Attention Loss
A Finite Resource
A Closer Look.
What has your attention in this very moment?
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James Wilson Williams is an American writer and academic. He was the winner of the inaugural Nine Dots Prize, in 2017. His first book, Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy, was published in 2018 by Cambridge University Press. In 2019, Princeton University president Christopher Eisgruber selected the book as the Princeton Pre-read, the one book all incoming students were assigned to read before beginning their studies.
When we normally hear the term attention, we think about the type of attention we're all giving each other right now, the kind of management of our awareness within the task domain, what cognitive scientists sometimes call the spotlight of attention. And we can think of this kind of attention as about helping us do what we want to do…So there's a kind of attention about how we navigate our lives over time, how we not just pursue tasks, but live by the values we want to live by. And I think this kind of attention is about helping us be who we want to be, to live the kind of life we want to live. But I think there's one more level we could identify, which is not just pursuing tasks or living by values, pursuing long term goals, but actually having the capacities to define, determine what we want to do, who we want to be in the first place. And we can think of this type of attention as about helping us want what we want to want…What's at stake in the question of attention is the success of our lives. I guess, in a broad sense.
Types of Attention
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The ability to maintain focus on a task or activity for an extended period of time.
Characteristics: Requires focus, endurance, and resistance to distraction.
Examples: Studying for an exam, editing a lengthy document, listening to a long lecture.
Overexertion of Sustained Attention: Tech jobs often involve prolonged periods of focused work, coding, writing, or data analysis. While sustained attention is needed, excessive reliance on it can lead to depletion and fatigue. Constant screen time and information overload can further exacerbate this, leading to cognitive overload and burnout.
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The ability to focus on specific information while ignoring distractions.
Characteristics: Requires filtering out irrelevant stimuli and prioritizing relevant information.
Examples: Listening to a conversation in a noisy room, identifying a specific bird by its song, focusing on a specific object in a crowded scene.
Attention Overload and Selective Attention Fatigue: The constant barrage of notifications, emails, and pings in the digital world bombards our selective attention system. Trying to filter out these distractions while maintaining focus on tasks creates attention fatigue. This chronic strain on our ability to prioritize and filter information contributes to stress and burnout.
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The ability to focus on two or more things at the same time.
Characteristics: Actually involves rapid switching of attention between tasks, reducing efficiency and accuracy.
Examples: Juggling simultaneous phone calls, trying to write email while listening to a podcast, driving while eating.
The Myth of Divided Attention and Productivity: Multitasking, often hailed as a virtue in the tech world, is actually a myth. Our attention can't truly be divided. Instead, we rapidly switch between tasks, hindering both focus and efficiency. This "juggling act" further weakens our cognitive resources and fuels burnout.
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A higher-order type of attention involving planning, organizing, and controlling thoughts and actions.
Characteristics: Requires strategic thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities.
Examples: Setting goals and creating a work plan, prioritizing tasks and managing time effectively, solving complex puzzles or riddles.
Executive Attention and Decision Paralysis: The fast-paced, ever-changing nature of tech can lead to decision fatigue. The constant need to prioritize, strategize, and make decisions overwhelms the executive attention system. This can lead to paralysis and burnout, hindering creativity and problem-solving skills.
Information Overload
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Our senses bombard our brain with a staggering 11 million bits of information every second. However, our conscious mind can only handle a tiny fraction of that, about 50 bits per second. This mind-boggling difference highlights the incredible filtering and processing power happening behind the scenes in our brain. It's like having a firehose of data flowing in, but only a trickle reaches the conscious level.
sensory system bits per second
eyes 10,000,000
skin 1,000,000
ears 100,000
smell 100,000
taste 1,000
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
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Every second, our brains are bombarded by a staggering 11 million bits of information. This sensory onslaught comes from sights, sounds, smells, touches, and even internal bodily signals. While our brains possess incredible processing power, they simply cannot handle everything at once. This is where attention comes in, acting as a spotlight, filtering and focusing on the most relevant information while relegating the rest to the background.
However, in today's information-saturated world, this spotlight is under increasing strain. The constant influx of emails, notifications, and news creates an attention economy where our focus becomes a valuable commodity. This information overload can lead to attention loss, impacting our ability to concentrate, learn, and perform tasks effectively.
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Sensory Overload: The sheer volume of information bombarding our senses can be overwhelming. Our brains struggle to prioritize, leading to distraction and divided attention. Imagine trying to read a book in a crowded coffee shop – the background noise, conversations, and even the aroma of coffee can pull your focus away from the text.
The Dopamine Loop: Digital distractions exploit the brain's reward system, releasing dopamine (the "feel-good" neurotransmitter) in response to novel stimuli. This creates a positive feedback loop, making us crave the quick dopamine hit of checking notifications or scrolling through feeds, even when it detracts from other tasks.
