Attention Span
A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity
Published on 4. March 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-335-01499-3 (ISBN)
Description
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:
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.
**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.
More details
Person
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.