Or, How You Can’t Even Read This Blog Without Checking Your Phone Twice 📱
Hey, it’s me again..SAMEEKSHA. Today, let’s talk about something you have probably already lost while reading this...yesh your attention span.
So, I was digging through articles, research papers and videos to find out whether our attention span is actually getting worse. Some say it’s shorter than a goldfish’s (which, by the way, is a debunked myth). In reality, goldfish are probably better than us at so many aspects..like controlling their aggression unlike humans,who are now ready to pull a gun over parking disputes. 🤷♀️
Well, there this beautiful concept was discussed in a BBC More or Less podcast about the attention span of goldfish. You can check it out here:
[ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04vlq5r]
So, is this just modern life evolving, or have we truly lost the ability to focus? Well, let’s break it down before you ghost this blog like a bad Tinder match. 👻
WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS BLOG :-
✔ The real reason why you can’t focus (spoiler: it’s not just social media).
✔ The effect of social media: where focus dies and ghosting thrives.💀
✔ The detrimental impact of short-form content on deep thought. 🧠
✔ The science of persuasive technology, plus why technology is winning. 🤖
✔ What can be done to improve your attention span
👉The Science Behind why we cannot focus🔬:-
Ever wonder why focusing feels harder than finishing a Netflix series in one sitting?
So while doing research I came across a TEDx talk by Chris Bailey, where he actually said:-
"Distraction is not the enemy of focus; it's a symptom of why we find it difficult to focus -the fact that our mind is overstimulated."
Yeah u heard that right..our brain is overstimulated, jumping from reels to texts to memes like a browser with 50 tabs open. It’s so hooked on instant dopamine that deep focus now feels like watching a video on 0.25x speed - painfully slow and unbearable.
So basically, our brain isn’t broken..it’s just on dopamine steroids. Every scroll, swipe, and notification gives you a mini-reward. The result? You get bored faster, deep work feels exhausting, and focus becomes fragile. 😴 and just like this, long-term content feels like long-term relationships- too much effort, too little thrill. We swipe, ghost, and declare, "The vibe is gone." 💨
👉 Social Media: The Graveyard of Attention (and Relationships) 💀
WELL..Social media was supposed to connect people. Instead, it has become an arena for validation. 🤳I have actually seen people take 500 pictures of their food before eating it. At some point, I swear the paneer itself was screaming, "Just eat me, dude!" 😭
Or worse..people on vacations, standing before breathtaking views, but instead of soaking in the moment, they are busy curating an aesthetic reel. Are you even present, or just existing for the feed? 🏞️
The irony? We are more connected than ever, yet lonelier than before. Relationships, like our content consumption habits, have become disposable. Why invest in depth when surface-level thrills are one swipe away? 💔
👉The TikTok Effect: Death of Deep Thinking ☠️
Once upon a time, YouTube was considered fast content. Now? Even 10-min videos feel like a commitment. ⏳TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts - engineered to keep you hooked with quick, dopamine-packed bursts. 💥
The consequences?
✔ Your brain adapts to rapid content, making slow, meaningful tasks unbearable. 😫
✔ Books feel like a chore. 📚
✔ Deep conversations feel exhausting. 🗣️
✔ Everything that requires patience - learning, relationships, critical thinking- suffers. 😩
We don’t process ideas anymore; we just consume them at high speed, half-digested. And when things slow down, we move on—just like we do with people. 🚶♀️
👉Is This an Attention Crisis or Just Evolution? 🤔
Some say this is a disaster - our ability to engage in deep thought is eroding. Others say it's just adaptation,we consume the same knowledge, just faster. 🤷♂️
But fast knowledge isn’t deep knowledge. Understanding takes time. Reflection needs stillness. A relationship doesn’t grow in 15-sec bursts. ⏱️
Well,while trying to understand this I also ran into this sneaky little thing called persuasive technology so this basically designed to steal our focus, drain our dopamine, and make us mindlessly scroll through five different apps before remembering why we picked up our phone at first place.
So yeah honestly, it's not just about our declining attention span..it’s that technology is getting better at grabbing it.🔒
There's a research paper I found on this, so if you want to dive deeper into how tech is stealing your focus, here’s the link: [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9403363/ ]
👉 Can You Fix Your Attention Span (and Maybe Your Commitment Issues)? 🛠️
If your brain feels permanently wired for 15- sec videos, don’t worry- it’s not irreversible. 😅
The solution isn’t just "read more" or "use social media less." The problem runs deeper..our reward system is broken. We have trained our brains to crave constant stimulation, so we need to rewire them for depth. 🧠
Here’s How to Do It:-
✔ Rebuild Your Baseline Dopamine Level 📉
Your brain now expects instant rewards. Take detox breaks- no scrolling, no short-form content. Engage with the real world. 🌳
Well, one great way to do this is Chris Bailey’s Disconnection Ritual. Pick a fixed time every day where you completely disconnect from your phone. I’m actually doing this myself. Of course, apart from researching for my blog, I have been consciously avoiding social media. Though, to be fair, I never even opened an Instagram or Facebook account in these 25 years of my life-so maybe I was always ahead of the game. Or not. Who knows? 🤔
✔ Train Your Deep Focus Muscles 💪
Our brain works on neuroplasticity so the more we practice deep focus, the better we get at it. Try the Pomodoro Technique: focus for 25 minutes, take a 5-min break, and increase over time. 🍅
✔ Try Some "Slow Entertainment" 🎬
Watch a full movie without checking your phone. Read a book without switching tabs. Sounds simple? Try it. 📖
✔ Replace Mindless Scrolling with "Active Scrolling" 🧐
Instead of random doomscrolling, curate meaningful content. Be intentional about what you consume. 🎯 In my spare time, I indulge in chess on Lichess- a platform where I consistently redefine the limits of stupidity with every move. If you ever want a confidence boost, feel free to join me. Watching me play is like a live tutorial on how not to play, starring yours truly..
Presenting a cinematic masterpiece of my chess skills:-
✔ Try Breath Focus Practice 🌬️
Well, you can also try Breath Focus Practice, a method taught by neuroscientist Amishi Jha. It helps in building focus by training your brain to control distractions. Here’s the link where you can learn this technique directly from her:
[ https://youtu.be/YkYrQR8tFzk?feature=shared ]
✔ You Can Do This With Relationships Too 💖
Depth takes time. You won’t build deep connections if you treat relationships like short-form content. 🤝If Dostoevsky was right when he said, "To love someone is to see them as God intended them," then love, like focus, requires more than fleeting excitement. ✨
Final Thought: Can You Still Pay Attention ?
SO if you made it to the end of this blog without switching apps or checking notifications- congratulations. Your focus is still alive. 🎉
If not? Well… at least you skimmed through it. 🤷♀️
Now be honest- how many times did you check your phone while reading this? And how many times have you used "vibe" as an excuse to abandon something meaningful?