Microsoft Study Finds Technology Hurting Attention Spans 109
jones_supa writes: Conducting both surveys and EEG scans, Microsoft has published a study suggesting that the average attention span has fallen precipitously since the start of the century. While people could focus on a task for 12 seconds back in 2000, that figure dropped to 8 seconds in 2013 (about one second less than a goldfish). Reportedly, a lot of that reduction stems from a combination of smartphones and an avalanche of content. The study found also a sunny side: while presence of technology is hurting attention spans overall, it also appears to improve person's abilities to both multitask and concentrate in short bursts.
what? (Score:3)
Re:what? (Score:5, Funny)
when?
TL;DR
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Worse than the first posts here on /. ... the full article is about 2 sentences longer than the summary!. Its literally 2 poorly formed paragraphs. Thats it.
A note to the webmasters (Score:1)
Not a what or a when, but a note to the webmasters ...
Now that the human beings' attention span is one second less than that of the goldfish, you have to choices left -
1. Re-design your site so that it can attract the attention of the visitors in less than 8 seconds
...
... or
2. Dedicate your site to the goldfish
And What Technology Would That Be? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:And What Technology Would That Be? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:And What Technology Would That Be? (Score:4, Funny)
Which is exactly how normal people obtained software back then. Most cheap computers didn't come with that much useful software pre-installed.
Don't forget to click the buttons below to share this on facebook and twitter :P
Already forgot what else I was going to type :P
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That's because back then the software was sold to the customer, instead of the customer being sold as the product.
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Most cheap computers didn't come with that much useful software pre-installed.
This is more of an issue now than it was even then. Buying a pre-made PC is just buying a bunch of trial offers, which you then have to remove. Or more appropriately, reinstall the OS cleanly.
Unless you build your own hardware and install from scratch or buy OS X or Linux, you're going to get a bunch of trial-ware spam.
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You mean you had to do what you did with every other piece of software on your computer?
Impossible! (Score:4, Funny)
I have a really cleaver proof that this is not possible, which regrettably does not fit within this 8 seconds to typ
Re:Impossible! (Score:5, Funny)
I have a really cleaver proof that this is not possible, which regrettably does not fit within this 8 seconds to typ
'Cleaver proof', is that like Occams Razor?
Re:Impossible! (Score:5, Funny)
I have a really cleaver proof that this is not possible, which regrettably does not fit within this 8 seconds to typ
'Cleaver proof', is that like Occams Razor?
No, Occam's Cleaver: Given a choice between two theories, pick the shortest.
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while I just have a cleaver
O RLY? (Score:1)
,___,
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O RLY?
Ability to multitask (Score:5, Insightful)
As in "the ability to do 5 things in parallel with crappier results than doing 5 things sequentially."
Multitasking efficiently and effectively is a myth.
Re:Ability to multitask (Score:5, Informative)
Zheng Wang, Illinois University is but one of a throng of people that have debunked the bollocks that is multi-tasking.
Multitasking is only possible if at least one of the tasks is so well learned that it is almost automatic, like walking or eating but it's epic fail for the most part when we try to both walk and eat). The general case where it appears that we can multitask are when two activities involve different types of brain processing, such as auditory and visual, like driving and listening to the radio although it's pretty bloody obvious that one has to focus far far more on the driving to not be a complete and utter disaster.
At best all we are doing is task switching, and that pretty bloody inefficiently.
Attention span of a gnat is what passes as a "true multi-tasker."
Re:Ability to multitask (Score:5, Insightful)
Ever notice how, when you're driving and need to find your way, so you're peering at all the street signs, you turn the radio down? Most people can't do it with a high radio volume.
Multitasking is a myth.
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I don't, but I use music to "fill up the cracks in my brain" that would otherwise be full of distractions.
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Multitasking is only possible if at least one of the tasks is so well learned that it is almost automatic, like walking or eating but it's epic fail for the most part when we try to both walk and eat)
I can handle walking and eating, no problem. But if I try to talk at the same time I tend to bite something besides my food. Guess from now on it's make -j2 for me.
At best all we are doing is task switching, and that pretty bloody inefficiently.
Some jobs are easier to task-switch than others. It depends on how much context they have, and how realtime they are. Sometimes, tiny amounts of latency have massive effects, sometimes they're fairly irrelevant.
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The thing with walking is that you're going at such slow speeds that your field of view gives your brain plenty of time to context switch when necessary. I've seen plenty of people (and done it myself) walking and eating or texting or whatnot, and responding to obstacles (other pedestrians, street crossings, etc.) at the very last second.
So walking is usually a bad example, because there's so much time to do the context switch it fools people into thinking they're multi-tasking Driving is a better example.
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While reading your proclamation I could help but notice that you
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Goldfish? (Score:5, Funny)
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What kind of goldfish? An African one, or a European? Or a demented goldfish living in a bowl of cheap tequila?
We should start giving goldfish smartphones.
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Goldfish do not have particularly short attention spans. That is a myth. They can pay attention long enough to learn behavior and remember it for months [dailymail.co.uk].
