1925-yilda ixtirochi va jurnal muharriri Hyugo Gernsbek chalg'ituvchi narsalardan qutulishning radikal yo'lini taklif qildi: “Isolator” — boshga kiyiladigan, tashqi shovqinni to'sadigan og'ir dubulg'a. Unda ko'rish uchun faqat ikkita tor tirqish va nafas olish uchun kislorod trubkasi bor edi.

Bugun bunday dubulg'a kerak emasdek tuyuladi — lekin chalg'ituvchilar yuz baravar ko'paygan. Kitobni bir soat o'qiy olardingiz, endi esa 10 daqiqadan keyin qo'l o'zi telefonga cho'ziladi. Tanish holatmi? 2021-yilda Britaniyada 2000 dan ortiq kattalar o'rtasida o'tkazilgan so'rovda deyarli yarmi aynan shunday his qilishini aytgan. Uchdan ikki qismi esa yoshlarning diqqati yomonlashganiga ishongan.

Chikago universiteti olimi Monika Rozenberg ta'kidlashicha, odamlar his qilayotgan narsa bilan isbotlangan narsa o'rtasida katta tafovut bor. Xo'sh, haqiqat qaysi tomonda?

Oltin baliq afsonasi

Bu mashhur gap 2015-yilgi Microsoft Canada hisobotiga borib taqaladi. Ammo u so'rovlar va raqamli odatlarga tayangan, miyaning imkoniyatini o'lchamagan. Oltin baliq bilan taqqoslash esa umuman isbotlanmagan.

Laboratoriya nima deydi?

Olimlar diqqatni “d2” deb nomlangan test bilan o'lchaydi. 2024-yilgi meta-tahlil 1990–2021-yillardagi 32 mamlakatdan 21 mingdan ortiq kishi natijalarini solishtirdi. Bolalarda pasayish topilmadi, kattalarda esa hatto ozgina yaxshilanish kuzatildi. Missuri universiteti olimi Nelson Kouanning fikricha, o'zgargan narsa miya emas — odatlarimiz.

Diqqat yo'qolmagan — uni tortib olishga mo'ljallangan muhitda saqlab turish qiyinlashgan.

Real hayotda esa o'zgarish bor

Kaliforniya universiteti (Irvine) professori Gloriya Mark taxminan 20 yil davomida odamlarning kompyuterda qanday ishlashini kuzatgan. 2000-yillar o'rtasida bitta ekranda o'rtacha ≈2,5 daqiqa qolishgan bo'lsa, 2020-yillar boshida bu ≈47 soniyagacha tushgan. Tez-tez almashish xatolarni ko'paytiradi, ishni sekinlashtiradi va stressni oshiradi.

Eng qiziq topilma: biz o'zimizni ham tashqi xalaqit qadar tez-tez uzib turamiz. Ya'ni muammoning yarmi — odat.

Diqqatni qanday qaytarish mumkin?

• Muhitni o'zgartiring. Telefonni boshqa xonaga qo'ying — ovozsiz bo'lsa ham u diqqatni tortadi.
• Aniq maqsad qo'ying. “Bugun inshoning 2 abzasini yozaman” kabi aniq vazifa va natijani ko'rib borish diqqatni ushlab turadi.
• Qisqa tanaffus qiling. Miyani vaqti-vaqti bilan dam oldirish va mindfulness diqqatni mustahkamlaydi.
• Uyqu va stressni nazorat qiling. Kayfiyat, uyqu va xavotir diqqatga bevosita ta'sir qiladi.

FLEX yoki Harvardga tayyorlanayotgan bo'lsangiz, bu ayniqsa muhim: insho, lug'at va testlar chuqur diqqat talab qiladi. Bugundan boshlang: telefonni yashiring, taymerni 25 daqiqaga qo'ying va faqat bitta ish qiling.

Manba: David Adam, “Are Attention Spans Really Shrinking? What the Science Says”, Scientific American (Nature jurnalidan qayta nashr). Matn — o'zbek tilidagi erkin qisqacha bayon. Fotosuratlar Wikimedia Commons'dan, CC0 litsenziyasi.

In 1925, inventor and magazine editor Hugo Gernsback proposed a radical way to escape distractions: the “Isolator”, a heavy helmet worn over the head that blocked outside noise. It had only two narrow slits to see through and an oxygen tube for breathing.

Today a helmet like that seems unnecessary, yet distractions have multiplied a hundredfold. You used to read a book for an hour; now after ten minutes your hand reaches for the phone on its own. Sound familiar? In a 2021 survey of more than 2,000 adults in Britain, almost half said they feel exactly this way, and about two thirds believed young people's attention had got worse.

University of Chicago researcher Monica Rosenberg points out that there is a big gap between what people feel and what has been proven. So where does the truth lie?

The goldfish myth

This famous line goes back to a 2015 Microsoft Canada report. But it relied on surveys and digital habits and did not measure what the brain can do. The comparison with a goldfish was never proven at all.

What does the lab say?

Scientists measure attention with a test called “d2”. A 2024 meta-analysis compared the results of more than 21,000 people from 32 countries between 1990 and 2021. It found no decline in children, and even a slight improvement in adults. In the view of University of Missouri researcher Nelson Cowan, what has changed is not the brain but our habits.

Attention is not lost. It is just harder to hold in an environment designed to grab it.

In real life, though, something has changed

Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, has observed how people work on computers for about 20 years. In the mid-2000s people stayed on a single screen for about 2.5 minutes on average; by the early 2020s that had fallen to about 47 seconds. Frequent switching increases mistakes, slows work down and raises stress.

The most interesting finding: we interrupt ourselves about as often as outside distractions do. In other words, half of the problem is habit.

How can you get your attention back?

• Change your environment. Put the phone in another room: even on silent it pulls at your attention.
• Set a clear goal. A concrete task such as “today I will write two paragraphs of my essay”, plus tracking progress, keeps attention in place.
• Take short breaks. Resting the brain from time to time and practising mindfulness strengthen attention.
• Watch your sleep and stress. Mood, sleep and anxiety directly affect attention.

If you are preparing for FLEX or Harvard, this matters even more: essays, vocabulary and tests all demand deep attention. Start today: hide the phone, set a timer for 25 minutes and do just one thing.

Source: David Adam, “Are Attention Spans Really Shrinking? What the Science Says”, Scientific American (republished from Nature). Text: a free summary. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 licence.