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The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness? The evidence is equivocal on whether screen time is to blame for rising levels of teen depression and anxiety. (www.nature.com)

submitted 8 months ago by boem@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago (3 children)

So does shortened attention spans not count as any type of brain development change or is that not actually happening/outside of this study?

[–] dumpsterlid@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Even though everybody seems convinced our attention spans have decreased, there is no conclusive evidence of it and scientists don’t even really think it is useful to talk about attention outside the context of motivation anyways.

Your attention span is fine, you are just too burned out from modern life to invest energy into things that take a lot of sustained focus that aren’t essential to survival.

You also have to be way more picky with what content you choose to engage with because there is sooooooo much more content now and that may look like a “short attention span” when your brain optimizes for tossing out the 95% off fluff to get right to the thing you actually wanted.

Our attention spans are fine, this has been the most boring moral panic ever but that is really all it is.

[–] huginn@feddit.it 7 points 8 months ago

Shortened attention span falls under mental well-being.

The older generation has always criticized the younger generation for the same things. And yet again it is done without merit.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 6 points 8 months ago

This isn't a study, it's a book review refuting the author's assertion. But it looks like the scope was only mental health, not cognitive skill.