Monday 11th May - 07:20 PM BST
The crisis of attention is a crisis of meaning
Boredom, multitasking, and the fragility of focus
We often describe distraction as a failure of focus, but what if it is also a crisis of meaning? Drawing on decades of research, psychologist and author of Attention Span, Gloria Mark, explores how our cognitive, emotional, and social capacities are being reshaped by environments that never allow the mind to rest. As screens fill every idle moment, our experience of boredom—the space where imagination and reflection once lived—has been optimised away. Her research shows that meaning and attention are deeply intertwined: when we lose a sense of meaning, our minds drift, and with it, our experience of reality fragments.
In this talk, Mark asks what these patterns reveal about consciousness itself, and how we might rebuild the conditions for focus, balance, and meaning in an always‑on world.
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Gloria Mark
Gloria Mark is a Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, where she studies how digital technology impacts attention, productivity, and well‑being. Trained in psychology and computer science, her research combines empirical data with human‑centred insights to understand how people manage focus in an always‑on environment.
Mark is the author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity, which draws on decades of behavioural data to reveal how modern work and media habits fragment attention. Her forthcoming book explores how purpose, emotion, and social connection are changing in the digital age. Mark’s work informs debates on digital distraction, mental health, and how we might design technology that supports meaningful human experience.