As students return to the classroom, getting them focused and back into a routine can be a challenge with screens affecting their attention span. However, it’s not just the children who are having trouble paying attention. Dr. Gloria Mark from the University of California, Irvine studies peo ple’s attention and behavior with their digital devices “When we talk about attention spans, we’re talking about sustained attention, which means the ability to focus on one thing,” she said. And what Mark found was alarming. “Our first studies were in 2003, and we found that attention spans averaged on screens two and a half minutes. In 2012, we found that attention spans went down to an average of 75 seconds, and then, starting 2014, 2016, we found that attention spans went down to an average of 47 seconds,” she said. Mark said the prevalence of smartphones and the accessibility we have at our fingertips is to blame for shortening attention spans. “It’s like being in the world’s largest candy store,” she said. But the impact is now being felt in the workplace as well as in the classroom. “Offloading our memories to our devices, as well as just spending less time focused on any one thing that’s making it hard for people to learn,” said Mark. Mark’s belief is that in an increasingly digital world, our attention span should be protected, because our experiences are formed based on what we pay attention to. “If kids pay attention to screens, that’s forming the kind of person they will become,” she said. To improve one’s attention span, experts recommend removing any physical and digital distractions, working in short blocks of time and focusing on single tasks. ...read more read less