20 years ago, people's average attention span on a task was 2.5 minutes, and 20 years later it had decreased to 47 seconds on any screen, a finding replicated by other researchers who found 44-50 second windows.

factualpending

Speaker

Gloria Mark

Evidence Quote

20 years ago we found that the average attention span was 2 and a half minutes and then came along a very sophisticated computer logging software and we found 20 years later that attention spans averaged 47 seconds on any screen

Source

Tired? Distracted? Burned-Out? Listen to This.The Ezra Klein Show
Created: 8/12/2026, 6:46:08 PM

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