You Just Want Attention

8.25 seconds – that’s how long I have to grab your attention. 8.25 seconds before you go back to scrolling. 8.25 seconds is all we have and... my time is already up.

8.25 seconds is the average attention span of humans – this is a scientific estimate, of course. However, some scientists place their estimate closer to 2 seconds. This is an astonishing figure, yet hardly surprising in the age of thumbnails, attention-grabbing algorithms, and an unlimited supply of 10-second TikTok videos, which we are all guilty of scrolling through for hours on end. We are in the heart of an epidemic that shows no sign of slowing.

We all own these pocket-sized devices with more power than the rocket that took us to the moon – a device the size of your hand that holds more knowledge than the grandest library. We take in so much information, craving the next dopamine hit, our brains are unable to cope, so much so that it eats away at your attention. You find yourself mesmerized in a state of hypnosis and before you know it, dusk turns to nightfall, and you haven’t even looked up. We are all guilty of powering up our phones for a quick scrolling, without noticing the minutes turning into hours. Eventually, you look up and come back to the real world, realising hours have passed, yet not being able to remember any one of the hundreds of videos you just scrolled through.

Have a look at your daily screen time. What does it say? 4 hours? 5 hours? 7? Even 10? Whatever it is, I would like to demonstrate something to you. If your screen time is in the area of  5 hours, a fairly low average, that may seem completely reasonable on the surface. Let's dive into this a little deeper. Assuming you sleep for 8 hours, you will spend no less than 159 days this year looking down at a screen, adding up to 31 years of your life. A third of your life looking down at a virtual world. Think about what you could do with this time instead of mindless scrolling.

I challenge you, for 1 hour, to turn your phone off. Don’t just press the power button and put it in your pocket. Give it the complete shutdown and put it in a drawer. Out of sight, out of mind. Spend 1 hour without thinking about your phone, without the constant noise, without the incoming messages, and without the distractions that drown out your surroundings. Give it a go and see what you get up to.

If you are still reading this… Well, you shouldn't. Turn this thing off.