Science Weekly Summer picks: Where did our attention spans go, and can we get them back?
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Jul 29, 2025 
Gloria Mark, a Professor of Informatics at UC Irvine and author of 'Attention Span', explores the modern crisis of dwindling attention spans. She reveals that our ability to focus has plummeted from two and a half minutes to just 47 seconds. Mark highlights how technology cultivates distractions and suggests actionable strategies to reclaim focus. She discusses the importance of taking breaks for mental rejuvenation and offers insightful tips on maximizing concentration in our fast-paced, digital world.
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Tech Drives Attention Fragmentation
- Technology changes like smartphones and social media are major distractors increasing task switching.
- Social media's algorithms target social impulses, making distractions hard to resist.
Task Switching Increases Stress
- Frequent task switching doesn’t always lower productivity but increases stress and errors.
- Stress is measurable via physiological factors like blood pressure and heart rate variability.
Brain Fatigue Cycle Explained
- Executive function in the brain fatigues with rapid switching, impairing filtering of distractions.
- This creates a cycle where distraction and fatigue feed off each other, increasing stress.
