By DARIUS SHU CHEN KEONG
How many times have people of our generation lose focus when something does not seem to interest them? Yes, our attention span is dying and it is taking a toll on our lives.
As university students, there is a constant need for concentration. The attention span is so short that even during lectures, it is easy to lose focus after a while. This is the same during group discussions or revising. It is difficult to keep focus as people are constantly distracted by their gadgets.
Technology has been one of the causes of this and because of the overload in information that bombards us, we easily lose interest in things that does not capture our attention.
When people spend too much time communicating with their devices rather than face to face, their ability to concentrate during real life interactions greatly decreases.
My sister faces this issue on a regular basis, with strangers often assuming she is anti-social, unapproachable or a plain snob. Relatives would usually label her as the quiet one amongst my siblings and would always compare us in term of friendliness.
This stems from a lack of understanding about my sister, a typical introvert. She only talks when the topic is of her interest and expertise. She dislikes small talk but appreciates factual and informative conversations. Try talking to her about the human anatomy, she can go on for days!
As quoted by Chicago Lawyer magazine columnist Christina Martini, “Introverts are quiet but this does not mean that they do not have anything to say.”
Introverts may not be keen on talking. However, this does not mean that they do not have an opinion.
My takeaway on this is that when it comes to communicating, introverts would usually gather data first before forging out their opinions. Introverts feel that it is best to deliberate before commenting on an issue and giving their say.
Another famously, erroneously attributed trait for introverts is their shyness, but if you ask me being shy has nothing to do with introversion.
Introverts are not afraid of approaching or communicating with people. However, introverts often need a reason to interact. Introverts do not interact just for the sake of it.
A writer from Lifestyle website, Scott Christ shared in his article that among other famously known misconceptions, people think introverts always want to be alone.
Even though it is true to some extent as introverts do enjoy quiet time alone such as reading or self reflecting, they can also get lonely if they do not have anyone to share their thoughts, experiences and discoveries with.
I once dated a classmate who was deemed as the ultimate introvert. He shared with me that he prefers spending his free time alone. Even though spending time with friends was entertaining, a day out with a crowd will usually tire him out. He will then turn to gaming for hours on end at home to replenish his energy.
Introverts look for sincere and authentic connections with people, usually either one-on-one or in a small group of friends. They do often enjoy the company of others, especially if the individuals share common interests.
So the next time you see a quiet person and you feel like talking to them, just strike up a conversation. and say hi!
The increase in visual-based content on the Internet does not help either. Videos plastered on Facebook shows increasing demand for more interactive content rather than mere words on the news feed as our attention span continues to shrink. All these have been rewiring our brains.
Consultant Psychiatrist at Pantai Hospital Dr Brian Ho Kong Wai said, “Technology has simplified our life as it makes everything easier but it cuts short the way we interact with the world.” Dr Ho added that the reason attention span is shorter for today’s generation is because everybody wants immediate gratification.
“The traditional way of communicating and focusing has been cut short due to the digital lifestyle we are living in,” Dr Ho said.
He advocated for self-control over usage of technology and learning to appreciate things around us, in order to help restore our declining attention span.
“We have to be mindful and aware about our usage in technology and not to forget about the basic things in life such as human relationship and interactions as these are the reasons that help us in psychological attention,” Dr Ho said.
Dr Ho added that if we are easily distracted and cannot concentrate, our productivity drops.
School of Pharmacy student Chen Seat Theng, 22, said, “Nowadays, I’m easily distracted during lecture times and with us having very short attention span, we often missed out on important notes from lecturers.”
Chen added that she and her friends easily get bored on certain topics and hence she prefers interactive content that can help keep her focus.
School of Hospitality student Mukund Rai, 24, said, “Gen Y minds are very indecisive about their interests and therefore this will be reflected in their attention span.”
Mukund added that he prefers visual-based content on social media because when individuals scroll their news feed and something interesting appears, they will first watch it before reading its content.
The digital generation are becoming more efficient when it comes to doing less. With this short burst of attention, our generation are only capable of having the highest attention at the beginning of an activity or task but slowly start to lose interest as time goes by.
What we should start doing now is to realise this and take the right precaution to increase our attention span again.
