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Microsoft: Humans have shorter attention span than a goldfish

Researchers suggest a slightly shorter attention span may be the payoff for a brain better adapted to utilize multiple sources of information and entertainment.

By Brooks Hays
A new study suggests the human attention span is now shorter than that of a goldfish. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI
A new study suggests the human attention span is now shorter than that of a goldfish. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI | License Photo

TORONTO, May 15 (UPI) -- A small study by researchers at Microsoft has found the human attention span is shortening. At just 8 seconds, they say it is now shorter than the attention span of the average goldfish.

The study, which featured a combination of surveys and mind games, was an apparently genuine attempt by scientists with the software company to better understand how mobile technology has affected attention span.

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More than 100 volunteers in Canada responded to a questionnaire and played cognitive games designed to quantify attention spans. While answering questions and playing games, participants were monitored by electroencephalography (EEG), a non-invasive method for recording brain activity.

The results suggest the average attention of an adult in the Information Age is now eight seconds -- down from 12 seconds in 2000, the average the last time Microsoft conducted a similar study. This puts the human attention span at one second shorter than that of a goldfish.

"Canadians with more digital lifestyles (those who consume more media, are multi-screeners, social media enthusiasts, or earlier adopters of technology) struggle to focus in environments where prolonged attention is needed," researchers wrote in their published findings.

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But the study also found that heavy technology users were better at multitasking. Researchers suggest a slightly shorter attention span may be the payoff for a brain better adapted to utilize multiple sources of information and entertainment.

But not everyone's convinced the data is proof that our brain has actually changed. Bruce Morton, a brain scientist at the University of Western Ontario's Brain & Mind Institute, says that the data only shows that humans' are using their brains differently.

"Just because we may be allocating our attention differently as a function of the technologies we may be using, it doesn't mean that the way our attention actually can function has changed."

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