Why is This Happening?
We are told that our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Is this true? If so, is it necessarily a bad thing (as is usually implied by those who comment on it)? What is called a short attention span may really be simply our ability to process information more quickly than we did in the past. And it seems to me that more rapid processing is a good thing, because we have more to do now.
External Causes
When I was young, it was typical for one parent to work outside the home and the other to take care of the children and do the housework. Except when the children were very young, both parents were able to relax in the evening. Now, with families where both parents work, they are both busier when they get home. So are the parents in one-parent families. They have more to manage, and being able to process information more quickly is an advantage. For these people, what appears to be a shortened attention span is a need to process information more quickly. It is externally driven.
Internal Causes
However, there are many people who have chronic emotional discomforts (such as anxiety, depression, or anger), who struggle to cope with them. They try to bury them beneath surface thoughts or activities, one of which is to consume information. But because the painful feelings continue, these people must intensify their efforts to suppress the pain. As they seek to maintain the relief they need, they look for more and more information to react to, and their attention span becomes shorter and shorter. This is an internally driven cause of a shortened attention span.
Precious Moments with Our Smartphones
We are most comfortable when we are receiving information at a rate and intensity that feels best for us; that is our "optimal stimulus level." One thing that makes the consumption of information from a smartphone so appealing is that, with a smartphone, we can control the frequency and intensity of new information. And for those who are swamped with all the multiple responsibilities I've described above, the moments when a smartphone can be used to provide that optimal stimulus level are precious. People who appear engrossed in the contents of their smartphones may be enjoying a rare moment during which they are experiencing an optimal stimulus level.
Do You Need Some Help?
If you are one of those who have chronic emotional discomforts, such as anxiety, depression, or anger, you can achieve moments of peacefulness and calm by using my complimentary Emotional Comfort® Tool:
GET THE EMOTIONAL COMFORT® Tool
