Have attention spans been declining? • Hacker News Board

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#51

Post by burkaman » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:27 PM UTC

bizzleDawg wrote: post #21

I may be reading this incorrectly, but in the article, the 65% appears to be authors confidence in the statement that attention spans appear to be declining, as denoted by the sub-script. Whereas in the HN title it reads as if it's saying a "65% decline in attention span". Various other assertions in the post also have sub-script confidences associated e.g. "my guess: yes90%". I could totally believe that there has b…

Thanks for this comment, yes this title is wrong and should be changed. The article's conclusion is:

> It seems likely to me that individual attention spans have declined (I’d give it ~70%), but I wouldn’t be surprised if the decline was relatively small, noisy & dependent on specific tests.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#52

Post by tarboreus » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:27 PM UTC

Swizec wrote: post #28

lotsofpulp wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that has to do with excessively long movies and nothing to do with reduced attention spans. Very, very few action movies need to be more than 100min.

> Very, very few action movies need to be more than 100min. Not to mention an action scene gets really really boring after about 2min. Just more and more of the same. Then add the usual hyperactive editing popular in modern blockbusters and it's like "Yo can you slow down a little? I'd like to actually see a punch happen sometimes"

They're just bad now. You never get bored in Die Hard or a Jackie Chan flick.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#53

Post by russfink » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:29 PM UTC

Brusco_RF wrote: post #48

bizzleDawg wrote: post #21

I may be reading this incorrectly, but in the article, the 65% appears to be authors confidence in the statement that attention spans appear to be declining, as denoted by the sub-script. Whereas in the HN title it reads as if it's saying a "65% decline in attention span". Various other assertions in the post also have sub-script confidences associated e.g. "my guess: yes90%". I could totally believe that there has b…

Thanks for mentioning that book. I am trying to decide if it's worth reading. The negative reviews agree with the main premise of the book but say it's short and superficial. Is there information in there worth reading beyond the usual tips ie keeping your phone in another room, avoid news first thing in the morning, no screen time 2 hours before bed, long cardio workouts, etc?

"Short and superficial" is appropriate for a book that discusses shortened attention spans! ;-)

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#54

Post by niplav » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:29 PM UTC

bizzleDawg wrote: post #21

I may be reading this incorrectly, but in the article, the 65% appears to be authors confidence in the statement that attention spans appear to be declining, as denoted by the sub-script. Whereas in the HN title it reads as if it's saying a "65% decline in attention span". Various other assertions in the post also have sub-script confidences associated e.g. "my guess: yes90%". I could totally believe that there has b…

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a probability attached to that statement.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#55

Post by milesvp » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:29 PM UTC

jedberg wrote: post #14

orphea wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think that has to do with excessively long movies Anecdotal experience but we (n=2) didn't have the urge to pull out our phones on Oppenheimer (180 minutes).

Oppenheimer is not an action flick. :) Movies with a compelling story keep your attention, but with action, your brain can only take so much stimulation. Unless it has a really compelling story, your mind will wander.

Oh man. I wish more directors knew this. I remember watching one of the fast and the furious movies. It had like a 30 minute long action sequence. That is long enough for the adrenaline to wear off and now it’s all just tedious. I think i literally yawned during what should be edge of the seat action. I’m convinced what it needed was more breaks in the action, or at least more changes in tempo.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#56

Post by slmjkdbtl » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:29 PM UTC

my attention span is extremely short, can't even sit through a 5s short video, but I think it benefited my ability to improvise music (which is the only thing i care about now), it forces me to jump from ideas to ideas keys to keys quickly and kinda formed my style.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#57

Post by esafak » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:31 PM UTC

carabiner wrote: post #41

Trying to read classic literature really makes this apparent. Hemingway's Sun Also Rises must have been a riveting adventure story when it was published in 1926, but how can it compete with 10,000 hours of adventure travel on youtube, netflix etc.? Same with Moby Dick in 1850s... these were glimpses into exotic lives rarely heard of back then, but today you can find those stories or similar in vivid moving pictures a…

So don't read those ones. Read books about things that can't be replicated by video, like Joyce's wordplay. It's like how photography liberates painting from realism.

And I fully empathize with your difficulty in appreciating such works of fiction. Maybe I ought to try reading one this summer myself...

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#58

Post by izzydata » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:31 PM UTC

carabiner wrote: post #41

Trying to read classic literature really makes this apparent. Hemingway's Sun Also Rises must have been a riveting adventure story when it was published in 1926, but how can it compete with 10,000 hours of adventure travel on youtube, netflix etc.? Same with Moby Dick in 1850s... these were glimpses into exotic lives rarely heard of back then, but today you can find those stories or similar in vivid moving pictures a…

I'd like to believe it is reversible. It's not a genetic problem so it is a problem of environment. If you tech detoxed for a whole year living in the woods or something then tried to read Moby Dick it would likely be very tolerable again.

You could study some people who have gone to prison and have little opportunity for endless media consumption.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#59

Post by sixQuarks » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:31 PM UTC

My attention span is too low to read the article. Can someone summarize it?

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#60

Post by bizzleDawg » Mon, Jul 24, 2023, 6:33 PM UTC

Brusco_RF wrote: post #48

bizzleDawg wrote: post #21

I may be reading this incorrectly, but in the article, the 65% appears to be authors confidence in the statement that attention spans appear to be declining, as denoted by the sub-script. Whereas in the HN title it reads as if it's saying a "65% decline in attention span". Various other assertions in the post also have sub-script confidences associated e.g. "my guess: yes90%". I could totally believe that there has b…

Thanks for mentioning that book. I am trying to decide if it's worth reading. The negative reviews agree with the main premise of the book but say it's short and superficial. Is there information in there worth reading beyond the usual tips ie keeping your phone in another room, avoid news first thing in the morning, no screen time 2 hours before bed, long cardio workouts, etc?

I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a practical title, though there are a few practical tips along the lines you mention, the point of the book is more about the societal problem than the individual. But as someone who gets highly frustrated with my inability to focus on occasion, I would say it's reasonably cathartic.