For a while, I was convinced my brain was getting worse.

I’d open something to read and five minutes later I’d be checking something else.
Then something else.
Somehow I’d end up scrolling without even remembering why I picked up my phone in the first place.

It felt embarrassing!

I used to read for hours without thinking about it.
Now a long article can feel heavier than it should.
So I blamed myself. I thought my attention span was just fried.

But something didn’t add up.

When I genuinely care about something, I can still disappear into it.
I can watch a long interview without touching my phone.
I can fall into a random topic late at night and completely lose track of time.

So the ability is still there.

What changed?

I started noticing how often I get interrupted.
Not by big dramatic things. Small ones.
A vibration. A banner.
A red notification dot.
A subtle “you might also like this.”

None of it feels serious on its own.

But it never stops.

And that constant pull does something to you.
It trains your brain to expect movement.
To expect novelty.
To expect the next thing before you’ve even finished the current one.

Scrolling is the perfect example.
Every swipe might show you something better.
Funnier. More shocking. More useful.
That tiny sense of anticipation keeps you going longer than you planned.

It doesn’t mean you’re weak.
It means your brain responds to novelty.
That’s human!

What feels different now isn’t my intelligence.
It’s my tolerance for depth.
Long arguments require more patience.
Silence feels slightly uncomfortable.
I catch myself reaching for my phone during moments that used to just be quiet.

And quiet used to be where ideas formed.

I don’t think our attention spans are dying.

I think they’re being pulled apart in small pieces, all day long.

Right now the rare skill isn’t multitasking.

It’s being able to sit with one thought…
and not escape it!