My Dwindling Attention Span

Tonight—actually, just a few minutes ago—I was watching a movie on television, with a computer in my lap and browsing through the Amazon bookstore on a Kindle device, all at the same time.  And I felt restless.

I thought to myself, “You should be writing something.”

So, that resulted in this post.

Actually, what’s really bothering me is that I know something’s wrong.  Sure, I laughed about it when it occurred to me that none of the three devices—the TV, the computer, or the Kindle—were really the object of my complete focus.  I chuckled and shook my head when I realized that I’m having trouble paying attention.  But I know something is not right. 

I have three technological tools that would have literally seemed like extraordinarily mysterious magic devices 75 years ago.  Any one of these pieces of technology would have captured my grandparent’s attention with bewilderment and wonder for hours.   And, yet, the three of them, together, can’t really keep my attention very well.  How is this happening?

Even though I read a lot and try to convince myself that must mean I have some intellectual depth, the truth is I can tell my attention span is getting shorter.

(Is attention span linked to intelligence?  I hope not.  Because if it is, I’m getting dumber.)

I was talking with my brother-in-law Paul about this same subject a couple of nights ago.  He says that his attention span is getting shorter, too.  And he said a few other things, as well, but I can’t remember all of our discussion anymore because even though we were both talking, neither one of us were paying attention to the conversation after about a minute, or two.

Like most of the people reading this post, I’ve been exposed to expert marketing; clever, entertaining visual images; and endless hype my whole life through television, radio, movies, computers and now, even, the phone in my pocket.  And I think it’s finally starting to have a noticeable effect on my attention span and my ability to concentrate.

What does all of this mean?  I don’t know.  But I’m pretty sure that… um… basically…

Uhhh… What have we been talking about…?