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The Thought Show: The Attention Span of a Goldfish

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Factual: Life Stories

The Attention Span of a Goldfish

16/03/2017 GMT

BBC World Service - The Thought Show, The Attention Span of a Goldfish

The attention span of a goldfish; live video streaming player safety; human hands.

Are our attention spans really shorter than that of a goldfish? The safety of players on the live video streaming platform Twitch; the power of human hands.

Is it really true our attention spans are getting shorter in the always-connected world of social media, smartphones and hyperlinks? The statistics say that the average attention span is down from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds now. That's less than the nine-second attention span of the average goldfish. But the statistics are not all that they seem - and neither is the received wisdom about goldfish.


Twitch is a live video streaming platform used widely in the gaming community. The death of a well-known gamer has opened a huge debate about player safety.


And, there is something satisfying about working with our hands, whether it is making something, fixing something or caring for someone. Maria Margaronis asks what it is about our tactile skills that make us so fundamentally human.


(Image: Shutterstock/Goldfish)

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