Are attention spans actually getting shorter?

By Steve Kraske,

Published December 16, 2022 at 10:58 AM CST

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Women standing and holding a clock in front of her face. — President of Public Words, a communications consultant company, Nick Morgan said meeting virtually rather than in-person makes it harder to stay focused. "You're only one click away from something more interesting, like shopping on Amazon or answering your email," he said.

An expert debunks the myths behind attention spans and shares how "we can train our minds" to stay focused.

A Microsoft-sponsored study in 2015 had people worried that their attention spans had decreased to that of a goldfish.

That was a misconception. But amid the COVID pandemic, the concern remains if people can no longer focus as they once did.

"Too often we just throw our hands up and blame attentions spans, and say they're diminishing and we don't think we can do anything about it," said Dr. Nick Morgan, president of communications consultant company Public Words. "But, we can train our minds to pay attention."

Nick Morgan, Ph.D., president of Public Words