting my phone out of reach or putting it in my charger so that I know I can not pick it up again. Great read!
Interesting and relatable post! On top of shortened attention span, I noticed one more thing that really developed during the pandemic: I need much more stimulation to feel entertained or to even make everyday tasks bearable. I no longer enjoy the silence, whenever I have a task to do like washing the dishes I spend 15 minutes choosing and preparing what I’m going to listen to or watch during this 5-minute task. I think it is also related to how easily accessible content is nowadays, we can just reach for whatever’s at hand. Even when I am already stimulating myself by playing Minecraft or The Sims I need to have a podcast or a YouTube video playing in the background, it is sort of scary when you think about it.
Very good topic to discuss! I have been reading a lot of news and scientific research on how having the majority of our lives digitized is hindering our concentration span. I think the thing that has the biggest impact on our concentration is the “scroll” aspect of social media. If we don’t really enjoy a content, we can just shut it down and check out another content. Same with series even: we used to be very dependent on the schedules of TV channels. Now, digital platforms offer tons of content that we can just surf through and pick up, and again: if we don’t like it, we can switch it up. This kind of independence on how we can choose the content we are going to be looking at is of course very innovative and relieving but unfortunately makes it harder and harder for us to be able to concentrate. I really like your approach to the topic, as I relate to the self-diagnosing with ADHD part. I really thought I had an adult version of ADHD too, but later I realized that it is just an aspect that we have caused by the digital age. I appreciate your list of solutions too, will definitely try to apply them to my own daily life!
Audrey, this post is really what I needed to read. I have experienced the same in the last few years, so my friends. The fact that our attention span has decrease so drastically is really frustrating. Because I blame tv series, instagram and other social digital tools as reasons why I am so easily distracted, I always think that I shouldn’t use these platforms anymore. However, I just can’t help it, and I keep using those platforms. This distress that I relate to the effects of these platforms sometimes really give me some anxiety. Luckily, there are some good ways to avoid spending too much time on our screens and focus more. As you mentioned I have also tried to distance my phone and block sites and apps while I need to concentrate and it is really a good solution. I have also tried the ‘pomodoro’ technique in which you focus for 25 minutes and you have a break for 5 minutes, and after four round you get a longer break, I find it really helpful to get work done!!
Very interesting artice! I think another aspect to consider is how every distraction is at the top of your fingertips. Work and school are almost always online and it is so easy to just open a new tab and scroll through Instagram or watch a youtube video. Where you used to have to completely change your actions and put away your study books or notebooks and physically grab a book or turn on the tv, nowadays switching from work to distraction has been made extremely easy. You don’t have to physically move at all and your distractions are in the same environments as your work making choosing the distraction above work so much more tempting. Now, during COVID-lockdown this has become even more so since your own room has now become your office blurring the lines between work time and leisure time.
I can totally relate to your struggles! It’s also hard for me to stay focused on one task. I also agree with comments made about the blurred line of work and free time, I get almost anxious even when I’m trying to relax. I also think many of us fall into the trap of thinking we can easily multitask, when in reality we are actually overwhelming ourselves. That’s what I catch myself doing a lot these days.
I love the meme about our younger selfs being able to read a lot more and faster, very recognizable!
I usually use my noise cancelling headphones while listening to music or a podcast or something like that. And putting the phone out of reach is sometimes the best option!
Very interesting and thought provoking read, thank you for writing this blog!
Sigh, that’s really relatable…..
It’s just so tricky especially because everything becomes so short. Taking a 5 minute Tiktok video break from studying just seems such an attractive thing. Why would I start to study now? 5 minutes don’t make that much of a difference.
I recently really catch myself spending hours on tasks that could easily be finished in much less time…so maybe I should pay attention to this a bit more as well D:
This is so relatable! I have noticed it myself, I can’t be focused more than maybe 15mins on one task, and have to either check my phone or just do something else, and then I get lost on Instagram, scrolling thru all the posts… I admit it annoys me very much cos then I feel guilty because I could have been way more productive. But also, I noticed I can no longer work in silence, always have to have some music in the background so my attention/focus could be divided. What I found helpful tho, is the app ‘Forest’ and basically, it just blocks my phone from using it for a certain amount of time. Also, I started taking short breaks every hour (5-10mins) and I noticed it definitely helped with my productivity.
This is way too relatable, I legitimately did an ADHD test online because I can’t seem to focus on anything these days. Apart from the digital distractions causing me to lose focus I think the pandemic lockdowns have also made it harder. I did everything for my study in the same place where I relaxed which made it harder to stay in study mode.
I can really find myself in your blog. For me I’m not sure if it is lack of interest, distraction or my perfectionism that kicks in when I have to write a text. I rewrite every sentence several times and I’m still not happy with the result. Why? Because I think there is always a better way of saying something. I have to be honest that distraction is the biggest problem, I can get distracted by a fly.
Even writing this comment took me longer than ten minutes because I got distracted by several things. And yes the notifications on my phone were going off… I might have to turn my notifications off the next time!
This is so relatable! When I have to read something I always get distracted after reading two lines, and thus it takes much longer to do anything, and usually I already opt for the shorter articles. I think, like you described, that the influence of media like Netflix, YouTube and TikTok plays a big part in this. You would like to avoid these completely, but it is very hard to resist of course. The question if there is a solution at all, or if society will completely adapt to shorter concentration spans, as nearly everyone will be influenced by it.