Humans have lived in the age before technology whereby our attention span was once high, therefore there is no reason why we are not able to attain such high attention span again.
As university students, there is a constant need for concentration. The attention span is so short that even during lectures, it is easy to lose focus after a while. This is the same during group discussions or revising. It is difficult to keep focus as people are constantly distracted by their gadgets.
Technology has been one of the causes of this and because of the overload in information that bombards us, we easily lose interest in things that does not capture our attention.
When people spend too much time communicating with their devices rather than face to face, their ability to concentrate during real life interactions greatly decreases.
My sister faces this issue on a regular basis, with strangers often assuming she is anti-social, unapproachable or a plain snob. Relatives would usually label her as the quiet one amongst my siblings and would always compare us in term of friendliness.
This stems from a lack of understanding about my sister, a typical introvert. She only talks when the topic is of her interest and expertise. She dislikes small talk but appreciates factual and informative conversations. Try talking to her about the human anatomy, she can go on for days!
As quoted by Chicago Lawyer magazine columnist Christina Martini, “Introverts are quiet but this does not mean that they do not have anything to say.”
Introverts may not be keen on talking. However, this does not mean that they do not have an opinion.
My takeaway on this is that when it comes to communicating, introverts would usually gather data first before forging out their opinions. Introverts feel that it is best to deliberate before commenting on an issue and giving their say.
Another famously, erroneously attributed trait for introverts is their shyness, but if you ask me being shy has nothing to do with introversion.
Introverts are not afraid of approaching or communicating with people. However, introverts often need a reason to interact. Introverts do not interact just for the sake of it.
A writer from Lifestyle website, Scott Christ shared in his article that among other famously known misconceptions, people think introverts always want to be alone.
Even though it is true to some extent as introverts do enjoy quiet time alone such as reading or self reflecting, they can also get lonely if they do not have anyone to share their thoughts, experiences and discoveries with.
I once dated a classmate who was deemed as the ultimate introvert. He shared with me that he prefers spending his free time alone. Even though spending time with friends was entertaining, a day out with a crowd will usually tire him out. He will then turn to gaming for hours on end at home to replenish his energy.
Introverts look for sincere and authentic connections with people, usually either one-on-one or in a small group of friends. They do often enjoy the company of others, especially if the individuals share common interests.
So the next time you see a quiet person and you feel like talking to them, just strike up a conversation. and say hi!
The increase in visual-based content on the Internet does not help either. Videos plastered on Facebook shows increasing demand for more interactive content rather than mere words on the news feed as our attention span continues to shrink. All these have been rewiring our brains.
Consultant Psychiatrist at Pantai Hospital Dr Brian Ho Kong Wai said, “Technology has simplified our life as it makes everything easier but it cuts short the way we interact with the world.” Dr Ho added that the reason attention span is shorter for today’s generation is because everybody wants immediate gratification.
“The traditional way of communicating and focusing has been cut short due to the digital lifestyle we are living in,” Dr Ho said.
He advocated for self-control over usage of technology and learning to appreciate things around us, in order to help restore our declining attention span.
“We have to be mindful and aware about our usage in technology and not to forget about the basic things in life such as human relationship and interactions as these are the reasons that help us in psychological attention,” Dr Ho said.
Dr Ho added that if we are easily distracted and cannot concentrate, our productivity drops.
School of Pharmacy student Chen Seat Theng, 22, said, “Nowadays, I’m easily distracted during lecture times and with us having very short attention span, we often missed out on important notes from lecturers.”
Chen added that she and her friends easily get bored on certain topics and hence she prefers interactive content that can help keep her focus.
School of Hospitality student Mukund Rai, 24, said, “Gen Y minds are very indecisive about their interests and therefore this will be reflected in their attention span.”
Mukund added that he prefers visual-based content on social media because when individuals scroll their news feed and something interesting appears, they will first watch it before reading its content.
The digital generation are becoming more efficient when it comes to doing less. With this short burst of attention, our generation are only capable of having the highest attention at the beginning of an activity or task but slowly start to lose interest as time goes by.
What we should start doing now is to realise this and take the right precaution to increase our attention span again.
Humans have lived in the age before technology whereby our attention span was once high, therefore there is no reason why we are not able to attain such high attention span again.