Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity

by Gloria Mark

Overview

AS SEEN ON ARMCHAIR EXPERT WITH DAX SHEPARD AND THE EZRA KLEIN SHOW, WALL STREET JOURNAL, NEW YORK TIMES AND MORE

**A "NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB" BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR**
**A COSMOPOLITAN BEST NEW NON-FICTION BOOK TO ADD TO YOUR TBR IN 2023**
**A "NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB" MUST-READ BOOK FOR JANUARY**

Rediscover your ability to pay attention with this groundbreaking new approach from "the definitive expert on distraction and multitasking" (Cal Newport).

We spend an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting our attention. It takes 25 minutes to bring our attention back to a task after an interruption. And we interrupt ourselves more than we're interrupted by others.

In Attention Span, psychologist Gloria Mark reveals these and more surprising results from her decades of research into how technology affects our attention. She shows how much of what we think we know is wrong, including insights such as:

• Why multitasking hurts rather than helps productivity
• How social media and modern entertainment amplify our short attention spans
• What drains our mental resources and how to refuel them
• The four types of attention that we experience every day and how to recognize them

While the concept of “flow” has previously been considered the ideal state of focus, Dr. Mark offers a new framework to help explain how our brains function in the digital world: kinetic attention. This book reveals how we can take control, not only to find more success in our careers, but also to find health and wellness in our everyday lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335449412
Publisher:	Hanover Square Press
Publication date:	01/10/2023
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	60,035
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Dr. Mark is Chancellor’s Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. She has been a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research since 2012. She is a two-time recipient of the Google Research Award and has received a prestigious NSF CAREER award. She received her PhD from Columbia University in psychology.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Breaking the Myths of Attention 11

Part I The Anatomy of Attention 29

Chapter 1 Your Limited Cognitive Resources 31

Chapter 2 The Battle for Your Attention 48

Chapter 3 Types of Attention 65

Chapter 4 Why, How and How Much We Multitask 87

Chapter 5 The Consequences of Constant Interruption 110

Part II The Underlying Forces of Distraction 131

Chapter 6 The Rise of the Internet and the Decline of Focus 133

Chapter 7 How AI and Algorithms Influence Your Thoughts 150

Chapter 8 Our Digital Social World 168

Chapter 9 Personality and Self-Regulation 186

Chapter 10 Happiness and Our Devices 204

Chapter 11 How the Media Conditions Our Attention 222

Part III Focus, Rhythm and Balance 243

Chapter 12 Free Will, Agency and Our Attention 245

Chapter 13 Achieving Focus, Rhythm and Balance 261

Chapter 14 The Future of Attention 284

Acknowledgments 299

Endnotes 303

Index 345

Editorial Reviews

"Gloria Mark is the definitive expert on distraction and multitasking in our increasingly digital world. Her book is a must-read for anyone concerned about our diminishing attention span."—Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of A World Without Email and Deep Work

“This book covers decades of Gloria Mark’s fascinating research journey into how the rise of computing has affected our personal lives: how we are overstressed, we multitask too much, we are constantly interrupted even by ourselves, and our attention spans have declined to an astonishing 47 seconds. If you are interested in your well-being and how to gain agency in this digital age then you need to read this book.”—Susan David, bestselling author of Emotional Agility

"Interruptions are a fact of life. This has long been true, no fancy technology required, but today, we have bright, shiny technology, some deliberately designed to distract and thereby to interrupt. Gloria Mark's book is a thorough review of the impact these interruptions have on our lives and mental health. Some interruptions are welcomed, deliberately self-created. Most, however, are not. All interruptions impact the focus of attention, and attention is a critically limiting aspect of human cognition. Don't be distracted by my review — go read the book. It is an important and valuable contribution to living in this world of interruptions."—Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things

"In focusing on practical strategies rather than silver-bullet or short-term solutions like “digital detoxes”, Attention Span is a valuable guide to how to balance work and well-being in a world increasingly dependent on tech."—New Scientist

"In Attention Span, Mark makes the case for a new, evidence-based approach to attention, one that works with our tech-riddled modern world and tendencies towards distraction, instead of trying to squeeze the genie back in the bottle."—The Guardian

From the Publisher