It is a sign of the times that I cannot imagine researching without the Web. On Twitter, I saw this link http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/ which says that our average attention span in 2013 was 8 seconds. In 2000, the attention span was 12 seconds. The web site indicates that attention span is is the amount of concentrated time on a task without becoming distracted. When I searched for the source of the information, I was unable to locate it in the website of National Center for Biotechnology Information, which the link quotes as a reference. However, I did find a lot of web pages using this information.
Is our attention span just 8 seconds ? Let me see : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 ! By now, the average human being has lost interest, if there is nothing enticing. So if you are still reading this blog of mine, you are not (in a sense !) normal ! The infographic at http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/infographic-shrinking-attention-span-n110801 shows how important it is to deliver a message in quick time for websites.
When I did the research on the Web, the attention span was compared to that of the goldfish, which is supposed to be 9 seconds. It is somewhat humiliating to think that as humans we cannot focus for 8 seconds on a task, though it may be boring. I am not sure what the goldfish is doing for 9 seconds : looking up the fish bowl awaiting its feed, perhaps ?!
Whatever the data is, I feel attention spans and our memories have declined. One reason for the deterioration in memories is that we need not remember ! The Web is now secondary storage for us. In this context, I refer to an excellent article by Diana Faber in the Huffington Post available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-graber/kids-tech-and-those-shrinking-attention-spans_b_4870655.html.
The article quotes CEO of Geoloqi Amber Case, an anthropologist who points out that in today's world :
In short Amber Case is saying that we will stop remembering ! I see this already happening. In the 1990s and early 2000s when we had only landline phones we were forced to remember them. So, we carried a pocket book with name and numbers and we were all capable of reciting several phone numbers. Now, I suppose we can recall hardly 2 or 3 mobile numbers maximum. Of course, the reason is that the mobile phone stores the numbers and we don't need to remember them !
Memories will dwindle, just like calculators have reduced our ability to sum, subtract and multiply numbers.
Another personal experience on attention span is with TVs. I am an inveterate television addict, whether it is serials or movies. When our first TV was purchased, the choice of channels was limited. I remember watching movies and serials continuously, including the advertisements. Later, as the number of channels proliferated, I would zap and change channels as soon as an advertisement break started, particularly for movies. Now, I think if advertisers saw how I wield the remote (I use that word consciously : the remote is a sort of weapon !), they would be extremely disillusioned about their jobs !!
Summary: My attention span has dwindled over the years !
Should I be worried about it ? With so many infographics and websites, the assimilation of information becomes the bottleneck for the human brain, which was an observation made by Mr. Manohar Parrikar, who was CM of Goa in a speech that he made. Details are available in my blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/2013_08_25_archive.html. I feel that the ability to make sense of information from different sources at a personal level will be an important skill to possess in time to come. This is why big data and data analytics is such an exciting field today.
The Huffington Post article suggests that we need not be worried about decreasing attention span, since our brains are being re-wired to adjust to the Web. From the article again, quoting Danah Boyd, a researcher at Microsoft :
This is more applicable for today's generation, of course, but it is worth noting that this is how shorter attention spans may actually not be a cause of concern, particularly for the young today.
Why is our attention span reducing ? Is the Web also a contributing factor ? My belief is that it is the multitude of distractions that reduces our attention span. I used to read the newspaper while eating breakfast. I have reduced the habit nowadays, but there are still distractions everywhere. A few colleagues at work listen to music while they work. Watching television while eating is a common activity in many houses. I am writing this blog watching a Hindi movie "Ek aur ek gyaarah" on Zee Cinema. So, multi-tasking during eating and working is common. Similarly, the websites on the Internet are major attention diverters. It is probably our tendency to multi-task that has led to the reduction in attention span, in my opinion.
Any new media can be used, abused and/ or misused. In my blog, http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/2005/05/television-medium.html I quoted a dialogue between Phaedrus and Socrates regarding writing. Socrates believed that writing was harmful. I quote from the dialogue taken from http://www.units.miamioh.edu/technologyandhumanities/plato.htm, in Socrates' words :
There are advantages and disadvantages to everything, including television and the Web !
I feel that Diana Graber's article in the Huffington Post needs to be read and understood - and then appreciated and assimilated.
Is our attention span just 8 seconds ? Let me see : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 ! By now, the average human being has lost interest, if there is nothing enticing. So if you are still reading this blog of mine, you are not (in a sense !) normal ! The infographic at http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/infographic-shrinking-attention-span-n110801 shows how important it is to deliver a message in quick time for websites.
