attention span

American  

noun

1. the interval during which an individual can concentrate, as on a single object, idea, or activity.

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Etymology

Origin of attention span

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The center found that preschool children struggle to learn as much from content with frequent cuts, though consuming it doesn’t impact their attention span negatively, Uhls said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

Instead, too many filmmakers took the crowd’s attention span for granted; even the strongest films in competition could delete a half-hour of dead air.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

A panel of entertainment experts weighed in recently on what the future of entertainment might look like, between breakthroughs in technology, production costs coming down, and the evolving—or devolving—human attention span.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

"My feeling is that the flood of nonsense, low-quality content generated using AI might further reduce people's attention span," he says.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026

“Maribel has a limited attention span and often fiddles with her pencil or other desk supplies during class time.”

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez