My Scatterbrain: How the Internet is Killing My Attention Span

Lately, I feel like I have the attention span of a five year old in a toy store built inside of a candy shop located on a playground. Yep.

The internet is doing me in. Instead of being able to focus on one thing for a long time, I need about 10 things to keep me engaged. Now, I’m trying to reverse the effects, but it’s harder than I thought it would be.

What’s the problem here? Here’s how I see it: the internet has massive amounts of information, and when you surf, your brain has to take in all that information. Over time, your brain becomes used to the flurry of information and learns to expect it. When you finally decide to sit down and focus on something, you can’t. Your brain isn’t satisfied. It’s bored. Then, it mentally flips through channels to find something more interesting.

This drives me nuts.

See, most skilled jobs require some degree of concentration. So losing the ability to focus is a huge problem. Nobody really multitasks like everyone says. If you think you multitask, you’re really only rapidly refocusing. Some days, it’s even hard to read a few pages of a book. Where did my brain go?

The brain isn’t a static beast. It can change over time. It adapts, which is a testament to its power. But if you treat it like crap, you’re going to get back crap.

So how can I fix my brain’s attention span? How can you fix yours?

First, I’m trying to change the way that I use the internet. I use it serially instead of in parallel. In other words, I do one thing at a time, and I don’t move on until I’m done with it. Second, I turn off the internet when I don’t need it. I don’t leave email open, and I try to avoid instant messaging if I can. Why? Imagine sitting in a room concentrating on one task when someone repeatedly barges in to interrupt your concentration. The interruptions of the internet are no different. That’s the status quo when you’re perpetually connected to the internet. Finally, I try to rebuild my focus by doing one thing (and only one thing) for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Over time, I’m hoping that I’ll regain the ability to focus on one thing at a time.

And yes, it will take time. I’m not sure that I’ll ever get there, but that won’t stop me from trying.