This morning, I took the metro. I had forgotten to charge my phone last night, so I left it in my bag knowing it had little battery left. This unexpected circumstance gave me the chance to consciously observe my surroundings. What I saw could easily be a scene from „The Matrix“.

People glued to their screens, heads bowed, endlessly scrolling, showcasing an astonishing ability to move without looking, to be there without being present, giving their attention to whatever was on their screens.

My first thought was that I am just another one of those phone-addicted zombies, and I didn’t realize it until I couldn’t use my phone.

My second thought was that perhaps the ability to stay focused on reality, rather than being absorbed by any app on our phones, can have a profound impact on our quality of life. A study by Microsoft in 2015 reported that the average human attention span had dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2015, which is shorter than that of a goldfish.

In the not-too-distant future, companies might start valuing the ability to be present and concentrate for extended periods as a key hiring criterion for increased productivity.

Is our ability to maintain attention becoming an endangered resource?