December 19, 2023
By Kameliya Tomova and Louisa Slavkova

In recent weeks, headlines have been dominated by the findings of educational assessments like the 2022 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) and OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). These studies reveal a global decline in civic knowledge and academic performance, even in Finland, considered one of the best educational systems in the world. Contributing factors range from socio-economic disparities to the pervasive influence of digital devices on attention spans. However, the soul-searching chorus tends to attribute record-low scores to the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting the need to look beyond and consider broader societal shifts. Particularly in our evolving digital habits and the dynamics of shrinking attention in the vast sea of information.

In response to these challenges, at this year’s Networking European Civic Education (NECE) Festival we explored the phenomenon of the flattening attention span and its impact on behaviour – be it political, social or economic. This transformation in cognitive processes alters fundamentally how we perceive, interpret, and interact with the world. Those who are already acutely aware of it, seek ways to repair by adopting strategies like reforming bad habits and exercising control over information flows; however, as most of us have found out, this is easier said than done.

“Today’s world seems to prefer black and white over grey areas. This highlights the tribalism stemming from a reduced attention span world.”

Regina Joseph,

Superforecaster, decision-making and analytics, Sibylink & Pytho

Superforecaster, Regina Joseph, with whom we spoke at the NECE Festival, emphasises that this struggle is rooted in the brain’s innate drive to seek novelty. This becomes particularly evident when we consider how to navigate habits fueled by instant dopamine kicks delivered through all the apps on our phones.

How do we withstand the constant push and pull from one temptation to the next, knowing we have time to only skim the surface of it all — satisfying our craving for substance at a fraction of the depth we once achieved by reading, listening, and observing?

“If you examine various indicators, such as the music we listen to, a distinct shift becomes evident“, as highlighted by Regina. “There appears to be a diminishing interest in complex ideas. The nuance found in song structures like verse-chorus-bridge seems to be fading. Comparing music variables from 20 years ago, the subject range was broader, and the production methods were entirely different. Today, music is consumed differently, with shorter attention spans. Platforms like Spotify indicate a decreasing time span for listening. Music creation has evolved into modular stems, making it more commodified and focused on short-term consumption. This trend reflects a creative pursuit shaped by reduced attention spans, where art creation aligns with maximising revenue rather than personal expression or belief.”

The result of this cause-and-effect dynamic is – the more our attention retreats – the more aggressive major for-profits become in the pursuit of user engagement.

“Early internet websites were text-heavy, contrasting sharply with what we are used to seeing today, often featuring less than ten words on the main page. The ability to read and engage with semantics has dwindled, and nuances receive less attention. Today’s world seems to prefer black and white over grey areas. This highlights the tribalism stemming from a reduced attention span world. Social media platforms, aiming to capitalise on attention as a commodity, employ psychological tricks to extend user engagement for increased ad revenue. This results in overstimulation and information overload, leading to a withdrawal and disengagement response. The consequence is a society that skims content, with activities like doom scrolling reflecting a total lack of sustained attention, reducing meaningful engagement to a time-killing exercise,” further elaborates Regina Joseph.

“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesisers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.”

E. O. Wilson

As we confront the consequences of the flattened attention span on society, the necessity to respond becomes clear.

Approximately 65% of individuals under 35 and 55% of those aged 35 and above actively take steps to shape their content experience like unfollowing, muting, blocking, or adjusting settings, revealing dissatisfaction with algorithmic curation. Despite this, platforms continue to prioritise engagement metrics over enhancing content quality and diversity.

Technology, omnipresent in our lives, is a double-edged sword, catering to cognitive patterns while generating revenue. The challenge is to prevent further decline by fostering critical thinking and other relevant competences that distinguish humans from AI. Civic educators have a key role to play in shaping an ecosystem that nurtures cognitive well-being and civic health by combining teachings of various literacies and competences.

Millennials and Gen Z, being digital natives almost by birth, can lead the way in addressing these challenges. They have proven to be more responsible, sustainability-oriented, and adaptable to change than prior generations. From incorporating reflection methods to introducing wellbeing and mindfulness techniques, these are the things they excel at and what can effectively help enter a state of mind more resilient to the challenges we experience as digitised citizens and the habits they form.

A more systematic approach suggests incorporating purpose-driven reading and listening, along with critical thinking and media literacy training – strategies long known and adopted by civic educators to help cultivate a meaningful, engaged relationship with information.

If we take just reading as an example, as conveyed by Maryanne Wolf, a researcher at UCLA’s School of Education and Information Studies, it’s more than a simple activity – it’s a complex, evolving process influenced by our neural plasticity. We start with basic decoding, associating visual symbols with known words, and gradually refine our reading skills based on environmental factors and background knowledge. The highest point in this evolution is deep reading, involving various levels of engagement from skimming to empathetic understanding. Plasticity plays a crucial role in how different mediums, whether print or digital screens, afford attention and insight.

Wolf emphasises that the quality of attention and insightful thinking is intertwined with reading habits and mindsets. The shift to digital reading, often characterised by skimming, poses a challenge to the immersive depth achievable with print. Thus, turning off our screens and cultivating purpose-driven reading habits, going back to the good all printed book, whether for understanding complexity or appreciating beauty, becomes crucial. If we combine and adopt these strategies – purpose-driven reading and listening, along with critical thinking and algorithm & media literacy training – we might witness different results in studies such as ICCS and PISA in a few years’ time.