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""Hyperfocus" teaches readers to control their limited capacity to focus on and process things in the moment, which he calls our "attentional space." It turns out our brain's scratchpad is pretty small and can only hold a handful of tasks at a time. When one of those tasks is complex - like putting together a business proposal or taking care of a toddler - that number dwindles down to one or two. The problem is that our brains are predisposed toward distraction, wandering for an average of 47 percent of the day, writes Mr. Bailey. And those of us who sit in front of a computer, an endless source of novelty, typically work for only 40 seconds before being distracted or interrupted. As a result, our attentional space is constantly filled, which slows down our work."

"Waiting for the next e-mail or internet "hit" means we are constantly distracted from our everyday tasks. But don't blame technology because the causes are human,"

"You may not hear much about the crisis called "distracted living". This is where you miss out on much of your life because you generally aren't paying attention - or your attention is so torn in many directions that you really don't focus on anything."

"Smartphones. They hold more potential distractions than a carnival. And more potential for family conflicts, as well. That's the subject of "Screenagers," directed by Delaney Ruston, a primary care doctor and filmmaker who took up the topic in the midst of conflicts over screen time in her own family. In the film, Ruston discusses the issue with parents, academics, mental health professionals and kids, including her own, in an attempt to get a handle on the enormous shift taking place in how tweens and teens interact with the world and each other."

"Phones have saturated teenage life: Ninety-five percent of Americans ages 13 to 17 have a smartphone or access to one, and nearly half report using the internet "almost constantly." But as recent survey data and interviews have suggested, many teens find much of that time to be unsatisfyingly spent. Constant usage shouldn't be mistaken for constant enjoyment, as any citizen of the internet can attest. A new nationally representative survey about "screen time and device distractions" from the Pew Research Center indicates that it's not just parents who think teenagers are worryingly inseparable from their phones-many teens themselves do, too. Fifty-four percent of the roughly 750 13-to-17-year-olds surveyed said they spend too much time absorbed in their phones, and 65 percent of parents said the same of their kids' device usage more generally."

"For the most part, research suggests that listening to music can improve your efficiency, creativity and happiness in terms of work-related tasks. However, there are stipulations to these benefits. For example, studies seem to agree that listening to music with lyrics is distracting for most people. Therefore, it's often recommended that we avoid listening to music featuring lyrics when working on tasks that require intense focus or the learning of new information."

"Hospitals are leaning on the distracting power of immersive technology "

"I know, it sounds like I might be about to join the cacophony of grand claims around immersive media technologies, such as those relating to behaviour change, empathy development, and bias reduction. Meanwhile, a commonly heard concern is that digital media technologies distract us, take us out of the "here and now"- affixing our attention to a mobile phone perhaps, or isolating us behind a head mounted display. Notwithstanding these fraught debates, it seems clear that one of the affordances of immersive media, and VR in particular, is the creation of a sense of presence, of "being there." So why take a user out of the "here and now" and attempt to situate her somewhere else?"

"How often are you diverted from a task by the seductive lure of your mobile phone? And does it matter? In a landmark book, James Williams argues we're losing the power to concentrate"

omething is wrong with the way the problem has been posed and addressed. A virtual obsession with asking the wrong question obscures the factors that in fact drive violence and trap the industry in a difficult dilemma. The usual question - "Does television violence incite real-life violence?" - is itself a symptom rather than diagnostic tool of the problem. Despite its alarming implications, and intent, or perhaps because of them, it distracts from focusing on the major conditions producing violence in society and limits discussion of television violence to its most simplistic dimension. Violence is a complex scenario and social relationship. Whatever else it does, violence in drama and news demonstrates power. It portrays victims, as well as victimizers. It intimidates, as well as incites. It shows one's place in the "pecking order" that runs society. And, it "travels well" on the world market. Changing the Debate Let us, then, try to change the terms of the debate so that something might come of it.

"Smartphones have by now been implicated in so many crummy outcomes-car fatalities, sleep disturbances, empathy loss, relationship problems, failure to notice a clown on a unicycle-that it almost seems easier to list the things they don't mess up than the things they do. Our society may be reaching peak criticism of digital devices. Even so, emerging research suggests that a key problem remains underappreciated. It involves kids' development, but it's probably not what you think. More than screen-obsessed young children, we should be concerned about tuned-out parents."

"Young consumers have lots of distractions these days. Attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, giving brands less time than ever to make an impression. Perhaps that's why Snapchat-best known for fleeting photos and videos that catch a pop-culture moment, then disappear-has emerged as the social media mirror to a generation's soul."