Human attention is only 8 seconds!

The Dhaka Times Desk People are getting impatient day by day. Research shows that people can hold attention for only 8 seconds!

Any work requires attention. But in recent times, researchers have seen that people are getting impatient day by day. Today, thanks to digital technology, people are looking at the computer or mobile screen instead of looking at the pages of the book. Instead of turning pages, scrolling down or up is very easy. But what are people actually reading in the world of thousands of online news? How long or can they hold attention?

Keeping these issues in mind, Microsoft Corporation conducted a study. In the study they found that an average person can hold attention for 8 seconds continuously. A decade ago that was an average of 12 seconds. In other words, people's attention span is much less than that of goldfish. Goldfish can usually remember something for an average of 9 seconds.

And for this researchers blame the improvement of technology. And that's why people's attention has decreased. Microsoft's 54-page research report says so.

Microsoft conducted this study on more than 2,000 Canadian citizens. All of them are above 18 years of age. Participants in the study played video games in front of the researchers, read news online and spent time with friends on social media. Their behavior and gestures are also recorded during this time. They have used modern devices like desktop, tab, smartphone.

By analyzing the video, researchers have seen how people's attention spans vary across device screens, tasks and content, according to media reports. Participants in the study aged 18 to 34 were able to sustain attention 31% longer than those over 55. Researchers have found that men can hold attention longer than women.

Researchers found that 77% of 18- to 24-year-olds say that when they are at leisure, their phone is their focus. This is because they do most of the work through smartphones. However, this rate is only 10% in the case of those aged 65 and above, the study noted.