Pay attention! Our attention spans are shrinking
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2023
- Are attention spans getting shorter? Are you getting more distracted by multitasking on top of multitasking? Correspondent David Pogue tries to get answers from researcher Gloria Mark, author of "Attention Span," at the same time he talks with Cornell psychology professor James Cutting AND with counselor Lauren Barnett AND her daughters about how distractive technologies are affecting our behavior, productivity and stress levels.
#attentionspan
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"The people will not revolt, they won't look up from their screens long enough to notice"
The book 1984.
The passage, “The people will not revolt. They will not look up from their screens long enough to notice what’s happening,” does not appear in the book. The quote comes from the script of a 2014 stage adaptation of Orwell’s work.
Speak for yourself
Kudos to that mom distinguishing between productivity and well-being. Listen to your mom ladies…she's wise.
What does Kudos mean? The english language has been ruined like attention spans.
The English language@@annmarie1689, much like all modern languages, evolves and changes. Kudos, derived from Greek, has been used informally to mean praise or congratulations since the late-19th century. It probably started at British universities where students were regular scholars of Greek and Latin. But please, tell me more about how English has been ruined.
she's my aunt!!! shes an amazing woman, i love her.
Decades ago when Oprah still had her daytime talk show there were professionals addicted to their Crackberry. Oprah did a show where professionals went a week without their Blackberry. One man broke down crying! Just like the host said, every generation has their thing that will rot their brain. The problem is GenZ doesn't have a healthy balance of technology and real life.
The first professor says there is plenty of research to support the view that attention spans have decreased, but then the next professor guy says "there's no data for that". The second professor doesn't sound very convincing when his evidence is anecdotal: "haven't we all seen teens play video games for hours on end?" Not sure he was the best person to interview here.
He was a little weird. Seemed adamant about supporting staunch beliefs he seemed to have already made up his mind about while ignoring any studies or data that might indicate otherwise.
yeah, focusing on videogames is super different from focusing on work. Plus, even as someone with relatively low screen time on my phone, i usually scroll insta during loading screens or boring cutscenes.
I have a new strategy. When homework needs to be done, I will turn my phone off. When I have to be in school, I will leave my phone at home.
This has never been more true than in our elementary school children. 😢
It's already at the college level. Has been for about 5 yrs
Ask a teacher with over 20 or 30years in the classroom.
@@Mcarcion that would be me. See the above
Chicken mirror their parents
@@LindaC616 More like 10 years. I remember having attention span problems because of social media all the way back in 2013.
Nile Postman wrote a book called “Amusing Ourselves to Death” back in the 80s or 90s. He describes how people in the 1800s would sit and listen to debates for hours at a time. I think we’ve gotten impatient and anxious.
Handheld computers that make phone calls. They are the most addictive thing ever.
Not the computers, the apps that run on those computers.
@@DistrustHumanz the app or the 'floppy' ? gen gap.. give a hoot, don't pollute.
☯.
Having been in the film business for many years and loving film, the idea of all 5 second cuts sadden me more than I can say. It's probably why I still watch a lot of the older films. As a for instance, in the Film "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1941 directed by William Dieterle) there is a long shot of the mother walking slowly toward the camera from the house to the barn to check on her son that says more about what is going on in the scene and the film as a whole than anything else the director could have said. It was perfect. Cutting it to make it shorter and "zippier" would have ruined it.
Haunting of Hill House has a brilliant scene from recent memory
In 1987 the film Fatal Attraction came out, and it scared a lot of men specially because it was done in a very realistic way. The characters of Michel Douglas and Anne Archer were not idealized. Their home and their lives were; what someone would call, "normal". In 2009 they try to do it again, but this time with Beyonce, and it was everything but realistic. She could not just live in a house, it had to be "The house". Her husband had to be "The husband", completely launching this movie into surreal levels. I feel that since 2000 this is the formula that many follow to make movies today. Over the top and completely unrealistic scenarios. Do you see the same thing? Any theories about what changed after 2000? Anyway, since you are in the business I thought I would ask.
