Your Goldfish Attention Span Just Got Shorter

Your Goldfish Attention Span (Source: Geo Davis)

Your Goldfish Attention Span (Source: Geo Davis)

Feeling flighty? Wondering why?

Your attention span is shorter than a goldfish!

The average attention span for the notoriously ill-focused goldfish is nine seconds, but according to a new studyfrom Microsoft Corp., people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds, highlighting the affects of an increasingly digitalized lifestyle on the brain. Researchers in Canada surveyed 2,000 participants and studied the brain activity of 112 others using electroencephalograms (EEGs). Microsoft found that since the year 2000 (or about when the mobile revolution began) the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds to eight seconds. “Heavy multi-screeners find it difficult to filter out irrelevant stimuli — they’re more easily distracted by multiple streams of media,” the report read. (Source: Time.com)

So what to do with your goldfish attention span… Meditation? Poetry? Doodling? I also find that windsurfing, telemark skiing, sailing, cycling, oh, and sex are really, really effective at refocusing my attention span. No promises, but no harm trying!

Your Goldfish Attention Span (Source: Geo Davis)

Your Goldfish Attention Span (Source: Geo Davis)