The World at Our Fingertips

The average human attention span is 8 seconds. The amount seems minuscule, especially considering that the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. However, this was not always the case; in 2000, the average human attention span was 12 seconds (Stefanski 2020). It seems that people are unable to concentrate without multitasking or being distracted. It may be easy to simply accept this fact as inevitable human nature, but it’s worth considering how this decline in attention span came to be. It’s no coincidence that this substantial change in average human attention span occurred from 2000 to 2013, exactly matching the exponential rise in technological growth. Over the past few decades, devices have provided over 4.93 billion people with the ability to access countless websites and apps (Broadband Search). Even more recently, social media has risen to prevalence as the most popular apps for teens and adults alike. Despite the overabundance of information available on the internet, people seem to have become lazier and unable to focus for more than a few seconds. However, laziness has driven the growth of innovations such as artificial intelligence that have automated simple tasks and revolutionized the world.

Technology has continued to grow exponentially and provide people around the world with connectivity and limitless information. The first digital computer was created in 1937. Its sole ability was solving systems of linear equations. Meanwhile, current devices such as iPhones which are many times smaller than the first computer, can access billions of websites, content, and apps. From 2000 to 2020, internet usage increased by an astonishing 1,266% (Broadband Search). Technology has grown more quickly than anyone could have anticipated, and has given people access to endless information in the palm of their hands. However, this overabundance of information has created a predicament in which our brains are so overwhelmed that we struggle to absorb information and narrowly focus on tasks. Since the world changes so rapidly, it has become challenging to keep up to date on current trends, news, and other information. Neurons in the brain serve as an “attentional filter” that naturally allows us to focus on things that are deemed important, while other things simply phase into the background outside of our conscious awareness. Despite this ability, brains have difficulty distinguishing what is essential from what is trivial. Therefore, situations with overwhelming amounts of information cause mental fatigue. In 2011, Americans took in five times as much information each day as they did in 1986. During leisure time, Americans each process 100,000 words every day (Levitin 2015). Since our brains are taking in more information than ever before, it comes as no surprise that we have difficulty maintaining our concentration.

Although technology has made great strides in providing more information than anyone could ever need or want, it also opened the door for companies to capitalize on these new opportunities. Social media has been casually denoted as addictive and mindless. However, there is scientific validity behind these claims. A study by Harvard University explored the neural reaction induced by social media use and found the effect to be similar to that caused by gambling and recreational drugs. Scrolling through social media lights up the same part of the brain as when taking an addictive substance. When the user experiences something rewarding, neurons in the principal dopamine-producing areas in the brain activate, causing dopamine levels to rise. As a result, the brain receives a “reward” and associates the activity with a pleasurable and enjoyable response (Hilliard 2021). Therefore, using social media gives rise to addictive behavior. However, apps are also specifically designed to maximize and exacerbate their addictive quality. Many apps have a pull-to-refresh feature that generates a reaction mirroring pulling the lever on a slot machine. The desire for the unpredictable that is new and exciting creates a phenomenon known as intermittent reinforcement. As users desire new content, they pull to refresh the page and are rewarded with interesting posts. As a result, users constantly find themselves returning to the app to see what is new and exciting (Price 2018). Along with the addictive qualities of social media, it serves as a momentary distraction and escape. Stress is constantly prevalent due to countless causes such as work, school, family issues, financial struggles, and more. Social media allows users to experience relief by ignoring their troubles and being entertained by interesting content. As the experience provides a rewarding response in the brain, people recurrently return to the app, thus reinforcing the desire to utilize the app for a short break or stress release. This recurring behavior creates a cyclical pattern that reinforces dependency on social media. Although it may initially seem easy to blame people for not being able to focus and take their attention off of social media, social media is not as innocuous as it might seem. 

