I was born with a certain level of physical fitness. For the sake of argument, let’s call it 50/100.
Ahead of me in life lies a fork in the road. On one side, I drive everywhere, my weekly groceries are delivered, and I sit at my computer all day. On the other side, I walk to work, carry my shopping home and take a break at lunch every day to go to the gym.
I don’t think it would be too controversial to say that in the first case my fitness would decline, and in the second, it would improve.
But here is the real question: what if attention worked in the same way? Just as physical fitness depends on how we use our bodies, our ability to focus may depend on how we use our minds. And that’s where Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, enters the picture.
“It’s my ADHD”
You’ve probably said it yourself, or heard someone else say it:
“Why can’t I concentrate on a task?”
“I can only do things I’m interested in.”
“Why do I get bored so easily?”
This is often followed by: “It’s my ADHD”, (which to be fair, it probably is). But why do we hear it so often nowadays?
Well, let me pitch an idea to you. Just as we’re born with different levels of physical fitness, we’re also born with different levels of attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity (the three elements of ADHD). For the purposes of this article (and to keep it below the length of a book), let’s talk about attention for now.
Some people are born with 20/100 attention, some with 50/100 and some with 80/100. But unlike physical fitness, attention isn’t something we think to train or protect.
So here is the argument I’d like to make to you: Those with 20/100 attention are those who were diagnosed with ADHD 25 years ago. This group has always had ADHD, even if we missed it in the past.
But many others, the 50s and 80s, have seen their “attention fitness” decline. Those who started at 80 are now closer to 50; those who started at 50 are now nearer to 30. And that collective decline is what I like to call “Societal ADHD”. It’s real, it affects people, and it needs to be taken seriously.
What has society got to do with ADHD?
“Societal ADHD” isn’t about how you were wired at birth, it’s about how society has been rewiring you. Just as our physical fitness declines if we stop moving, our attention fitness declines when we constantly overstimulate our minds (or don’t use it enough), and modern life gives us plenty of chances to do just that.
I could write a book about all the factors involved, but here are a few examples of how our surroundings and habits may be quietly chipping away at our attention fitness.
| Your phone: | Many of us are chronically attached to our smartphones which are literally designed to keep us hooked. Whether that be constant notifications, short form content to grab our attention or endlessly pushing posts to us on social media, our brain is being trained to seek novelty and ‘quick hits’.
You can see the impact of this drug most clearly with children and young people who can’t hide their withdrawal symptoms. You take away the screen and chaos is let loose. As adults we either mask the withdrawals, notice an impact on our mood such as becoming more irritable, or pick up our phones again to give us the next dose. |
| Your environment: | We live in more crowded environments, whether that be noisy classrooms, open-plan offices or busy urban cities. Having such constant stimulation can make it harder to concentrate, increasing fatigue and reducing attention. |
| Your diet: | Our lives are increasingly pressured, so many of us eat irregularly or rely on quick, ultra-processed, high sugar foods. This can result in rapid changes in energy, mood swings and subsequent attention difficulties. |
Societal problem, societal solution?
The fact is, many of these things are here to stay and of course, they aren’t all bad. But just like we can preserve parks and build bike lanes to improve our physical fitness, we can also design environments that protect our attention fitness.
It’s more complex than that of course, but for now I want to focus on the choices we can make individually.
Your phone: Our aim here is to reduce our dependence on this drug and the potential impact it is having on our attention spans. There is no magic number for how much we should use our smartphones per day.
Research shows that people aged 15–54 spend around 4 hours a day on their phones. Halve that, and you gain 14 extra hours a week — almost a full waking day. That’s like swapping the escalator for the stairs. Small change, big difference.
We could use that time to engage in activities that build attention fitness instead of depleting it— and in doing so, reduce both our dependence on our devices and their impact on our focus.
Your environment: It may be that you don’t choose to work in an open plan office, but that may be your reality. It may be that you don’t choose to come home to a household of kids running around and shouting, but that may be your reality. With that in mind, the idea here is to seek opportunities for quieter moments in your day, whether that be finding a quiet space in your office where you can work on occasion, or carving out an hour in your evening which is screen free.
Your diet: I’m no expert in this area and there are many who could advise in a much more professional capacity than I. That said, there is a reason that phrases such as “sugar rush” are often paired with “slump”. Reducing ultra-processed and sugary foods can only be a good thing. I understand that people’s lives are busy, but we still have a choice and it’s important we use it.
Of course, none of these are magic solutions. However, my argument is that someone who spends less time on their phone, finds time in their day to unwind and reduce stimulation, and eats well, is likely to have less difficulties with their attention than someone who does not.
Final Thought
I need to make it very clear here that I don’t blame people for having these difficulties. I also very much realise that ADHD is not just a thing that can be “fixed” by going on your phone less. In no way do I aim to minimise the realness or impact of ADHD.
ADHD has always existed. But societal ADHD reminds us that attention isn’t just a personal trait, it’s a product of our environment.
Just as we’ve learned to take responsibility for our physical health in a world that makes being sedentary easy, we now need to take responsibility for our attention fitness, in a world that makes distraction inevitable.
We can’t turn back time, but we can adapt, redesign and make different choices. Because when it comes to both focus and fitness, we all share the same gym: the society we’ve built.
