The latest research into human attention spans shows a consensus among key studies that our ability to sustain focus on a single task or screen has declined significantly over the past two decades, largely due to digital environments, frequent interruptions, notifications, and multitasking.
The most influential and frequently cited ongoing work comes from Professor Gloria Mark (University of California, Irvine), a leading researcher in human-computer interaction and attention. Her longitudinal studies, tracking real-world behavior since around 2003, measure how long people stay focused on a screen or task before switching:
- In 2003/2004: Average ~2.5 minutes (150 seconds).
- By 2012: Dropped to ~75 seconds.
- In recent years (roughly 2018–2025, with data replicated in the past five years) Stabilized around 40–47 seconds.
- Her most recent references (including in a January 2026 National Geographic article and her book Attention Span) put the figure at roughly 40 seconds on average for screen-based attention before switching.
She notes this has held relatively steady in the last 5–6 years but remains far shorter than earlier baselines. Mark links shorter spans to higher stress, elevated heart rates, and reduced wellbeing from constant context-switching.
Other recent insights include: A 2025 review on "brain rot" (a term for cognitive overload from excessive short-form digital content) associates heavy social media and rapid information intake with reduced attention span, memory, and problem-solving, especially in adolescents and young adults.
A 2025 study on social media's impact (published in Psychology) finds a negative correlation between excessive use and sustained attention/working memory in young adults.
Broader surveys (e.g., Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, 2025) show Americans largely blame stress/anxiety (43%), lack of sleep (39%), and digital devices (35%) for perceived shorter focus.
Some 2025 pieces (e.g., in education contexts like LSU or TeacherToolkit) discuss evolving rather than purely declining attention in younger people, with brain development extending into the 30s and adaptation to rapid, relevant content.
The famous "8-second attention span" (shorter than a goldfish's 9 seconds) still circulates widely in 2025–2026 media and marketing stats, tracing back to a 2015 Microsoft report (itself based on unverified sources). Many experts now call this figure a myth or oversimplification—it's not from rigorous peer-reviewed longitudinal science and confuses quick task-switching in digital contexts with overall attentional capacity.
Critics argue attention isn't vanishing but fragmenting or becoming more selective in information-rich environments. Some 2024–2025 analyses (e.g., Nature Communications discussions) suggest people adapt by processing short bursts efficiently, especially if content is engaging.
Overall, while not everyone agrees on exact numbers or universality, empirical data from observational studies (especially Mark's) supports that digital-era interruptions have meaningfully shortened typical on-task focus time compared to 20 years ago.
The good news: Researchers like Mark emphasize recoverability through strategies such as scheduled breaks, reducing notifications, single-tasking, and mindfulness—attention is trainable, not fixed.