Goldfish & Attention: Looking at the Myth

You might have heard it said that we, humanity, have an attention span of eight seconds, with the tiny goldfish ahead of us at nine seconds.

This theory was first spread by big names such as Microsoft, Time, and The Guardian. In 2000, our attention span was 12 seconds. In just 20 years, we’ve dropped four seconds. That’s a lot! Many believe this is due to the rapid advancement of technology. Since the early 2000s, technology has been non-stop. First Facebook, then the iPhone, then Netflix, followed by the iPad, then Instagram…it’s a never-ending cycle of more devices and the latest updates. We’re constantly looking for the next new thing.

It seems that recently, our eight seconds of attention have been focused on the harm that social media and technology causes. In September, Netflix Canada released a documentary, The Social Dilemma, which takes a darker look at the theories behind social media. Many people featured in the film had a hand in creating powerful social networking sites. Now, they have recently stepped down and are now spilling the industry’s secrets. The major secret being this– social media was created to be addictive. They profit by taking our attention. It’s not like we have that much attention to give in the first place. 

However, there’s another side to the story. Andrew Littlefield, an author at Ceros, suggests that it’s not possible for our attention span to be that short. If it was, how can we binge-watch a series on Netflix? Or play hours of video games? Or even hold a conversation with a friend? He claimed that the goldfish theory is based on loose claims. Even though this theory was spread by big names, their reports never led anywhere.

The BBC wrote that our attention span depends on the task we are giving our attention to. It’s easier to watch a movie than to pay attention to a drab lecture. Still, a high percentage of young adults say when they are bored, the first thing they do is pick up their phone. Instead of sitting in our boredom and forcing our attention to turn to the drab lecture, we turn to the screen.

I’ve noticed this trend in my own living situation. When my roommate and I watch a show, as soon as a commercial comes on, she picks up her phone. Then I feel this need in my chest to pick up my phone as well. Recently, I have been ignoring my inner tug towards technology, and sitting through the two-minute ads. When I asked my roommate why she felt the need to pick up her phone during every commercial, she said that she doesn’t care about the commercials and she would rather look at Instagram.

This backs up what was stated earlier. She wants to pay attention to things that she likes. When something doesn’t interest us, that’s when our attention span is eight seconds.

Photo by Ahmed Zayan on Unsplash 

We’ve lost our ability to be bored. All goldfish do is swim around in circles in their tiny bowls. We might have a longer attention span than goldfish, but goldfish can certainly be bored longer than we can.