Is Modern ADHD a Crisis of Environment? An Exploration of Attention in the Digital Age

I confess to having been sceptical about the rising ADHD diagnoses, suspecting it to be a fad. However, after watching people describe their everyday distractions, my view shifted. The explosion of ADHD-like behaviours seems more about the environment we've created rather than individual faults. This episode explores whether our digital society is an attentional pathogen, meticulously designed to fragment our focus for profit. We debate two paths: whether this crisis is a tragic accident or a deliberate byproduct of the attention economy. We also contemplate two possible responses—personal monasticism and public reform. I challenge you to rethink how we manage our attention and the future direction we want to take.

00:00 Confession and Initial Scepticism

00:44 Do we all have ADHD now?

02:05 The Digital Society as an Attentional Pathogen

02:41 Exploring the Nature of the Pathogen

03:19 Path A: The Accidental Crisis

05:36 Cognitive Artefacts: Complementary vs. Competitive

09:46 Path B: The Deliberate Machine

12:16 Consequences of Fragmented Attention

18:23 Solutions: Personal Monasticism vs. Public Reform

24:21 Conclusion: Balancing Personal and Public Responses

26:04 Final Thoughts and Call to Action