Attention Alert: A Study on Distraction Reveals Some Surprises. Recently my research team observed nearly 300 middle school, high school and university students studying something important for a mere 15 minutes in their natural environments. We were interested in whether they could maintain focus and, if not, what might be distracting them. Every minute we noted exactly what they were doing, whether they were studying, if they were texting or listening to music or watching television in the background, and if they had a computer screen in front of them and what websites were being visited.
The results were startling. First, these students were only able to focus and stay on task for an average of three minutes at a time and nearly all of their distractions came from technology. [By the way, other researchers have found similar attention spans with computer programmers and medical students.] So, what was going on with these students? Neuroscience is just now starting to emerge as a means of studying the impact of technology on the brain.
12 Brain Rules -- illustrated | Brain Rules | Books and Other Resources Recommended by the UCSD Center for Mindfulness - Recommended Reading. Mindfulness in Everyday Life. Be Mindful.