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Have attention spans been declining?

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Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#91

Post by [deleted] »

EatingWithForks wrote: post #73
izzydata wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Moby Dick was never meant to be read how it is read now. It was originally a serial, so like a webcomic or a fanfic that's actively being worked on. Those are still very popular mediums of media.

[deleted]

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#92

Post by fredoliveira »

Tenoke wrote: post #89
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…

It would be nice if HN titles actually had to match submission titles.

They are often updated to reflect the link title, in cases where the title by the submitter isn't great.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#93

Post by partiallypro »

I find it incredibly difficult to focus on movies while at home, I like being forced to not use my phone, etc by being in a theatre. I think this applies to most things; I don't know if attention has been declining so much as there are so many other things you can do at the same time which limits your attention.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#94

Post by fredoliveira »

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?

It is more about highlighting the issues than it is about outlining specific fixes, honestly. But i thoroughly enjoyed it.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#95

Post by Aaronstotle »

I know my attention span has declined, whats difficult for me is I work in an IT role so its very interrupt driven, happens through tickets or direct messages. (Got a slack message while writing this message!)

One of my favorite things about cycling is it forces me to stay focused while I'm on the bike, I can't look at my phone or do something else.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#96

Post by Brusco_RF »

bizzleDawg wrote: post #60
Brusco_RF wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Thank you. I'm going to pass on this one

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#98

Post by eastof »

fragmede wrote: post #74
HatchedLake721 wrote: post #40

I like the theory that the reason attention span has declined is because the demand for quality has hugely increased. Since there are so many blogs, films, books and videos out there, we no longer want to waste time on things that don't entertain or provide value to us. If in the past you might've given in and read or watched through boring parts because there was less options available, now people demand less B.S. a…

Lord of the Rings. An absolutely genre-defining work, but if you read it, it's really friggin slow and not at all compatible with today's attention spans. It's not a demand for quality , it's a demand to be endlessly entertained without having to invest the time or have the patience to wait for a backstory to unfold. Which is fine, I'm opening my phone to doom scroll for a second too, I just don't think it's quality…

Any tips for this retraining?

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#99

Post by Night_Thastus »

Tenoke wrote: post #89
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…

It would be nice if HN titles actually had to match submission titles.

There are some good reasons this isn't the case. Often the submission title itself has something wrong in it, or is click-bait-y, or just needs some pointless fat trimmed from it to get to the point.

It's definitely not black and white.

Re: Have attention spans been declining?

#100

Post by yamazakiwi »

skilled wrote: post #22

People hack themselves to find the quickest release of feel-good chemicals in their brain but most do it at the expense of not realizing that it numbs their entire existence. And now it’s more prevalent than it ever has been. Grabbing a phone is a nice way to stay in the shell that you have built around yourself and pretend like you have control over your life, but no one has control over their lives. The more you bu…

Many people's lives are not that good, there are many people with bad jobs they hate, or partners they can't stand. It's easy to imagine why humans act this way.

What makes you think your life is so much better?

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