Breaking Bad: Fight Against Attention Deterioration

There is no doubt that the technological advances of the past two decades have forever changed our daily lives, not only at work, but in the way we interact with one another, maintain connections, and move through the world.

According to Gloria Mark, PhD., attention span researcher and author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity, our ability to focus has been in decline for some time. In an episode of the APA podcast, Speaking of Psychology, Dr. Mark spoke of her research, which began in 2004, when she determined an average attention span of two and a half minutes. She found that our attention spans have diminished over the years. “Around 2012, we found it to be 75 seconds, and in the last six years, we found it to average about 47 seconds.” She added that other researchers have reported similar results.

Fragmented focus

Smartphones, laptops, and other devices enable our constant connection to email, 24-hour news feeds, and social media, providing ever-ready distractions and social connections. Increasingly sophisticated algorithms lure us in with compelling content. In the workplace, our desire to keep in touch and on top of multiple projects and responsibilities—that is, to multitask rather than concentrate on single tasks—results in a laundry list of negative consequences. According to research published in 2024, while digital multitasking (the frequent use of digital devices throughout the course of a workday) would appear to increase efficiency and productivity, prolonged digital multitasking has been linked to “decreased working memory capacity and poor executive function, which is essential for tasks requiring planning, problem-solving, and sustained focus.”

Unboxing brain rot

Shining a spotlight on our diminishing capacity to focus and concentrate, the Oxford Dictionary named brain rot its word of the year in 2024. In a Psychology Today post that December, Dennis M. Clausen, Ph.D., explored their choice of this term and the negative impacts of the pervasive use of “modern technologies that were intended to improve human life and have done so in many ways.”

These impacts include increased stress due to constant interruption and resulting mental fatigue. The fallouts of mental fatigue, according to 2023 research, “decreased productivity and overall cognitive performance, by decreasing an individual’s ability to inhibit responses, process information, and concentrate.” Moreover, the study also links mental fatigue to occupational errors and car accidents.

Revealing statistics

Recent Pew Research statistics on smartphone usage, the internet, and social media engagement offer an up-to-date snapshot of our increasing daily reliance on and habitual use of technologies. For example, YouTube usage includes 95 percent of users age 18 to 29, 92 percent of users in the 30 to 49 age range, and 64 percent of those in the 65+ group, with Instagram a close second in younger age groups, and other social media platforms, including Facebook and TikTok, also reporting significant usage. A whopping 98 percent of Americans report owning a mobile phone, with 91 percent of these devices identified as smartphones, up from 35 percent in 2011. Internet usage continues to rise, with 96 percent of Americans reporting regular use.

The good news about our brains

Here’s the good news about our brains. Neuroplasticity is our brain’s capacity to recover and restore itself. An overview article published in 2024 describes new and promising insights into the human brain’s ability to recover, restore, and respond to therapeutic interventions. A recent clinical trial led by researchers at Canada’s McGill University, for example, reports significant benefits of brain exercises on a group of 92 healthy adults aged 65 and over. The study found significant improvements among subjects who participated in challenging, attention-demanding exercises.

Curating healthier habits and routines

Humans may be creatures of habit, but we also have the power to rethink, reflect, and respond to habits that cause us harm. With an understanding of the impacts of our use of technologies and their impacts, we can create habits and routines that improve our ability to focus and concentrate, support our long-term health and happiness, and help us achieve our goals.

7 steps to help reclaim and restore focus

• Recognize problematic patterns of social media engagement, habitual digital multitasking, and smartphone usage throughout the course of an average day. Awareness is always the first step toward change, so recognizing usage patterns is the first step toward reclaiming your ability to focus.

• Reflect on what is driving your problematic technology usage. Do you feel compelled to stay up-to-the-minute with news, clients’ and work colleagues’ requests or demands, or are you trying to stay in constant close touch with friends and family members?

• Realize the negative impacts, including increased stress and mental fatigue, of regular disruptions to your tasks and responsibilities.

• Create healthy boundaries around your time, energy, and attention. Our time, energy, and attention are finite resources. Create routines and habits that enable you to complete your tasks and responsibilities, and limit the time spent on electronic devices.

• Take steps that help you create periods of uninterrupted calm, including turning off notifications and putting physical distance between you and your smartphone to minimize temptation while completing tasks.

• Set goals that prioritize quality self-care, and include time for rest, relaxation, healthy meals, and spending time pursuing activities and interests that bring you joy, over remaining hyper-engaged and connected to devices.

• Seek the help of a mental health professional if you find you are struggling to manage your technology usage.

To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.