Once upon a time, people stared at sunsets. Now, they stare at their phones, watching someone else stare at a sunset. Our attention span is dramatically low. Let’s talk about how this is cooking our brains—and what we can do about it, before we all start communicating exclusively through emojis.

Always on edge: the stress of constant connection

Remember when the only thing buzzing in your pocket were keys? Now, it’s notifications, reminders, emails, and alerts from an app you don’t even remember downloading. You wake up to a dozen messages, go to bed answering work emails, and somewhere in between, your smartwatch reminds you furiously that you haven’t exercised in three days.

We have trained ourselves to be permanently “available.” If you don’t reply to a message within ten minutes, people assume you either hate them or you hate them.

The idea of “just not checking your phone” now feels as radical as running away to live in the mountains.

Even vacations aren’t safe. You take a break, but your phone follows you. One moment, you’re chilling at the ocean. The next, you’re scrolling through an argument between strangers about pineapple on pizza.

Congratulations.

Attention. Attention spans getting lower 

Once upon a time, people could sit down and read an entire books. Now, most of us can barely finish a tweet before checking another app. The average attention span has shrunk and still shrinking every year.

We don’t even realize it’s happening.

You start reading an article about productivity, and suddenly, you’re watching a raccoon steal a donut on YouTube. How did you get there? Who knows. What were you originally doing?

Sometimes it’s impossible to say.

Our brains have become overstimulated toddlers. The moment something feels slightly boring—poof, we’re gone.

How about sitting quietly with our own thoughts for 10 minutes straight? Thanks but no thanks.

How to actually fix it

The internet isn’t going anywhere, but your brain might. Let’s fix that.

• The “One screen at a time” rule – Watching a movie? No scrolling. Eating dinner? No phones. Talking to a human? Look at their actual face. What a revolution.
• The “Why am I checking this?” test – Before opening an app, ask yourself: “Do I actually need to, or am I just bored?” If the answer is boredom, do literally anything else. Stare at a wall. Stare at a plant. Stare at the neighbor’s cat.
• The 90s Challenge – For one hour a day, live like it’s 1992. No internet, no social media, no notifications. Just you and whatever people did back then (be responsible).
• The “Leave your phone in another room” trick – This one is a hard one, but effective. If your phone isn’t physically next to you, you’re far less likely to waste an hour checking how much a baby elephant weights (you don’t have to Google it – it’s about 100 kilograms).

Good news: we’re not doomed

Look, it’s not all bad. Our brain is pretty amazing. It got us through so many inventions. If the humans were capable of doing so many amazing creations, I’m pretty sure you can put your phone down for an hour.

Just take small steps.

A little less scrolling, a little more living. Maybe even—dare I say it—sit and do nothing.

And hey, if all those things fail, just remember: the internet will always be there.

But that sunset?

That moment with your friend?

That ridiculous thing your dog just did?

That’s happening right now.

Don’t miss it.