There is diminishing patience and increased procrastination as people prefer to enjoy their time on social media and entertainment apps rather than focusing on monotonous tasks. With so much content available at the click of a button, people are easily distracted by things that they find more interesting. It might be a simple glance at a phone to read a text, using social media for a brief break which turns into hours, or simply pushing off responsibilities to the last minute. Regardless of the circumstances, procrastination has become an enormous problem. Approximately 15-20% of adults are chronically affected by procrastination. In comparison, 80-95% of college students engage in procrastination to some degree (Solving Procrastination). Once a particular task or responsibility is not given the highest priority due to a preference to do something more interesting, this behavior breeds laziness. People prefer to take shortcuts to quickly get the job done or rush to get it done on time. This occurrence correlates with the prevalence of diminishing attention span. Overall, it seems that procrastination and laziness due to technological advancements have decreased the quality of work produced.

Despite the largely negative connotation associated with the decline in attention span, so-called lazy behavior has driven innovations that have eliminated the need for human-touch in simple tasks. Bill Gates was credited with making the statement, “I will always choose a lazy person to do a hard job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it” (Schakohl 2019). Although it has been proven that he never said the infamous quote, the meaning remains relevant. Many of the tasks that were previously completed by hand have become automated with the development of various machinery, computer programs, and artificial intelligence. There has become a continual desire for maximum efficiency to eliminate doing repetitive and tedious tasks. In 1913, Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line that enabled the company to mass-produce automobiles. The company no longer needed workers to build each part, but instead, take on a more supervisory role (History 2020). Although an older example, it exemplifies the desire for efficiency that has remained concurrent throughout the years. Currently, artificial intelligence allows for machines to display human-like qualities such as reasoning, planning, learning, and more. Although attention spans may be becoming shorter, this dynamic mindset became the impetus for the ingenuity that has created innovative inventions that have revolutionized the world.

Technological advancements have permanently changed the world. Although we have become acclimated to having devices that allow us to browse the internet, chat with friends, watch tv shows and movies, and more, these inventions were unimaginable only a few decades ago. As a result, it can be easy to overlook the negative attributes associated with aspects, such as social media. This begs the question of whether it is moral to ignore the consequences of social media and technology addiction because technology has continued to help us and provide us with entertainment. Addiction to social media has somewhat remained an untackled issue with little concern for the long-term implications regarding how it will affect human behavior and interactions. Furthermore, the possibilities for technology are limitless. Regardless of the various theories regarding robots taking over jobs and the world and human dependence on technology becoming alarmingly high, it is unclear what will occur in the future. It will be interesting to see whether there will be a turning point or limit to how much technology people will be willing to allow in their daily lives.

Works Cited:

Ford's assembly line starts rolling. (2020, November 30). https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fords-assembly-line-starts-rolling

Hilliard, J. (2021, March 30). What Is Social Media Addiction? https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/social-media-addiction/

Key Internet Statistics to Know in 2021 (Including Mobile). (n.d.). https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/internet-statistics#:~:text=With%20a%20current%20worldwide%20estimated,the%20internet%20increased%20by%201%2C266%25.

Levitin, D. (2015, September 23). Why It’s So Hard To Pay Attention, Explained By Science. https://www.fastcompany.com/3051417/why-its-so-hard-to-pay-attention-explained-by-science

Price, C. (2018, October 29). Trapped – the secret ways social media is built to be addictive (and what you can do to fight back). https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/trapped-the-secret-ways-social-media-is-built-to-be-addictive-and-what-you-can-do-to-fight-back/

Procrastination Statistics: Interesting and Useful Statistics about Procrastination. (n.d.). https://solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-statistics/

Schakohl, T. (2019, October 24). FACT CHECK: DID BILL GATES SAY, ‘I CHOOSE A LAZY PERSON TO DO A HARD JOB’? https://checkyourfact.com/2019/10/24/fact-check-bill-gates-microsoft-lazy-person-hard-job-easy-way/

Stefanski, R. (2020, July 14). How declining attention spans impact your social media. https://muckrack.com/blog/2020/07/14/how-declining-attention-spans-impact-your-social-media#:~:text=The%20human%20attention%20span%20has,the%20notoriously%20ill%2Dfocused%20goldfish!