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What kind of goldfish? An African one, or a European? Or a demented goldfish living in a bowl of cheap tequila?
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, of course!
Goldfish Attention Log (Score:4, Funny)
[swims back and forth] "click." TFA here I come. Don't tell anyone.
[opens and closes mouth] Oh Gawd, it's Engadget [enables golly gee-whiz filter]
"...dropped to 8 seconds in 2013 -- about one second less than a goldfish"
Now that's... Huh? Sorry, I missed that. [eats a bubble]
"Thankfully, it's not all bad. While tech is hurting attention spans overall, it also..."
Yeah something good right? Not in the mood for good news. I'll click on something blue.
Oh it's the actual study! "Click". [swims back and forth] Oops, advertising.microsoft.com? Hello.
It's about Canadians. [spits out bubble] That's nice. What a nice couple.
[something something] "and where the true scarce commodity is increasingly human attention"
Glad I'm a goldfish then. We're still not at the research report yet. "Click." Oops, a dialog.
"Download the Canadian attention spans research report (2.0M)
Download the infographic (173K)"
Now why would I just want to get the infographic...? Oh!
I get it! THIS IS the attention span test! "Click: the report"
[plays on bubble Ferris wheel as PDF loads]
That woman is either taking a picture or is trying to scroll text by moving the computer up and down.
She had to stand up to scroll to the top of the page. License plate "71"?. Hmmm. [scroll]
"Think digital is killing attention spans? Think again."
I read this twice, so my opinion is back to what it originally was.
[yadda yadda] "Good news! It's not as bad as you think."
[continuous sirens in the distance] Tornado warning! [rain/branches beat on window]
Maybe it IS as bad as I think. [wind shrieks] Confound this nuisance. [lightning strikes!]
[Power goes out] [minutes pass] [sirens stop] [power comes on]
"AMI BIOS" "Select profile" "Welcome" "starting wlnotify.dll"
[sleeps with eyes wide open CLICK HERE FOR IMPORTANT INFO [upenn.edu] ]
[open browser] [access slashdot] "Welcome to AT&T (The Fucking Modem)" What the fuck.
[looks at lights] DSL not up. It's NAT-ting my browser traffic to itself. F'king UVERSE.
"Click to run diagnostics." Okay. Click. "Enter modem access code." FUCK.
[fortunately fishbowl is next to modem and curvature magnifies tiny sticker] [enters 10 digit number]
"Ethernet/DSL/PTM: Pass Authentication:Fail" Their computer rebooting after 10 minutes?
I thought nothing was slower than XP. [5 minutes pass] [reload] "Authentication: Pass"
[tabs remembered by voodoo magick] First thing that's gone right. [glances up]
MUSICAL SOUNDTRACK BEGINS [youtube.com] FUCK! OH NOOOOOOOOES!
(every icon next to every browser tab has been replaced by an AT&T DEATHSTAR logo.
the only reason this is not in all caps is slashdot's lameness filter. shhhh. don't wake up the lameness filter)
On no, AT&T Is in my mind. I can feel it. Do I have NATty favicon corruption?
[warily, with nervous dread} "192.168.1.254/favicon.ico" [ENTER] [hideous 32x32 AT&T icon fills screen]
[exit viewer] NOO! What brain-dead thweep would serve favicon from a NAT-redirected router?
[slaps Firefox around] It's all your fault! I should downgrade you to 1992! Favicon support!
[AT&T logo still icon on all tabbed sites] THAT LOGO, it keeps winking and blinking at me! [youtube.com] I'm insane!
[thrashes about, bumps on glass] Do we have a potion for this? Yesss. A potion [rustles about in bubble castle]
[opens js console]
var fS = Components.classes["@mozilla.org/browser/favicon-service;1"].getService(Components.interfaces.nsIFaviconService);
[squeak] (have old js console it always squeaks)
fS.expireAllFavicons(); [squeak]
[whoosh!] [all icons missing] Already, an
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Squirrel!
Are you happy now, Sinofsky and Larson-Green? (Score:3)
I like how this study is coming from the perpetrator of Metro tiles being foisted on anything and everything Microsoft (the non-touchscreen Windows OS, XBox, even Microsoft support websites, to a certain extent).
Oh, but the upside is that we're better multitaskers... very slightly, since we're so accustomed to seeing about 55 different tiles with two-word captions and stock image tile backgrounds. Unfortunately, that counts very little, as it doesn't make up for the depth one can reach with dedicated concentration on a single topic at a time.
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I need to read the article, but it seems like 12 seconds is really, really short, let alone 8 seconds.
Seriously? People can't concentrate for more than 12 seconds?
Re:Averages (Score:5, Interesting)
Makes me wonder how I managed a 16 hour surgery the other day without ever getting bored or distracted (kind of hard to do when the patient is trying so hard to die on your table). I guess that sort of thing is not accounted for in terms of length of attention span, or if it is, then god help us because between the anesthesiologist, my colleague, myself and the instrument nurse I think we skewed the average for the year and the "real" value is on the order of a second or so...
