Newsletter – 29 April 2022

Over the holidays, I read a fascinating book called ‘Stolen Focus – Why You Can’t Pay Attention’ by Johann Hari. Johann is a best-selling author, ‘TED Talker’ and documentary film maker. It was one of several books I read during the holidays but this one has significant implications for education and learning.

One chapter explored the demise of sustained reading and its long-term impact on our (global) attention. Hari outlined how the rapid flow of information and the way we consume information via technology is changing the way our brain functions. By increasingly skipping and skimming material from various sources and madly trying to consume huge volumes of content, our capacity for deep reading and thinking is on a downward trajectory. Multiple studies indicate that people’s capacity to remain focused on a text without becoming distracted is declining each year.

One 2017 US study showed that 57% of American adults do not read a single book in a typical year! Another 2019 study showed that Americans are spending an average of 5.4 hours per day on their phones! These horrifying statistics are likely to be similar in our Australian context. This reducing capacity for deep reading is hugely concerning. Hari makes a strong case for a collective return to sustained reading, not only to help us focus but also to build empathy for other points of view. Being able to understand the perspective of others is vital to overcoming huge global problems, such as climate change and inequality. By deeply immersing ourselves in reading, we learn to understand different characters, their motivations, goals, and perspectives. Making space for deep thinking and reflecting on our reading allows us to problem solve and potentially produce solutions to some of these major issues. Conversely, limited sustained reading weakens our collective ability to understand the experiences and emotions of others and process the information coming at us.  

Ways you can increase your and your family’s focus through sustained reading:

* Place technology in another room when trying to read. Out of mind, out of sight and earshot!

* Turn notifications off on devices so attention isn’t hijacked by news alerts, social media updates, messages and chat.

* Set a reading goal and try and extend the duration of time you remain focused on reading for.

* Model sustained reading in the home to your children.

* Join a book club or schedule a conversation about a book with a family member or friend to keep you accountable.

It is becoming critically important that we each take an active effort to protect our attention spans from the technology engineers and designers who are purposely trying to distract us.