Wait, What?

How Media and Technology Affects

Our Ability to Pay Attention

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By: Samantha Sears

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention” - Herbert Simon, 1977(1)

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is resulting in the decrease of people’s attention span(4)

The increase in the use of media and technology…

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The current attention span of a human is 8 seconds…

compared to the 9 second attention span of this guy(5)

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People who use technology for social media heavily find it hard to focus(3)

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65% of heavy social media

users report they can’t focus on small tasks(3)

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MULTITASKING has become the norm: using your phone, computer, and other devices simultaneously at work, school or just in everyday life(3)

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Teens can now watch sports games and shows online, allowing them to switch screens and multitask(12)

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Even adults who read e-books are compromising the length of their attention span.

The act of scrolling continuously drains mental energy, meaning less energy to focus attention to other tasks(2)

Researchers have found that people who multitask with many devices are less effective at doing simple tasks and paying attention(4)

Why?

We now live in a world where we can be connected

to anyone through

hundreds of networks through

technology→ you feel left out if you are not

connected(5)

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People like feeling LIKED!

You are more likely to look at social media, which distracts you...

because it instantly connects you to others!(6)

When you multitask on social media, it’s hard

for your brain to switch back and forth between tasks, making you less likely to fully be aware of what you are doing(11)

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You can’t FILTER what’s important!

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The more people use their devices or spend time on the internet, the more cognitive failures they make → they

can’t filter important

information(8)

As the technology industry grows exponentially, so do children’s brains...

Attention spans of children start shrinking at younger ages if they are exposed to technology and media(9)

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Diagnoses of Attention Deficit Disorder have risen as well as prescriptions for Ritalin in the past 10 years

along with the boom in technology and media(10)

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There is an overwhelming amount of information being processed at one time through these pieces of media…

… making it hard for people to decide where to place their attention.

So how can we adjust to the

rapidly increasing amount of

technology?

It’s time to turn our attention away from the screens...

and on to real life.Picture CC: Pressfoto via Freepik.com

Works Cited1. Matrix, Sidneyeve. "Module 1 Lecture 2: Media Effects." Film 240: Lecture. Ellis Auditorium, Queen's University, Kingston.

21 Sept. 2016. Lecture.2. Jabr, Ferris. "The Reading Brain In The Digital Age: The Science Of Paper Versus Screens". Scientific American. N.p.,

2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.3. Krashinsky, Susan. "Advertisers Cash In On Attention Spans Of Digitally Savvy Canadians". The Globe and Mail. N.p.,

2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.4. Reddy, Sumathi. "Teen Researchers Defend Media Multitasking; Doing Homework With Music, Texts, Tweets Works Better

For Some". ProQuest. N.p., 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.5. Litsa, Tereza. "How Social Media Affects Your Attention Span". LinkedIn. N.p., 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.6. Deitchman, Alyssa. "Wait, What? On Social Network Use And Attention". Steinhardt.nyu.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Oct.

2016.7. Ophir, E., C. Nass, and A. D. Wagner. "Cognitive Control In Media Multitaskers". Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences 106.37 (2009): 15583-15587. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.8. Millner, Jack. "Is Technology Rotting Your Brain? Heavy Mobile Phone And Internet Use Linked To Poor Attention Span".

Mail Online. N.p., 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.9. Brech, Jana. "Shorter Attention Span: The Impact Of Technology On Our Brains". Web Wise Wording. N.p., 2013. Web. 17

Oct. 2016.10. Greenfield, Susan. "Modern Technology Is Changing The Way Our Brains Work, Says Neuroscientist". Mail Online. N.p.,

2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.11. Rosen, Larry D., L. Mark Carrier, and Nancy A. Cheever. "Facebook And Texting Made Me Do It: Media-Induced

Task-Switching While Studying". Computers in Human Behavior 29.3 (2013): 948-958. Web.12. Shoalts, David. "Viewing Sports On Television In Decline Among Younger Fans, Study Finds". The Globe and Mail. N.p.,

2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.