For years we have mocked the goldfish and laughed at its expense. We all know how pitiful the attention span of the goldfish is. I have stopped laughing after a recent Microsoft Canada report found that the average human’s attention span is below that of a goldfish (8 seconds versus 9 seconds).
How is this so?
Satya Nadella sums it up with “We are moving from a world where computing power was scarce to a place where it now is almost limitless, and where the true scarce commodity is increasingly human attention”.
Higher TV watching at 3 years of age is associated with ADHD at age 7 (Scarmeas et al., 2001; Swing et al., 2010). Four year olds were randomly assigned to watch Spongebob Squarepants or to draw for 9 minutes. Children watching the fast paced cartoon performed significantly worse on executive function tasks such as planning, organising, remembering things, prioritising, paying attention and getting started on tasks (Lillard & Peterson, 2011). Even more concerning is that attention span-persistence at age 4 significantly predicted maths and reading achievement at age 21 (McClelland et al, 2013).
So how do we fix this? This is dire!
Limit Electronic Devices
It has been found that an office worker gets only 11 minutes between each interruption, while it takes an average of 25 minutes to return to the original task after an interruption. This is happening to our kids too as they keep their phones in their pockets and sit in front of ipads and computers. It’s better to give a task a dedicated time slot to solely focus on your work and ignore the irrelevant. Technological devices that are within reach can easily lure you in to decrease your attention span.
So try to designate technology time. Limit TV viewing, limit social media and gaming. Provide opportunities for reading books, sitting with nature, playing with pets and sharing family time.
It’s time to reclaim our attention!
About the author:
Dr Julie King is a clinical psychologist who offers psychological services. Her doctorate examined the experience of intellectual giftedness as asynchrony. She has worked with the development of youth and antidepressant protocols in general practice. With a passion for increasing resiliency and coping in young people, Julie is intensively trained in DBT for Borderline Personality Disorder.
Julie works with Anxiety & Phobias, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Mental illness, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Personality disorders , Relaxation, Stress management, Weight management, Eating Disorders, Bullying, Self-harm, Suicide, Assertiveness training, Behaviour problems, Self-esteem & self development, Divorce/separation, Parenting and Relationships.
Julie is an experienced public speaker who has delivered training to mental health practitioners nationwide. Her training workshops have included Advanced Strategies in DBT, Skills Training in DBT, Individual Psychotherapy in DBT, Basic Counselling Skills, CBT, and Suicide Prevention in Schools.
Julie is on the Executive Team of The Australian DBT Institute. You can access that information at http://dbt.cmhe.org/
Articles: Andronaco (King), J.A., Shute, R & McLachlan, A. (2014). Exploring asynchrony as a theoretical framework for understanding giftedness: A case of cognitive dissonance? Roeper Review
Julie has presented at conferences including:
Andronaco (King), J., Andronaco, R., Matthews, B. (2015). Risk Perception as a mechanism to inform drowning prevention in young males. Paper presentation at World Drowning Conference in Penang, Malaysia.
King, J. (2002). The frequency and impact of client suicide on Australian clinical psychologists. Paper presentation at the 9th Suicidal Prevention Australia National Conference, Sydney NSW.
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