The Incredible Shrinking Attention Span and the Effects in the Workplace
It seems that electronic devices are here to stay. It’s not that I don’t partake of my laptop, iPad, and iPhone. I use the research capacity of the internet all the time. But I started to wonder what 24/7 digital access is doing to my brain – or our brains.
Using some search engines on my computer I found some interesting and disturbing research on the effects of continual digital use. A rather harsh statement caught my eye: “Some experts believe excessive use of the internet, cellphones and other technology can cause us to become more impatient”. (New York Times, Aug. 2010) This sounds bad – and maybe you don’t feel that this even applies to you. But it can apply to anyone you might come across, say when you are driving. How many people do you see driving while using their cellphone. This practice can result in disastrous wrecks because the brain isn’t equipped to function with all the distraction of carrying on a conversation while you drive. When you are using electronic devices and try to do another task – you set yourself up for disaster. The brain isn’t set up for multitasking and this is multitasking on steroids. As a consequence you have trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information and may even experience additional stress (New York Times, June 2010). Streaming movies, watching YouTube, sending/receiving emails, and sending/receiving texts provide a constant influx of stimulation to our brain. In 2008 people consumed three times the information in one day as they did in 1960! Computer users at work change windows or check email or other programs nearly thirty-seven times per hour according to research findings (New York Times, June 2010). Our brains adapt to our environment but this is an environment we weren’t evolved to adapt to.
Let’s look at this from a brain perspective. When we are in front of a computer, we are continuously being bombarded with visual and auditory stimuli. This constant onslaught of stimulation changes the way we think, perform, concentrate, and focus. No longer do we take the time to seriously read and think deeply. Instead we skim the mounds of information coming in and we make instant decisions whether it is pertinent to our lives at that moment; our loss – our ability to have patience. Patience and perseverance might even drop out of our vocabulary. The news gets worse. To capture memories certain regions of the brain must record the experience. The frontal lobe is where incoming messages are processed and working memory is stored. The frontal lobe is the area of the brain most impacted. Then the hippocampus (deep within the temporal lobe) meshes our old memories with new memories thereby signaling a consolidation process. This is where the brain’s attention is required to pass new information from short-term working memory to long-term memories. If the brain becomes distracted during this cognitive process, there is an increased risk in losing new connections and new memories (link.highedweb.org,Dec. 2013).
The cost of continually shifting attention is that the frontal lobe suffers, thereby affecting thinking, creativity, and finally, shallow thinking. Imagine the loss of productivity in the workplace as a result of the overwhelm of electronic devices. Remember, the brain adapts to the environment. It is reasonable to conclude that the brain has the ability to rewire itself based on our thinking.
So just as the research demonstrates how taxing attention shifting is on the frontal lobe of the brain and the resulting effects of reduced judgment skills and decrease of creativity, a model for workplace training evolved to accommodate attention shifting. In the infograph :Bite Size Is The Right Size: Why Microlearning Is The Training Solution For Employees Shrinking Attention Span” the case is laid out to capitalize on short attention spans. This infographic demonstrates the problem of the shrinking attention span (12 seconds in 2000 down to 8 seconds in 2013) and advances in technology has resulted in over 1.3 trillion (yes – with a T!) loss in annual productivity. Training can’t keep up resulting in workers falling further behind. 40% of workers claim they don’t have the time to do the training they need.
Complicating this whole problem is the fact that decreased attention spans make traditional training ineffective. Companies spend 160 million dollars annually on learning and training. Employees train over 30 hours annually and fewer than 15% successfully apply what they learn. Our brain functions on a 90/20/8 rule: in the first 8 minutes we are at peak energy level; after 20 minutes our neuron experience a noticeable drop; after 60-90 minutes alertness completely collapses.
To accommodate the rewired brain microlearning occurs in 3-7 minute chunks, matching the current attention span. There are 4-5 learning pieces per microlearning segment. The cost savings are huge – development costs are cut by 50% and the speed of development increases 300%. 1.3 billion (yes that is a B!) learners have access to smart devices and want to use them (CLO, 2015).
Times certainly have changed. Our brains have been rewired through our thinking and advancing technology will continue to accelerate those changes. In order to offset the losses of decreased attention spans, new models of learning capitalize on the rewired brain. Good or bad, digital devices are here and we must all learn how to get along.
CLO Tools, (May, 2015). Bite size is the right size: why microlearning is the training solution for employees shrinking attention spans. Chief Learning Officer magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from CLOTools@email.hcmalerts.com.
LINK – the Journal of Higher Education Web Professionals (December 10, 2013). Are your digital devices rewiring your brain? Retrieved May 28, 2015 from link.highedweb.org.
Parker-Pope,T. (June 6, 2010). An ugly toll of technology: impatience and forgetfulness. The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2015 from http:www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brainside.html
.
Richtel, M. (June 6, 2010). Attached to technology and paying a price. The New York Times. Retrieved May 28,2015 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html.
Richtel,M. (Aug. 24, 2010). Digital devices deprive brain of needed downtime. The New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2010 from http://nytimes.com/2010/08/25/technology/25brain.html.