Question

tips for improving your focus - from ap news
feel like you cant focus? like youll never finish a book again? like the only way to keep your mind and hands busy is to scroll on social media for hours?
youre far from alone. one body of decades - long research found the average persons attention span for a single screen is 47 seconds, down from 2.5 minutes in 2004. the 24/7 news cycle, uncertainty about the state of the world and countless hours of screen time dont help, experts say.
\when my patients talk to me about this stuff there is often a feeling of helplessness or powerlessness,\ said dr. michael ziffra, a psychiatrist at northwestern medicine. \but you can change these behaviors. you can improve your attention span.\
a shifting attention is an evolutionary feature, not a bug. our brains are hardwired to quickly filter information and hone in on potential threats or changes in whats happening around us.
whats grabbing our attention has changed. for our ancestors, it might have been a rustle in the bushes putting us on guard for a lurking tiger. today, it could be a rash of breaking news alerts and phone notifications.
the covid - 19 pandemic warped many peoples sense of time and increased their screen usage like never before, said stacey nye, a clinical psychologist at the university of wisconsin - milwaukee.
technology isnt the only thing that influences our attention, experts say, but the effects of those pinging notifications or hours scrolling through 30 - second long videos can build up over time.
\our attention span has really been trained to only focus in those little, small blips and it interrupts our natural focus cycles,\ she said.
how long is the average persons attention span?
why do you think people often feel helpless about improving their attention?
why do our brains naturally have an attention span?
why have peoples attention spans shortened over the past few years?

Explanation:

1. The average person's attention span for a single screen is 47 seconds as of the mentioned research, down from 2.5 minutes in 2004.
2. People often feel helpless because they think they can't change behaviors that affect attention, but experts say they can.
3. Brains have an attention - span as an evolutionary feature to filter information and detect threats or changes.
4. Attention spans have shortened due to factors like the 24/7 news cycle, increased screen time (especially during the COVID - 19 pandemic), and constant notifications which train the brain to focus in short blips and interrupt natural focus cycles.

Answer:

How long is the average person’s attention span?

• 47 seconds for a single screen, down from 2.5 minutes in 2004.

Why do you think people often feel helpless about improving their attention?

• They think they can't change behaviors affecting attention, but it's possible to change.

Why do our brains naturally have an attention span?

• As an evolutionary feature to filter information and detect threats or changes.

Why have people’s attention spans shortened over the past few years?

• Due to 24/7 news cycle, increased screen time (especially during COVID - 19), and constant notifications that train the brain to focus in short blips and interrupt natural focus cycles.