Screentime and Focus
Excessive unmanaged screentime hurts focus and attention span for adults and teens. Here's what you can do about it.
Ever feel like you have so many things on your plate, yet you can't get started on a single one? You may want to look at your digital habits. Excessive unmanaged screentime can severely affect the ability to focus for both adults and teens. The constant digital distractions fragment our attention, making it difficult to concentrate on tasks and maintain productivity.
Cognitive Overload
The average person switches between apps 87 times per day, causing digital exhaustion.
Task Switching
Office workers switch between programs about 1,200 times daily, costing 4 hours per week.
Mental Fatigue
Project managers report higher burnout rates than paramedics due to digital overload.
1. Cognitive Overload and Multitasking
A study found that participants averaged 87 app switches per day on their smartphones, with around 60 apps on each phone. Switching between apps and tasks causes cognitive overload (think digital exhaustion!), limiting our brain's ability to focus effectively. This constant multitasking diminishes the quality of work and reduces productivity.
The average number of app switches per day, with many users having around 60 apps installed on their phones. All this task-switching exhausts our cognitive resources.
2. Reduced Deep Focus
This isn't just about social media at home. According to HBR, office workers switch between programs about 1,200 times per day, which adds up to four hours per week. Deep focus, or "flow," is interrupted by notifications and screen use, leading to fragmented attention. It takes time to recover focus after interruptions.
By some estimates, it can take nearly 25 minutes to recover from distractions. All of this makes it hard to engage deeply in tasks.
3. Mental Fatigue and Burnout
Linkedin's 2024 burnout report listed Project & Program Management as the top profession for burnout. That's higher than paramedics - and those folks save lives! The constant influx of information through screens drains cognitive resources, leading to mental fatigue and burnout. This impairs focus and decreases overall performance in both work and school environments.
About Scroll by Choice
We empower people to reclaim control over their screentime and develop positive human computer interactions. We deliver solutions for: Organizations who are reimagining workplace productivity & creativity in hybrid & virtual settings; Schools & Educational institutions considering modern cellphone and AI-use policies ; Parents & professionals interested in developing positive digital habits.
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