In this day and age, our attention spans have shrunk so much, it’s actually scary. CNN reported on the research conducted by Dr. Gloria Mark from the University of California, Irvine.
“In 2004, we measured the average attention on a screen to be 2½ minutes. Some years later, we found attention spans to be about 75 seconds. Now we find people can only pay attention to one screen for an average of 47 seconds,” Mark, the author of ‘Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity,’ said.
Keeping that in mind, it makes sense to make your content more approachable by reducing the amount of text and choosing an image that captures people’s attention. That way, the information you share is more likely to be read. On the flip side, ignoring visual aids altogether and writing paragraph upon paragraph of educational content, even if accurate, might get sidelined on social media.
However, it’s not like we can’t increase our attention spans again. According to Dr. Mark, it’s essential to be mindful of how you use technology. Considering that the average American spends a whopping 10 hours a day on screens, it’s absolutely vital to block distractions so you can focus on your work and other projects.
Dr. Mark suggests creating artificial barriers if you’re constantly distracted by social media sites. “Take the icons off your desktop and bury the apps on your phone inside folders, where it takes an extra effort to find them. Leave your phone in another room or put it in a drawer and lock it,” she told CNN. Meanwhile, if you’re exhausted, take a break, go for a walk, and give your mind some rest.
We weren’t built to spend so much time looking at glowing screens... even if social media's full of so many interesting new facts to learn. It's important to control your screen time.
For some more mind-blowing facts, feel free to take a look at Bored Panda's previous feature about the @blowingfact account.
