Digital Distraction & Concentration Woes

If you are mindlessly scrolling on social media, TV, or laptop for hours, have a dwindling attention span and are trapped in a quagmire of random thoughts (gas bill, weight issues, work commitment, date night, errant taxi drivers etc) popping up in your brains constantly then you may be suffering from the popcorn brain syndrome.

In her book Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, University of California, Resear-cher Gloria Mark has mentioned that attention spans today have drastically declined from an average of 2.5 minutes in 2004 to as little as 47 seconds today!

“In simple terms, popcorn brain refers to a state where our thoughts are constantly “popping” like popcorn, jumping from one thing to another without settling on any one idea for long,” says Founder & Counselling Psychologist, The Social Therapist.

Cognitive Chaos

“The pressures of keeping up with a fast-paced world could serve as an acting cause,” says Sanam Devida-sani, Psychologist & psychotherapist from Mumbai. Sanam explains how the hustle culture is primarily responsible for wreaking chaos in our minds, nudging people to constantly move from one task to another, one venue to another and so on. Adding, “Technology makes this worse. Social media apps give people access to our lives, our times and space in our minds.”

The constant need to be available, stimulating oneself by involvement in a plethora of conversations across different contexts too, overloads the very cognitive functions of the brain. It leads to dwindling attention spans. The avoidance of emotions and other problems in life too, could serve as a cause towards the popcorn brain syndrome. Sanam says, “Many of us don’t know how to deal with our emotions which quite naively makes us turn to digital platforms like Netflix, Insta to have ourselves distracted.”

Dr Vidhya Nair, Holistic psychologist, M.B.B.S & M.A, Psychology from Goa says, “The neuroplastic nature of the brain forces the brain to adapt to this demanding environment as it sees consumption and instant gratification as the need of the hour.” This serves as a hurdle in mindful living, living in the moment and partaking in critical thinking.

Attack Across Ages

A barrage of thoughts popping back and forth in one’s mind could be a common sight across the age spectrum. However, those most vulnerable to the phenomena are young minds between the age groups of 18-25. Dr Vidhya explains that it is mainly due to youngsters’ over-dependence on social media for everything.

Shiromi says, “We are seeing more cases of neurodivergence, screen-led autism along with learning disabilities in children as young as 4-5 years of age.” Stressing the fact that a child’s brain in its formative years is simply not equipped to deal with such an overload of information stimulation and exposure for long hours. Shiromi adds, “Younger people may struggle to set boundaries with their devices with their habits only then solidifying into varied patterns of distraction”. This, in a way, makes them more prone to cognitive fragmentation.

Dopamine Kick

While the popcorn brain syndrome might help some to experience waves of dopamine kicking in, this isn’t a healthy habit to rely on. Overexposure and over-stimulation could only lead to stress, confusion and mind wandering.

Deepali Batra, Sr. Consultant, Clinical Psychologist & Director, PALS from Delhi says, “This syndrome impacts attention span and productivity leading to cognitive exhaustion.” Deepali speaks of how the popcorn pops in different directions so that overexposure to digital content leads to the scattering of thoughts. “Due to the overload of content and its consumption, a person starts to compare himself/herself based on a race of sorts,” adds Deepali. This again leads to a chain of actions with people finally getting stuck into a never-ending loop of seeking conformity.

Take A Break

The popcorn syndrome may seem like an unavoidable spiral of thoughts given today’s day and age. However, prioritizing one’s mental and physical well-being needs to be incorporated via simple practices. Dr Vidya says, “Conscious and regular practices of a digital detox or a digital break along with eating habits (without screens) or simple activities such as knitting, reading or gardening may help break this spiral of never-ending thoughts.”