Many people struggle with low attention span in today’s world, where social media platforms compete fiercely for our attention. This short article explores the potential link between heavy phone use, especially social media, and its impact on our ability to concentrate and be productive.

The Science of Attention – and Attention Span

Attention can be a rather complex concept. It involves filtering information, controlling our actions, and being alert. Scientists study this in many ways, including brain activity, development, and even how to improve focus through training. To understand it simply, I extracted three main points:

• There is a selective aspect to it, where attention filters the overwhelming sensory information from our environment, allowing us to focus on a specific stimuli or task. (Like focusing on a conversation.)
  
• Attention is crucial for consciously controlling actions. Particularly in challenging situations by overdriving automatic responses in novel situations.
  (For instance, when driving on a narrow road and needing to pass a car while a large truck approaches, attention takes precedence over usual driving habits.)
  
• Attention also requires an ideal level of alertness. Fatigue or drowsiness can significantly impact how effectively we focus and lower our attention span.
  
• Attention span refers to the amount of time we can maintain that focused attention on a single task or stimulus before our attention is drawn elsewhere.

The Cost of Digital Clutter

Imagine Sarah, a college student with an exam looming in two days. She’s been procrastinating, putting off studying, lured by the constant notifications of her phone. Now, the night before the exam, fueled by a potent dose of caffeine, panic sets in and she decides to pull an all-nighter. Exhaustion is gnawing at her, yet she consciously overrides those signals, grabbing her phone for a “quick break.”

In this scenario, Sarah exemplifies the interplay between attention, attention span, and alertness. Her attention is being constantly pulled by her phone, a battle she’s been losing throughout the study period. The approaching exam deadline triggers a surge of adrenaline, a conscious attempt to focus on a challenging situation (exam prep) by overriding her body’s natural sleep signals. The caffeine further amplifies her alertness, but only temporarily.

Sarah’s situation highlights the limitations of relying solely on willpower and stimulants to drive attention. While she might experience a temporary boost in focus, her sleep deprivation and constant phone distractions have likely eroded her overall attention span. This can make it difficult to truly absorb and retain the information she needs for the exam, or build a healthy habit of consistent light-daily work leading to the exam.

Information Overload

I touched on the concept of “Context Switching” in a previous article, let me explain further.

“Context Switching” involves the mental transition between various activities or stimuli. In the realm of social media and phones, this means shifting between different pieces of information, posts, messages, and notifications. A continuous rapid variation in content that keeps the mind constantly engaged and adapting to new information.

This rapid context switching creates a situation of information overload. Our brain adapts to this constant stream of diverse content by relying heavily on working memory, the part of the brain responsible for holding and manipulating information in the short term. However, this constant stream of stimuli strains our working memory, making it difficult to focus on any one thing for an extended period.

The effect? Focusing on any one thing for an extended period becomes difficult (low attention span). The constant shifting of attention can impede our ability to engage in deeper tasks, such as work or academic pursuits, leaving us in a perpetual cycle of playing catch-up. Each time we decide to disengage from our phones and refocus on real-world activities, we face a readjustment period as our brains recalibrate to the demands of the task at hand.

Scientific Studies

• Research on the effects of phone notifications (Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience)

Scientists investigated how smartphone use affects our brain’s electrical activity in response to push notifications. They compared a group of people who heavily use smartphones to a group who doesn’t. Both groups showed a reaction to the notifications, but the heavy users were more sensitive. For them, hearing a notification during a task actually made it harder to focus and concentrate. The researchers measured brainwaves to see this effect, suggesting that excessive smartphone use can have a real impact on our ability to focus.

• Research on multitasking (Experimental Economics)

A research that aligns perfectly with what we discussed about the constant distractions of smartphones. Just like the study participants who performed worse when switching tasks, checking our phones fragments focus. Each notification or message that pulls us away from the main task, mimics the multitasking scenario. This constant switching, fueled by smartphones, significantly hinders productivity and learning.

• Research on multitasking-induced-stress (Psychoneuroendocrinology)

This study has a direct link to how we use smartphones. Our phones are constant sources of interruption, with notifications, messages, and social media updates pulling our attention in a million directions. Just like the study participants who experienced a biological stress response from multitasking, the constant barrage of stimuli from our phones can keep our bodies in a stressed state. And probably cause some health issues.

Final Thoughts

This brief exploration has touched on the impact of heavy phone use, particularly social media and its consistent notifications, on our attention spans. For a deeper dive, where we discuss its effects on the brain’s reward systems, productivity and motivation, cognitive abilities, mental health, and even teenagers Check out this article: Social Media Addiction: Damaging Your Brain & Attention Span?

RESOURCES

Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention: From brain mechanisms to individual differences in efficiency

Neural mechanisms of selective attention in the somatosensory system

Information Overload: An Overview

An Analysis of the Effects of Smartphone Push Notifications on Task Performance with regard to Smartphone Overuse Using ERP

Biological stress responses to multitasking and work interruptions: A randomized controlled trial

Average Screen Time Statistics (2024)

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World