@@bertmunoz7100 Thanks for your note. I am in my 80s and was in the film/tv business from the 1972 to about 2000. I also studied film at UCLA back in the 1960s and early 1970s and have taught the history of film classes. However, as someone who has seen a fair amount of violence in real life over my many years, I have tried to avoid violent or sadistic films. Sooooo I haven't seen either film that you mentioned. My thoughts on film: Film is one of the most complex of art forms. It cannot really be done by one person as many art forms are. It is a group effort - mostly involving hundreds of people from conception to screenings in theaters. Film is also both a reflection and a harbinger of the current, past and future. the more one studies film, the more complex one realizes it is and has always been. What each viewer gets out of a film is also complex and varied. You must decide for yourself regarding the merits of these two films. I wish you the best.
@@Michaela1942 Thank you for your reply. I too can say that I love film, I am 59 years old and I probably have a favorite film from every genre, from The Grapes of Wrath or The Maltese Falcon from the 1940s to Ben-Hur 1950. Alien 1970s. I love the performance, the dialog. The realism in a completely surreal situation. I love to watch the length of a scene in the old movies, when the editing was not as easy as it is today. The length in which an actor had to be in character while delivering his or her lines. I love to see the ambition of the director, wanting to create something great. I can appreciate movies like Jaws as well as The Last of The Mohicans. But I guess I'm disappointed with movies today. There is no realism even when they are trying to tell a true story. I don't know why they have to sex it up or dumb it down and I really don't care for violence for the sake of violence. I agree with you that it is a collaboration and if its done well we can learn a lot about our selves through the vision and the performance of the actors. I think this is what it was before 2000. A made for TV movie was like a mirror that we held up to our selves. I wish you the best as well.
No. The worst problem is people don’t think deeply and live a rich and meaningful life as we flicker through the images.
A lot of people don't see deep thinking and rich and meaningful lives in quite the way as you. Some people think that having a cold beer after a hard day at the millstone is about as good as it gets.
I used to read for hours. Tons of books. Now I can’t pay attention. I have to check my phone. I grew up without this stuff but it’s an addiction. It’s not good for creativity, learning, thinking or being motivated.
Whoever hired that Cornell professor needs to get fired. First, he says the attention span of video game players is impressive without realizing how those games are specifically designed to keep players engaged. Only going by length of time doesn't mean anything for something like that. Then he says, "makes sense that a filmmaker would make the shots shorter. The filmmaker doesn't need to dwell on something like that". That's one of the most ridiculous statements I've ever heard something say about film. It's art! Imagine telling the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kubrick, Hitchcock, Lynch and others that. You make the shot in the way the story and director call for. How's that guy teaching anything?
I like the idea that when you feel the urge to switch tasks, asking yourself if it's due to boredom or if it's going to be productive.
I hate when talking to people they answer their phone. Now I just walk away. The phone is more important then I am.
My eternal argument with my kids! I'm regulating phone time now. I also assign book reading. I make them take headphones off when I to speak with them. I also have conversations with them about going with the flow and getting dumber. Balance and stoicism (no whining) are useful!
Omg, THIS. I've been a software engineer for 30 years and the last 6 have been ridiculous with people not paying attention. At work (majority of employees and 90% of the younger ones) would email me with 5 or 6 questions. I would reply with answers to all questions but almost all of the people would not go pass the 3rd sentence of the email. So they reply with what about question 4....I already answered it. So now I answer questions only in bullet points with colors which gives me better results but still awful. Was never like that pre iPhones. I have 1 friend my age (52), if he gets a txt with a article link he won't read it and will ask someone to read and summarize to him. Another friend who told me she hasn't read a book in 5 years and when she tried her mind wanders after 5 pages. You're all doomed.
Given the state of the book trade I wouldn't get too judgemental about whether people read or don't read books. A great many books are no better than the typical TV show and some of them are alleged to be "bestsellers."
