Do You Have "Phone Brain"? What Experts Say About Our Shrinking Attention Spans

""Smartphones combine infinite novelty and variable rewards - likes, notifications, endless scroll. That combo reliably hijacks our brain's salience and dopamine systems, training us to seek the next micro-hit instead of staying with one task," says Dr. Andrea Gleim, licensed professional counselor, CEO and founder of Mindfully Mine Counseling Center. This also sets a bit of a trap to tire our brains out and make it even harder to rein in our focus. Throughout the day, we do a ton of context switching, Gleim says, i.e., going from task to responding to a notification and then back to the task. This "increases mental fatigue and makes sustained focus feel harder," she says."

""Fortunately, this is all changeable, Gleim says. 'Attention is a skill shaped by habits, sleep, stress, and design. What we consistently practice grows stronger.' Healing your attention span starts with identifying what's driving you to your phone. A huge part of why so many of us feel glued to our phones right now is that we're looking for distractions from our daily lives and all the bad news in the world, according to Tracy Vadakumchery, LMHC, a licensed therapist practicing in Ne""

Smartphones and social media can be addictive because they combine infinite novelty and variable rewards—likes, notifications, and endless scroll—which hijack the brain's salience and dopamine systems and train people to seek micro-hits instead of staying with one task. Frequent context switching between tasks and notifications increases mental fatigue and makes sustained focus harder. Attention is a skill shaped by habits, sleep, stress, and product design; consistent practice strengthens it. Healing attention begins by identifying triggers that drive phone use. Many people use phones as distractions from daily life and bad news, reinforcing compulsive checking.

Read at Scary Mommy