6 ways

Worn out by getting distracted all the time? Yasmina Floyer finds out how to take back control

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As a teen and young adult, I could read for vast swathes of time undistracted. But recently, I read a (short!) newsletter, where the writer bemoaned the fact that she can no longer read for a solid half hour without getting distracted. Challenge accepted! I set a 30-minute timer and grabbed my book. Surely, I could manage half an hour? Reader, I reached for my phone four times before the timer went off!

I know I am not alone in noticing that my attention span is not what it used to be, and perhaps we have come to accept the ubiquitous perception that our attention spans are shrinking. But is there actually any truth to this?

A 2022 study conducted by King's College London found that 49% of people reported that they felt their attention spans have decreased. Like them, I took it for granted that my attention was a gradually eroding cliff face, a fact both natural and irrevocable. However, what is important to note is that this study focused on our perception of our attention spans, not the spans themselves.

Neurologist and author of The Phone Fix: The Brain-Focused Guide to Building Healthy Digital Habits and Breaking Bad Ones (Bloomsbury, £10.99) Dr Faye Begeti tells me that the idea that attention spans are shrinking is a common misconception. Instead, she says that at a population level, when looking at trends across the entire human species, people are in fact scoring higher on cognitive tests than ever before. This includes IQ tests, academic performance, and even creative output, such as writing more books. ‘The evidence does not support the idea that we are collectively losing the ability to pay attention. As a neurologist, I conduct 30-40-minute consultations, and most patients are fully capable of paying attention in that situation.

‘The issue is not that our attention spans have decreased, but rather that our attention is being misdirected — often towards non-meaningful distractions that don’t align with our goals.’