Multitasking Myth: Our brains are not wired for true multitasking. Switching between tasks rapidly leads to context switching, which can be mentally draining and decrease overall productivity. Imagine trying to write an email while responding to text messages – each switch requires re-focusing and can disrupt your train of thought.
Attention Fatigue: Just like any muscle, our attention can get tired. Constant stimulation can lead to attention fatigue, making it harder to focus for sustained periods and increasing susceptibility to distractions. Imagine trying to study after a long day filled with social media and screen time – your ability to concentrate will likely be diminished.
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When faced with demanding situations, the brain triggers a stress response, releasing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones heighten alertness and focus, preparing us to deal with the challenge. However, constant tech use, characterized by information overload, multitasking, and the pressure of instant connection, keeps the stress response activated for extended periods. This chronic activation has detrimental effects on the brain:
Reduced Brain Plasticity: The hippocampus, essential for learning and memory, shrinks under chronic stress. This reduces our ability to adapt, learn new things, and creatively solve problems.
Impaired Prefrontal Cortex Function: This region governs decision-making, impulse control, and emotional regulation. When overloaded, it struggles to perform these tasks effectively, leading to poor choices, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation.
Reduced Dopamine Production: Dopamine is the reward neurotransmitter, motivating us to seek and engage in pleasurable activities. Tech overuse can disrupt dopamine production, leading to decreased motivation and anhedonia (loss of pleasure).
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Sam Chase crafts transformative experiences in yoga, mindfulness, and resilience for individuals and organizations seeking to build a better world. Driven by an insatiable curiosity, he bridges the gap between academic research and practical application. While excelling at Vanderbilt and earning prestigious scholarship recognition, he chose a different path – to explore the science of the human mind and develop tools that empower people to lead flourishing lives.
His work translates research into real-world impact, collaborating with the United Nations, the National Guard, Columbia Medical School, and more. In his book, Yoga & the Pursuit of Happiness, he offers accessible practices that blend ancient wisdom with modern science, enabling ordinary people to make extraordinary changes.
So what do we do? We multitask. We take this little conscious attention and we try to spread it out among everything so that we don’t have to miss anything…
Now one of the things that we know is that when we engage in this kind of behavior, psychologists call it task switching and when we do it, we’re actually worse at just about everything we do. So we multitask to try and do more things faster and most often we tend to take more time and perform worse in the process….
We multitask to handle the stress of too much on our plate but multitasking behavior actually raises our stress levels…And this kind of behavior is also hugely correlated with impulsiveness and low self-control.
It turns out that what we’re doing is not training our minds to spread far and wide, we’re training ourselves to become distracted.
Multitasking Nightmare
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The Initial Rush: The initial foray into the maze is exhilarating. A symphony of information bombards the senses: emails ping, calendars flash, fingers dance across keyboards, and eyes dart across screens. This sensory overload triggers a dopamine rush, fueling a temporary sense of accomplishment and control. You're the maestro, orchestrating the chaos, each completed task a testament to your virtuosity.
The Scattered Mind: As you delve deeper, the initial thrill fades. The sensory bombardment morphs into an overwhelming cacophony. Thoughts, like errant butterflies, flit between tasks, never truly alighting. A cognitive dissonance sets in, a disorienting tug-of-war between competing demands. The once-enjoyable juggling act becomes a frustrating struggle, each notification a jarring reminder of unfinished business.
The Frustration Trap: Errors multiply, deadlines loom, and the once-clear path ahead transforms into a frustrating maze. Mental fatigue sets in, sapping focus and patience. The stress response surges, raising your heart rate and tightening your muscles. The symphony turns discordant, replaced by a yearning for silence and respite. You're trapped in a vortex of unfinished tasks, the initial confidence replaced by a gnawing sense of being overwhelmed.
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Cognitive Overload: The constant barrage of stimuli is overwhelming. Your brain struggles to keep up, leading to fatigue, frustration, and errors. It's like trying to listen to ten conversations at once – you might catch snippets, but true understanding is impossible. This mental overload not only impacts your immediate productivity but also takes a toll on your long-term cognitive health.
Context Switching Costs: Switching between tasks takes mental effort, reducing your overall productivity and focus. Imagine trying to write a novel while simultaneously composing a symphony – neither task would receive your full potential. The constant context switching disrupts your flow state, making it harder to achieve deep concentration and enter that zone of peak productivity.
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Impaired Attention: Multitasking makes it harder to concentrate deeply, hindering creativity and problem-solving. True innovation thrives in an environment of focused thinking, not fragmented attention. When your mind is constantly flitting between tasks, it's impossible to delve into the depths of complex problems or generate truly original ideas.
Increased Stress: The feeling of being constantly behind and overwhelmed triggers the stress response, leading to anxiety and burnout. It's like constantly running on a treadmill that never stops – eventually, exhaustion sets in. The chronic stress associated with multitasking can have detrimental effects on your physical and mental health, impacting everything from your sleep quality to your immune system.
