How high a price are people paying when they become increasingly dependent on AI and social networks?

An email hasn't been read yet when a message notification pops up. While replying to the message, the user switched to watching a short video. Less than a minute later, they continued to open another tab to search for information.

These seemingly normal behaviors reflect a worrying reality: the ability to maintain human attention is getting shorter and shorter.

After more than 30 years of research on how people interact with digital technology, psychologist Gloria Mark believes that the brain is paying a heavy price for the era of constant connection.

Easily fatigued and reduced work efficiency due to constant distractions

Since the early 2000s, Gloria Mark's research team has tracked adults' computer and electronic device usage behavior in real work environments.

Results showed that in 2003, a person could focus on a task for about 2.5 minutes before being interrupted or switching to another activity.

However, by 2012, this number dropped to just 75 seconds. During the period 2014-2020, the average attention span continued to decline, to only about 47 seconds.

According to researchers, constantly switching attention does not help the brain become more flexible as many people think. On the contrary, this process increases cognitive load, causing the brain to spend more energy to return to its original work.

Physiological data show that the higher the frequency of distraction, the greater the level of stress. Users often take longer to complete work, get tired easily and reduce productivity.

Children are the most vulnerable group

Not only adults, children and teenagers are also strongly affected by the digital environment.

In recent years, many major technology companies have faced lawsuits related to allegations that their platform design has the potential to cause addiction and affect the mental health of young users.

The plaintiffs claim that prolonged exposure to social media from an early age can increase feelings of anxiety, loneliness, insomnia and impaired concentration.

In many countries, the question of how safe social networks are for children is still being debated. Some governments have chosen a more aggressive approach.

At the end of 2024, Australia passed a law prohibiting children under 16 years old from using social networks, with the goal of reducing negative effects on mental health and cognitive development.

However, experts also note that social networks do not only bring negative consequences. For some vulnerable youth groups, this is still a place to help them find connection, emotional support and a sense of belonging to the community.

When AI begins to "think for" humans

If social networks fragment attention, the development of generative AI poses another challenge: the risk of humans abandoning deep thinking processes.

Previously, to understand a document, readers had to read, analyze, synthesize and draw conclusions themselves. This entire process forces the brain to work actively, forming the ability to remember and think critically.

Today, tools like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini can summarize, analyze or even rewrite content in seconds.

That saves time, but at the same time raises concerns that humans are gradually entrusting part of their cognitive activities to machines.

Many researchers liken this phenomenon to the weakening of muscles when they are no longer exercised regularly. If the brain is less required to reason, analyze and solve problems, cognitive abilities may gradually decline over time.

Another concern is the development of "virtual friends" operated by AI. Unlike real-life relationships, which require understanding, patience, and the ability to resolve conflicts, chatbots are often designed to empathize and meet users' emotional needs.

According to experts, over-reliance on such interactions can limit opportunities to practice communication skills and emotional intelligence in the real world.

Despite giving many warnings, Gloria Mark does not believe that humans have reached the point of no return.

According to her, the ability to concentrate has not disappeared completely, but is being eroded by a technological environment designed to compete for attention.

The solution doesn't lie in giving up technology, but in proactively building real focus times into your daily life.

This could be reading an entire book instead of just looking at the summary, completing a task without constantly checking your phone, meeting friends in person instead of just interacting through a screen, or figuring out a problem yourself before asking an AI.