When I did the research on the Web, the attention span was compared to that of the goldfish, which is supposed to be 9 seconds. It is somewhat humiliating to think that as humans we cannot focus for 8 seconds on a task, though it may be boring. I am not sure what the goldfish is doing for 9 seconds : looking up the fish bowl awaiting its feed, perhaps ?!
Whatever the data is, I feel attention spans and our memories have declined. One reason for the deterioration in memories is that we need not remember ! The Web is now secondary storage for us. In this context, I refer to an excellent article by Diana Faber in the Huffington Post available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-graber/kids-tech-and-those-shrinking-attention-spans_b_4870655.html.
The article quotes CEO of Geoloqi Amber Case, an anthropologist who points out that in today's world :
"Memories are becoming hyperlinks to information triggered by keywords and URLs. We are becoming 'persistent paleontologists' of our own external memories, as our brains are storing the keywords to get back to those memories and not the full memories themselves."
In short Amber Case is saying that we will stop remembering ! I see this already happening. In the 1990s and early 2000s when we had only landline phones we were forced to remember them. So, we carried a pocket book with name and numbers and we were all capable of reciting several phone numbers. Now, I suppose we can recall hardly 2 or 3 mobile numbers maximum. Of course, the reason is that the mobile phone stores the numbers and we don't need to remember them !
Memories will dwindle, just like calculators have reduced our ability to sum, subtract and multiply numbers.
Another personal experience on attention span is with TVs. I am an inveterate television addict, whether it is serials or movies. When our first TV was purchased, the choice of channels was limited. I remember watching movies and serials continuously, including the advertisements. Later, as the number of channels proliferated, I would zap and change channels as soon as an advertisement break started, particularly for movies. Now, I think if advertisers saw how I wield the remote (I use that word consciously : the remote is a sort of weapon !), they would be extremely disillusioned about their jobs !!
Summary: My attention span has dwindled over the years !
Should I be worried about it ? With so many infographics and websites, the assimilation of information becomes the bottleneck for the human brain, which was an observation made by Mr. Manohar Parrikar, who was CM of Goa in a speech that he made. Details are available in my blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/2013_08_25_archive.html. I feel that the ability to make sense of information from different sources at a personal level will be an important skill to possess in time to come. This is why big data and data analytics is such an exciting field today.
The Huffington Post article suggests that we need not be worried about decreasing attention span, since our brains are being re-wired to adjust to the Web. From the article again, quoting Danah Boyd, a researcher at Microsoft :
"Brains are being rewired--any shift in stimuli results in a rewiring... The techniques and mechanisms to engage in rapid-fire attention shifting will be extremely useful for the creative class whose job it is to integrate ideas; they relish opportunities to have stimuli that allow them to see things differently."
This is more applicable for today's generation, of course, but it is worth noting that this is how shorter attention spans may actually not be a cause of concern, particularly for the young today.
Why is our attention span reducing ? Is the Web also a contributing factor ? My belief is that it is the multitude of distractions that reduces our attention span. I used to read the newspaper while eating breakfast. I have reduced the habit nowadays, but there are still distractions everywhere. A few colleagues at work listen to music while they work. Watching television while eating is a common activity in many houses. I am writing this blog watching a Hindi movie "Ek aur ek gyaarah" on Zee Cinema. So, multi-tasking during eating and working is common. Similarly, the websites on the Internet are major attention diverters. It is probably our tendency to multi-task that has led to the reduction in attention span, in my opinion.
Any new media can be used, abused and/ or misused. In my blog, http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/2005/05/television-medium.html I quoted a dialogue between Phaedrus and Socrates regarding writing. Socrates believed that writing was harmful. I quote from the dialogue taken from http://www.units.miamioh.edu/technologyandhumanities/plato.htm, in Socrates' words :
".. writing is unfortunately like painting; for the creations of the painter have the attitude of life, and yet if you ask them a question they preserve a solemn silence. And the same may be said of speeches. You would imagine that they had intelligence, but if you want to know anything and put a question to one of them, the speaker always gives one unvarying answer. And when they have been once written down they are tumbled about anywhere among those who may or may not understand them, and know not to whom they should reply, to whom not: and, if they are maltreated or abused, they have no parent to protect them; and they cannot protect or defend themselves."
There are advantages and disadvantages to everything, including television and the Web !
I feel that Diana Graber's article in the Huffington Post needs to be read and understood - and then appreciated and assimilated.
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