Our Attention Aint What It Used To Be
The information overload we’ve become accustomed to has scientifically caused some adverse side effects. Our attention spans have decrease by 33% between 2000 and 2013 and is now shorter than a goldfish.
This episode examines how our attention spans have decreased and what we can do to increase it.
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: How long in until you start losing focus on today’s episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
- Microsoft Attention Span Research Report
- Daydreaming is a good thing to help increase our imagination
- IMDB Top 250
- Songs from each decade
- 8 Quick Ways To Improve Your Attention Span by Stephanie Vozza
- The Art of Listening
Show Notes
- Study done by Microsoft Canada on attention span [01:47]
- Average attention span of a human was 12 seconds in 2000 and then dropped to 8 seconds in 2013 [02:32]
- The average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds long [03:07]
- Greatest impact on why attention span has decreased [03:55]
- 44% of Canandians really have to concentrate on tasks to stay focused, [04:21]
- 45% of people get sidetracked because of other thoughts or day dreams [04:49]
- 37% don’t make the best use of their time and as a result have to work late or on the weekends to complete tasks [05:13]
- 54% of Canandians say sometimes technology makes their lives worse [06:33]
- 51% believe it’s important to make time to switch off their devices [06:53]
- 39% disconnect from their technology at least once a month or more often [07:01]
- Over time, has the duration of movies and music decreased over time correlating to a decrease in attention span [08:38]
- Movie durations from each decade from IMDB Top 250 [09:14]
- The last time that a blockbuster movie duration was the around the length of Mad Max: Fury Road was 1958 [12:30]
- For today’s generation, the Max Max: Fury Road generation, would The Godfather have the ability to grasp the attention the same as Mad Max or would the duration be too long? [13:55]
- Napoleon Dynamite and it’s ability to keep the attention of viewers [16:14]
- Action movies around two hours long are becoming more prevalent and popular in today [16:58]
- Song durations from each decade [18:20]
- Music doesn’t pain as clear of a story that song duration correlates to attention span over time [20:21]
- Three minutes and 30 seconds is the sweet spot duration of today’s songs [22:39]
- Today’s music transitions much more rapidly between key changes, vamps, tempo and/or time signatures than comparatively to music from previous decades [24:20]
- The usage of devices and social media has been leveraged by children at a younger and younger age [28:39]
- How social media and apps have evolved since 2004 [29:12]
- Cell phone usage has become rampant [29:49]
- If I had a dollar for every time someone used the cell phone or social media when we were together [30:47]
- Our attention spans are not going to get better, it’s going to become more challenging [31:54]
- Fastcompany.com article on improving your attention span [33:09]
- We all could benefit from increasing our attention spans [35:22]
- Put down your damn phone [36:41]
- We need to make the commitment to unplug [37:28]
- The norm shouldn’t be using our devices and phones right up until bed [38:07]
- We need to spend time in nature, outside, at least once a week — The more time the merrier [38:52]
- Work on focusing only one project or task, and only that task, at least once a week [41:06]
- Feed yourself extended content [45:18]
Movie Durations From Each Decade
- The Kid (1921) – Charlie Chaplin – 68 minutes
- The Wizard of Oz (1939) – 102 minutes
- Casablanca (1942) – 102 minutes
- Vertigo (1958) – James Stewart & Kim Novak (Alfred Hitchcock) – 128 minutes
- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (1966) – Clint Eastwood – 161 minutes
- The Godfather (1972) – 175 minutes
- Scarface (1983) – 170 minutes
- Pulp Fiction (1994) – 154 minutes
- Gladiator (2000) – 155 minutes
- Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – 120 minutes
Song Durations From Each Decade
- ‘When You’re Smiling’ by Louis Armstrong (1929) – 4:02
- ‘Over The Rainbow’ by Judy Garland (1939) – 2:50
- ‘In The Mood’ by Glenn Miller (1940) – 3:32
- ‘All Shook Up’ by Elvis Presley (1957) – 1:58
- ‘Hey Jude’ by The Beatles (1968) – 3:59
- ‘Whole Lotta Love’ by Led Zeppelin (1970) – 5:34
- ‘Billy Jean’ by Michael Jackson (1983) – 4:54
- ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana (1992) – 5:02
- ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem (2002) – 5:26
- ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams (2002) – 3:53