My mind is not minding the way it used to. I’m sad to say that I think it has fallen victim to a problem that is sweeping the globe (which I delusionally thought I was immune to): a decreasing attention span.
My revelation came the other day when I was watching a production of Agatha Christie’s “Seven Dials” based on her 1929 novel. Set in the 1920s, the show was visually lovely to look at, the storyline piqued my curiosity, and I thought the main actress (Mia McKenna-Bruce) was fabulous… but…
I am a bit ashamed to say that my mind kept throwing “hurry up” messages at the television.
The loudness of this insistent voice surprised me for a couple of reasons.
The first is that I understand that a good mystery is designed to unfold over time. There needs to be dead ends, red herrings, and a multitude of characters with complex backstories that we progressively blame then exonerate. It would hardly be a satisfying “who done it?” if, after ten minutes, the detective walked in, looked at the dead body, spun around and pointed an accusatory finger at someone who we’d never seen on screen before while screaming, “YOU did it with a candlestick because you woke up in a bad mood!”
Moreover, Agatha Christe’s “ABC Murders” was actually the first novel I made it all the way through as a youngster. My mother gave it to me because she figured that the ‘big reveal’ at the end would keep me reading – and she was right! She even gave me a certificate which I might still have in a box somewhere…
As such, it feels particularly rude of me to be asking The Queen of Crime to please hustle along – especially (and (un)ironically) since clocks were an important and recurring theme in the story!
[In my defense, I did a quick web search and there were several reviews that suggested there was some pacing issues in the production, and the 3 episodes might have been shrunk down to 2.]
The second reason I was disappointed to notice myself noticing the time, is that I have been practicing mindfulness routines for 2 years now – had I learnt nothing about chilling out in the present moment?!
National Geographic recently released an article (behind a paywall) that suggests the average attention span has shrunk to 40 seconds.
What?!
The Center for Brain, Mind and Society (CBMS) at Columbia University wrote an article (here) that seems to be a year old, and it suggests we were still at 47 seconds ‘back then’. Whereas 20 years ago, it states, we were managing 2.5 minutes of uninterrupted concentration.
But hang on a minute… when you drill down a bit further into the research, the results related to how long someone stayed on a computer tab before opening / switching to another tab. So, that’s still concerning, but a whole different kettle of tik tok fish fun…
When I’m in digital ‘relax mode’ I tend to scroll around, move between apps, or browse through news headings, start reading, get the gist of the news report, then close that article, and click on another…
But – when I’m in ‘study mode’ or ‘work mode’ I can keep a single university paper open and read it from beginning to end over many long minutes (with my phone deliberately placed screen-down or in another room). Same again for reading a paperback novel – I don’t flick between one novel and another every 40 seconds…
The reality is, however, that those ‘relaxing’ flip-scroll-swipes that I’m indulging in, are doing damage and changing my brain’s expectations, especially for screentime.
I wonder if I had watched Agatha Christie’s movie on the big screen, with popcorn and fellow cinema patrons, would I be anticipating a long-haul experience that would make me more patient? Or would I still be getting frustrated with the long car drives that were scenic but added little narrative detail?
Here’s one thing that the article referred to, which I also read in a self-help book recently:
DON’T MULTI-TASK.
The online article notes that you are never actually doing 2 things at once, your brain is actually bouncing back and forth between the two activities super-fast, and this ‘task-switching’ is tiring. Worse, we waste a lot of time as we have to gear-back-up each time we unnecessarily keep switching.
[I used to get a bit grumpy with my family when they came into my office when I was writing my PhD with a migraine… I had closed the door so that I could concentrate, and then, with a casual and albeit well-meaning, “um – mum” (like my daughter’s “making magic” moment) the fragile line of ideas that I had lined up and was trying to write down, crashed and splintered and… sigh… I had to clean up her mess then mine…]
Jacqui Lewis’ “The 14 day Mind Cleanse” is very blunt – multi-tasking is NOT mindful. She writes that doing two activities at once means you’re doing neither task mindfully. She’s not a fan, for example, of listening to podcasts while you do dishes (oops – I’m a super-fan of merging fun activities with chores to lessen the blow (like listening to podcasts while I iron!)
Her point was valid though, from a scientific as well as mindfulness perspective – steady single activities lead to steady minds.
OK – given I’m probably not alone, what can we all do to dial down the voice that is impatiently waiting for the next dopamine hit?
The online Columbia University article suggests three things, summarized (for our short attention spans) as:
- Change your environment – Remove potential distractions.
- Recognize that attention is task-specific – We may be able to sit through a 2-hour, action-packed movie, but start to squirm within 10 minutes of a nature documentary [or vice-versa!]. Infusing activities with storytelling and interactivity can increase your ability to focus.
- Recognize that attention is a limited resource – Our attention spans are likely to be strongest in the mornings after a full night’s rest. If you feel yourself losing focus, take a break.
Here’s a test for you – well the second really, if you’re still reading this, you’ve been focused for 5 minutes – well done you!
Here’s the test I meant to set you: watch the 2-minute trailer for the series I watched and see if you can stay with it for the whole time. Your mind might run commentary over the top, but if it’s about what you’re watching, then you’re still essentially on-task. If you start checking your emails, fussing over the kettle, or scrolling the bar at the bottom to skim through the video…. well then … politely and with all kindness – you fail:
[Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD16F92LHIY&feature=youtu.be]
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If you’re anything like me, then it comes as a shock to find out 2 minutes can feel like a looooooong time!
Take care taking care mindfully,
Linda xox
PS – I’ve written posts honoring a slower state of being before (which I’ll be re-reading!): “A new take on ASAP” / “Unhurry- or – make hast slowly“
PPS – I just remembered I read a post on WordPress late last year that was about kid’s attention spans, and the numbers were way less than 40 seconds! As Lawrence John writes: “In the 1980s young people in the USA were said to have the attention span of a gnat. // They were dubbed the MTV Generation… Fast forward to 2025 and we have the TikTok generation with an even shorter attention span… Bart Simpson would have said ‘Eat my Shorts’… Today’s generation would only hear the word EAT and would zone out…” If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, pop over and share some blog-attention around and read more of Lawrence’s post here: The Case of….Your attention span is…..
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