Fighting for focus in the age of distraction

Be honest, how many times have you checked your notifications in the last hour? Or opened a new, totally unrelated tab? Or stopped what you're doing even though you really need to do it?

Distractions are everywhere. And whether they're self-imposed or coming from our environment, it can be hard to focus.

Today, we explore the ramifications of our rapidly shrinking attention spans, debunk some myths about focus, and discuss the art of taking a break.

Want to hear more? Check out our episode, When doom scrolling leads to actual harm.

Guests:

Dr Emma Fitzgerald 
Clinical Neuropsychologist

Seb
Emma's son and distracted teenager

Gloria Mark, PhD
Chancellor's Professor Emerita, University of California, Irvine
Author, Attention Span

Credits:
Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
Senior producer: James Bullen
Producer: Rose Kerr
Sound engineer: Bella Tropiano

Extra info:

Gloria's The Future of Attention substack

Smartphones in the nursery: Parental smartphone use and parental sensitivity and responsiveness within parent–child interaction in early childhood (0–5 years): A scoping review

Ditching your smartphone won't stop you being distracted, study finds