Summarize, please.
As a healthcare professional with PTSD, I've been struggling to manage the "productivity vs wellbeing" dilemma. I am so wiped during and after work that I usually feel my focus diminishing over the course of the shift. By the time I get home and unwind, my brain has no energy left to just "think" so I end up vegging out on UA-cam and tiktok for 1-2hrs before I can feel somewhat normal again. I'm trying to study for a new accreditation test and my attention span is nonexistent 🤷
Sorry Professor Cutting- your examples are not apples to apples. Yes, someone could SIT in a movie for 2+ hours but that doesn’t mean they are paying ATTENTION the whole time. The frames in a video game move so quickly that that example doesn’t hold up either. As a educator, I can absolutely attest that our attention spans are getting shorter. It’s getting almost impossible to keep students focused unless the lesson is gamified or I’m doing some sort of tricks. My 2 cents.
Same. Teaching since 1986. And yet, it's harder and harder to get them to transition from one activity to another bc they won't focus
I was thinking the same thing. It’s not necessarily the length of the movie, but how many edits in said movie or video game.
Speak for yourself
@@firstlast8258 I did
Anybody remember that 2006 movie Idiocracy? With Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, and Terry Crews? If so, then you know how it's leading to that type of future.
Mike Judge is a prophet
Look at people using the term “multi-tasking” like it’s still an actual thing. Nobody multitasks. It’s been proven multiple times.
So very sad, life is to be LIVED, not on a phone……..this is why young people are so bad at being social, and interacting with real people in real time.
Life is pain for the most part
Imagine how hard school is for ppl studying to be doctors or scientists
Imagine the doctors or scientists that are being produced now that have very short attention spans.
I find myself in this cycle. I work from home and my work is due weekly on Tuesdays. I tend to get half of my work done early in the week then get busy with other home tasks and end up staying up later Sunday night into Monday morning finishing up. I’m productive especially in the middle of the night when I have zero distractions but it’s not healthy for my sleep or stress!
I will implement the tips that were given, I’m tired of feeling that I’m always playing catch-up.
A story told with fast cut after fast cut...
I think they were proving a point with the editing
Watched this video at 2x speed, I haven't got the patience for this.
Always good to unplug for a few minutes or hours to read, enjoy nature, and encounter the sheer banality of life and repetitiveness of human character (Kubrick movies are like watching paint dry, a bad comparison) before plugging right back in! :)
I don't multitask but I find that I lose interest quickly. The idea of watching a 2-hr movie or reading a long article is daunting. I can barely get through a video longer than 20 minutes and I usually stop and start it a few times. My conversations are shorter and more to the point as email and text is more common than a phone call. Even meet-ups last less than an hour instead of a long leisurely meal. And this is as much as I'll write in a comment too...
Attention span sounds like a permanent situation to me. Most people aren’t struggling to stay focused by default. Their devices keep giving off notifications and hence distracting them. They would be just okay without the phone in there hands or on silent
i am so glad i am not part of this, i don't do anti social media (cause that's what it is), i don't own a smart phone and therefore don't do apps, and i am convinced that i am more happy for it! call me a dinosaur, but i am not the one stressing out over a dislike!
Its interesting how the media will portray technology as bad but if there's an obsession with sports, its fine.
A long long time ago people declared that if everybody wrote things down on papyrus it would be the end of the human ability to remember things. They also complained about how ill-mannered kids were.
I put this video on 2X playback speed, and fast forwarded 20 times. I wrote this comment by voice to text, because I didn’t have the patience to type it. Next time, AI will write it for me, and I love this world we live in. 💝
And guess what? You haven't written anything substantive (I know you'll gave to look that word up). I'm sure everyone reading your comment here feels sorry for you.
Thanks, David, for tackling this not-so-amusing issue with your usual humane and sympathetic humor. 👍 You're like the Randy Newman of correspondents. 😊
Randy Newman's humor was neither humane nor sympathetic, it was actually quite sharp. I'm reminded of his song, "Political Science:" All around/Even our old friends put us down/Let's drop the big one/And see what happens."
