Just because someone stares at us doesn't mean they see us.

It's clear to everyone that nobody listens anymore and that the skill of active listening has become an extremely rare "phenomenon." A few days ago, I wrote about the attention economy as a concept referring to how human attention is treated as a scarce and valuable resource in modern information society.

We realized how big the problem of (selective) attention is while testing and playing with Tobii's Eye Tracker as part of the DeeP Project's neurobehavioral lab. Thus, the fact that nobody sees anyone has become a new dimension of the problem.

An article published in Večernji list supports this.

Now, it would be easiest to declare all children ADHD, but I'm afraid things aren't that simple.

Once upon a time, I translated the process of seeing as some kind of analog-to-digital conversion (like the sound from a vinyl record reproduced by our hi-fi system). And I hope no one will crucify me for oversimplifying things. So, in short, it would look something like this:

When we look, light in the form of electromagnetic waves (an analog signal) enters our eyes. It then passes through the cornea and lens of the eye, focusing on the retina, where specialized cells – photoreceptors – are located. Then, the photoreceptors in the retina perform a function similar to an analog-to-digital converter, converting light stimuli (analog signals) into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain via the optic nerve.

Now our brain enters the scene, interpreting these electrical impulses (digital signals) and creating our conscious awareness of what we see. This includes recognizing shapes, colors, movements, and distances.

AND THIS IS WHERE THE PROBLEM ARISES BECAUSE THERE IS A LOSS OF "SIGNAL," AND OUR BRAIN CAN SELECTIVELY INTERPRET CERTAIN ASPECTS OF VISION WHILE IGNORING OR ABSTRACTING OTHER INFORMATION (e.g., due to focus or attention).

How complex or simple the matter is can be seen in the picture within the text, where even though the Coca-Cola bottle was the main "star," nobody noticed it. This is visible in so-called heat maps.

Now, Microsoft conducted research long ago that revealed the average human "attention span" has significantly decreased over the years. Since 2000, the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to just 8 seconds. This is shorter than that of a goldfish, whose attention span is 9 seconds. Although Microsoft is viewed suspiciously for this research, we cannot completely ignore it.

This raises an interesting question. Hasn't our brain's neuroplasticity and adaptation to things we don't even know we're adapting to (whether good or bad) done its work? We feel super cool when we're super busy, a million questions from colleagues, answering emails in parallel… leading to us supposedly being better at multitasking. So, many small chunks of information that we toss around have led to us being unable to focus anymore. And then we wonder why, at the end of the day, we have no idea what we did.

Now, in psychology, the phenomenon of looking (and it also applies to listening) does not always mean actual perception. When someone stares at us, it's natural to assume we are the center of attention. However, people are capable of looking through you, focusing on superficial or peripheral elements, and completely ignoring the key message. One of the main reasons for this is DISTRACTION. And we see this in the example of the picture with Coca-Cola.

Why does this happen?

In the human brain, there is a natural tendency for attention to be drawn to dynamic, contrasting, or unexpected elements.

People tend to direct their attention towards what they consider valuable or relevant to themselves.

People have a limited attention capacity, meaning we choose where to direct our cognitive resources.

If there is too much information or visual interference, the brain can be overloaded, and we fail to properly process everything we look at. Cognitive load reduces our ability to identify key information, even when we are looking directly at it.

Long story short

Attention problems and the ability to focus are becoming common challenges in today's society, overwhelmed by information and visual stimuli. The phenomenon where someone looks at us but doesn't actually "see" can be explained by distraction – the brain is programmed to focus on dynamic and contrasting elements, often ignoring key information (and children love that!), and we have further "developed" this with our lifestyles. We also see this problem in research indicating a decrease in average attention span, from 12 seconds in 2000 to just 8 seconds today, which is even shorter than a goldfish's attention span.

All of these are not just theoretical problems but have serious consequences in everyday life, especially in educational processes, so 4000 un-enrolled children, given everything, are not such a big problem. The problem lies in deeper social and cognitive challenges. Although it is easiest to attribute everything to disorders like ADHD, the problem is likely more complex and includes factors such as information overload, lack of curiosity, and reduced focus.

Fig. Loss of curiosity in correlation with time spent on a mobile phone

( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30406005/ )

Related to the concept of the attention economy, modern technology and multitasking may have contributed precisely to children and adults finding it harder to focus on one activity, such as school or learning or reading a simple functional specification. If children do not see immediate value in education or are constantly distracted by various stimuli, their attention is dispersed, resulting in delayed or hindered school enrollment (?!)

This situation requires deeper reflection on how to approach attention problems in the education system, not just through ADHD diagnosis, but also through changes in educational methods and approaches that would better suit the challenges of today's digital world.

Ultimately, this leads us to the conclusion that our relationship with attention and education must evolve, because, although we are physically present and looking, we are increasingly unable to "see" what is truly important – whether in communication with others or in the educational/business or any other process.