"Attention span"

The average attention span of a goldfish (Carassius auratus) is nine seconds. We do not consider them as focused. However, the average attention span of a human being is eight seconds. This is surprising. We used to be more attentive. Our attention span has dropped with over 30 percent in the last two decades. Mobile devices, multi-tasking and activity based offices are some sources when it comes to deflect our attention. If you are a slave under your cell phone and simultaneously perform work tasks in an activity based office your productivity is close to zero. An abundance of information creates a poverty of attention. It has become a scarce resource. Attention economics is an approach to the management of information that treats human attention as a scarce commodity and applies economic theory to solve various information management problems. I believe shorter attention span has changed how we listen to music. Not from A to Z as the artist intended, but stochastically and abruptly. When something is stochastic and abrupt, it is very difficult to predict the direction. My informed guess is that we are heading for the abyss, but no one will pay any attention.