Thanks, I guess I was thinking more about his mellowed phase, from the Disney/Pixar era.🙇♀@@alexthompson9516
UA-cam shorts are killing my attention span
Imagine trying to be a teacher to 30 6 year olds who can’t focus
I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!
Watching at 2X speed.
XD
Too late. This was a concern 20 or more yrs ago. We're off in what I call "Full Idiocracy" territory now.
I don’t live like that, thank God!
I noticed that nobody wants to watch videos that are more than 5 or 10 minutes long, now Tik-Tok is the big thing with a limit of what 30 seconds or a minute? No one reads an entire book. No one will sit still and talk to you long enough to actually come to any conclusions. Obviously it's all the social media and computers and commercials and multitasking and everything else that we try and stuff into our shallow lives.
What this story failed to address is the nearly infinite and immediate availability of content, and the blatent attempt to keep our eyes watching (which translates to view statistics and ultimately $$). I definitely have nearly zero tolerance for commercials (have had TiVo since 1999). but I do more active editing of what I'm watching whenever I sense that it's wasting my time (which is different than lacking attention). UA-cam videos that could convey the important information in 30 seconds are stretched to 10 minutes. Countless time is consumed with channel-related self-commercials ("be sure to subscribe, like, notifiy, blah blah blah"). There's a difference between suspenceful editing and lazy editing.
That man from Cornell has no clue what he's talking about if he thinks everyone's attention span is the same as it was from 20 years ago. The lady from UC Irvine was on to something.
In response to Cutting: Yeah, movies and TV shows are getting longer, but people are increasingly on their phones while they're "watching" them.
If our attention span is getting shorter this video needs to be shorter too 😅😅😅
0:25 is the best cinematic shot I have ever witnessed 😂😂
It's impatient not attention .
Several years ago TV advertisements went to showing a different picture or angle every few seconds about 2 to 3 seconds .
I am eating dinner and answering texts from my wife while I watch this and write this comment and I live off-grid without electricity or running water. Yes, a cell signal reaches me at the top of the mountain but what's the point? IDK? But most aren't still reading this at this point because it has gone on so long...
I’m not online as much as teens or young adults, but even I have a shorter attention span. If I’m watching a video that is moving too slow, I’ll change the video speed setting to 1.25 or 1.50.
I do that too.
How do you know TV/radio didn't cost you something. What would you compare it to? Look at how much Ben Franklin got done while running a farm.
You can’t compare 2001 and top gun for attention span one is a slow pace sci-fi and the other is a action adventure
Read "Stolen Focus" by Johann Hari.
Pogue auditioning for a Daily Show correspondent here. 😉
Most of us cant even finish this segment😂
1:50 - David Pogue channelling his inner Daily Show.
……I pretty much can’t talk to ANYONE under 40 anymore.
I strive for less screen time and more face to face time.
Bye
Yes ,stop and smell the roses ,watch the sunset ,stare at the sky sometimes and look for the stars,so many beautiful things we missed while watching our iPads,iPhones …
You cant convince me that top gun maverick is a more impactful movie than space odyssey just because it moves faster
This isn't a real problem for an adult. If you're a child (even one past the age of majority) then a tried and true time management strategy:
Divide your day into half hour chunks and decide at the beginning of the day what you will be working on in those chunks. You'll work 25 minutes on task then take a 5 minute break. If you get into a task and it feels it will take longer than one chunk, evaluate whether your next period involves a fixed commitment. If so, you'll have to switch at the deadline and come back. If not, decide how important it is to just continue on task.
Use an actual timer.
By "decide at the beginning of the day" I mean that your first 30 minute segment is for filling out all remaining 30 minute segments, reading email, checking messages, etc.
I only ever check my emails during this 30 minute period. If someone has something *that* important, they wouldn't be communicating it through email.
