Have you ever been sitting on your couch eating a big bowl of buttery popcorn, watching Marvel Studios’ Endgame wondering why the movie seems to last a lifetime? Or have you ever felt like your teacher would never stop talking about a random piece of literature that you know you will never encounter again in your life? Or have you ever felt like time seemed to stop when you sat down to read a biology textbook? If you answered yes to any of the aforementioned questions, then we welcome you to a culture where no one can seem to concentrate for more than 30 seconds at a time. 

If you are one of those people where you skim through an article to find the main point, you have come to the wrong place. Unless you somehow developed superpowers on reading for hours on end, you most likely find it difficult to read without some sort of break. The fact of the matter is that no one wants to read a 1200 word article on biochemical engineering. Unfortunately, when you skim through articles, you miss the small details that have the biggest impact. These overlooked details could mean the difference between truly comprehending the material at hand and just being able to grasp at the concept the author has dedicated their livelihood to. 

If you have made it this far, you are already surpassing my expectations of you. Perhaps, you have come back here, following a TikTok break. Or perhaps you have returned to our humble site after several days. Nonetheless, you have still made it this far which is more than what I can say for those who dismissed our article like a soggy piece of bread on the sidewalk. Now, we return to another point to retain your attention once again. Many people wonder why they can’t focus for more than five seconds, when in reality, it is the way they have been conditioned. If you think about it, everything that we do on a daily basis revolves around actions that last no longer than five minutes. Tiktoks are 30 seconds long; texting your friends takes a minute; the rounds of the video game you are actively playing only lasts 10 minutes. The things you enjoy doing are the activities that last for short bursts of time and require you to use your brain at minimum capacity. 

After reading this article, will you attempt to truly change your habitual behaviors, or will you return to a lackluster sense of being, moving from one activity to the next without truly living?