Seriously this kind of study is just BS, a make believe study designed to prove some particular point or other the marketing department wants to make. I'll wait for the peer reviewed version (and even then I'll reserve judgement).
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No, you don't understand. This study is the run-up point to draft legislation that will pour Ritalin into the nations water supply. Fluoridation set the precedent.
I know which stock I will be purchasing tomorrow.
Your attention span has been altered by your precious bodily fluids being polluted by the Commies. Here is proof of the conspiracy! [youtube.com] remember to deny your essence to women, then your attention span will return to normal. Naturally if you are using computer to stimulate your senses all bets are off. As far as Ritalin is concerned it can easily be replaced by an XBOX in every living room a cell phone in every pocket and thousands of true believers walking down the street playing this [lumosity.com]
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You seem to be a doctor, and not a bad one, and I wouldn't mind you being the doctor to operate on me (god willing, as few operations as possible, better zero needed during my life span),
but I would on the other hand not want you to be one of my co-scientists in a research project. Because 'attention span' in this context is not the notion that you operate for 8 seconds only before you fiddle with the nurse's lower back for 8 seconds, look out of the window for eight seconds, think of your wife for eight se
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> Makes me wonder how I managed a 16 hour surgery the other day without ever getting bored or distracted (kind of hard to do when the patient is trying so hard to die on your table).
Clearly, without your patient's help in keeping you focused, you would have gotten distracted and wandered away from the OP after seeing a squirrel in the window :-).
Seriously, you know enough Statistics to know that your circumstance does not make a case against the study in any way, even if it was a comparable task. Your su
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you would have gotten distracted and wandered away from the OP
Kind of like the esophagus did... the trick was finding it again.
As for your second paragraph - I know. I was bored and I felt like posting. It was a... long day.
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I need to read the article, but it seems like 12 seconds is really, really short, let alone 8 seconds.
Is it just me, or did anyone actually look at the original Microsoft report and find it nearly impossible to read efficiently? It's over 50 pages of "infographic" nonsense, with too many random distractions -- changes in font size, colors, random meaningless clip art, etc. It seems to be structured to be "skimmable," but it's not. It's like a really bad Powerpoint presentation with way too many words and too many details, all dressed up in wacky graphics and colors.
I kept waiting to find out what the m
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BSD?
Certainly not, but perhaps low adoption rate of BSD and Linux on the desktop indicates that the average computer user does not have the attention span necessary to use real operating systems. Thus you have finger painting kindergarten software and OSes like Win8, Android and IOS dominating a market of consumers with lower attention spans than Goldfish. Most of whom could be out classed running Linux or BSD by a trained Rhesus Macaque or properly trained PE teacher for that matter!
I'm sorry (Score:2)
What was the question?
Seems about right to me (Score:2)
That seems to be in agreement with ... oh look! A squirrel! That can't be a kitty cat doing that?
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I think that was on Family Guy.
my opinion (Score:2)
I feel very stongly about
oh wait, shiny thing !
They must be right. (Score:2)
I can't even remember the last time it was discussed here [slashdot.org]
You know (Score:1)
You know this sort of thing... wait pop up, OK now where was I? oh yeah this sort of ... wait IM...
TL;DR (Score:2)
You can blame clippy .. (Score:1)
Dupe? (Score:3)
I think I saw this story already. [slashdot.org]
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It's obviously affecting the slashdot editors too.
And the moderators. My post was intended as a joke. My link points to this story, not a dupe. Yet I was modded "Insightful."
Yes and No (Score:2)
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I'd wish you had rather put some of your attention spans into your post, sorry. Because I can feel that there is something interesting you want to say, and that I would like to read (reference to children), but that seems to have gone into some bin for ... lack of attention?
I guess their point is ... (Score:2)
... they want us to pay more attention to them.
Of course there is an updside. (Score:1)
Good news: we can now do 12 seconds work in 8! (Score:2)
popup dialogues and rebooting (Score:2)
Could Microsoft's "popup dialogue" windows and being forced to reboot in the middle of work be a factor?
Definitions (Score:2)
I suspect this is a lot to do with the definition of task. When I switch to FTP or e-mail at work, it's because that's part of the job I'm doing, not to do something wholly unrelated.
In a classic Unix system, a 'task' might mean three or four programs piped together for each command.
Thanks, Microsoft (Score:2)
So Microsoft is saying that if they were better at writing software, my attention span would be better? Because I blame all the workflows interrupted by a blue screen... Shit, just saw one yesterday. Apparently running Firefox, Chrome, and a DX11 game at the same time is a bit hard on the nvidia driver. It doesn't crash immediately, just randomly.
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If you're getting blue screens in Windows 7 or 8, you're doing something wrong. Or more likely, your game is buggy.
Show me a game without bugs, especially a modern one.
I wonder (Score:2)
Sorry, what? (Score:1)
Microsoft to the Rescue! (Score:2)
Microsoft will be pre-installing [arstechnica.com] Candy Crush Saga to help people, well, focus... I guess...
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That's not true (Score:2)
I've never had a problem with att--, oh look, a squirrel!