Keep calm and carry on
Are our attention spans shrinking or are distractions designed to grab our attention growing? I'd guess the latter...but we can't talk about that, might hurt the profit margin...
My attention span has just gotten to zero. I really don't like it. I can't even read a book anymore. I don't know how to change it.
I forgot what I was going to say
Every generation, our brains get a little more rotten.
isnt this report about 10 years too late???
My attention span was never good & now I have blindness so hard to watch what u can't see
I just can’t watch a whole movie all the way through anymore.
"It used to be that i never completed anything, but now i...
Honestly i think movies and music videos need to stop shortening shots. I think they can double and quadruple shots and still keep it interesting.
Generally, yes. Personally speaking, speak for yourself.
The problem isn’t the tool, but how you use it. 🙂
I started this video at least 6 times before I was able to watch it without doing anything else 🤦🏽♀️
Road to nowhere really, I am first generation of Internet.
As a therapist I am thinking, how will I sit through upcoming 8 hrs of ceu workshop that was the norm before zoom & covid
I was going to watch this, but...
Over 7 minutes? I'm out...
;-)
Yes, now cut the anchor intro from the stories uploaded to UA-cam. The anchor intro is unnecessary.
i think with remote work this has been happening a lot
Get to the point already… 🤷🏼♂
In response to Pogue's "rotting your brain" comment: Yes, I believe there has been some brain-rotting from generation to generation. All you have to do is read the popular writers of 200, 100, 50 years ago, and then today. The difference is immediately noticeable.
I made it to 1 min, 11 seconds and my attention span went on to something else.
Read the book Fahrenheit 451 and you'll know where our society is quickly heading to...
If you've used a fast food drive thru recently and asked for an item in your order to be customized you already know that the robotic repetition of those jobs paired with the devotion to device entertainment has impaired people's ability to focus and to process information that requires some flexibility.
I wasnt able to follow this story.
Can someone recap for me?
"Expert" James Cutting is WAY off base -- deluding himself -- stating attention spans haven't changed. He gives TSA workers having two hour shifts as an example! He gives teenagers playing video games for hours as an example -- teenagers are addicted to their video games so of course their eyes are glued to the screen for hours -- but how long can teenagers spend reading the newspaper or a book without getting restless. He states some movies are longer now -- and that's supposed to prove something when the camerawork in current movies is endlessly restless and the most topics of current movies are about superheroes or car chases or explosions -- not about personal communication between to human beings.
It makes sense. I spend on average 1 to 2 minutes on multiple videos on You Tube... some times less...is my brain restructuring itself ?
Anybody get to the end of this one?
Came to comment but don't remember why.Oh well, never mind.
What were we talking about :)
Sorry couldn't finish...had to click to another video.
I couldn't even watch this 7 minute video in one sitting.
shrinking - mine is gone
You know, if they are not on te job there are a lot of people with ADHD who, on their own time, do flip between and among stuff all day long, and still, we get it all done - and not just "done," but done very well! We do it OUR way, and doggone it, we are using our strengths, not lamenting (futilely) our inability to do "one thing, do it well, then move on to the next thing." You only make mistakes if you don't try, don't have yor own system, and/or don't review your results for errors.
truth
Not mine
Who else was surprised to learn that "CBS Sunday Morning" was still on the air?
They are right about new movies...they all look and sound like video games 👍
Attention spans on UA-cam are less than 47 seconds. Unless you're paying for UA-cam Premium which comes without ads, you attention span is likely less than 30 seconds. Thank you, Alphabet Google UA-cam. Now, when are we going to get rid of all the government subsidies the internet enjoys?
All done by design!
What did they say?
They called that the ..." MTV" generation......😊..Multi task ..is ... different than .. attention span..... just my opinion
I think I see what you mean. If you cant fulfill any of the tasks completely or satisfactorily, then it's not really multi-tasking, is it?
Go into spirituality and progress alongside technology and you will progress at a steady rate
Bored. Turning this off at 3:04