“Goldfish effect” or “Goldfish effect”; It is a term that describes how short our attention span is, referring to goldfish with very short attention spans.
This situation, which has developed in connection with the change in our lifestyle, has made many of us suffer from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), even if we are not aware of it or even if it is minor!
As our average attention span has decreased over time, we have become smaller than a goldfish!
When the average person’s attention span was measured 13 years apart, the following results were obtained:
- Year 2000: 12 seconds
- Year 2013: 8 seconds
8 seconds was shorter than the attention span of a goldfish!
So what is the reason for this decrease in our attention level?
In this digitalized world where we can access all kinds of information or entertainment sources with a single click, we have become quite accustomed to the feeling of “instant gratification”. We can access anything we want, whenever we want. It is as if the world is at our fingertips.
Of course, this situation also has negative consequences. Researchers are concerned that the way we use the internet is having a serious impact on our attention span. Many of us cannot focus on a single task. We cannot watch a movie for 1.5-2 hours without doing anything else.
The “multitasking” feature in our technological devices, especially phones, has caused us to get used to doing everything at the same time and shortening our concentration time.
Think of your phone’s screen; You receive notifications from multiple platforms nearby or at the same time, you choose to enter Instagram, when the home page opens, you see both posts, stories and incoming message notifications. While you are there, you look at a post, at that moment another message comes from above and you start thinking about it. … We can extend these examples like this, but you already understand what we mean.
Short content such as TikTok and Reels; It took the situation to an even more dire point.
As our time to endure long content decreased, we started to be presented with shorter content. Thus, we triggered each other in the form of supply and demand. With each short content offered, we started to want even shorter content.
Finally; We have gotten used to content such as TikTok, Reels or YouTube Shorts, sometimes lasting a few seconds, or 1-2 minutes if we can bear it. As the duration of the content increased, our concentration decreased!
In short; We process more information faster with short bursts of high attention.
The unlimited information at our disposal and the content that gives us short-term pleasure cause our attention level to increase in those few seconds of content and decrease a few seconds later. Unfortunately, as we get used to this, our attention span seems to decrease gradually.
What can we do to prevent it?
- We can try to re-consume a content we enjoy (movie, TV series, book, etc.) and try not to be affected by other stimuli in the meantime. We can then replace the ingredients with those we will consume for the first time.
- We can limit our level of social media usage. We can try to reduce the content we enjoy and use it when we really need it.
- We can get used to watching or reading content by gradually increasing their duration.
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