Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt admits tech kills focus, turning off your phone is the only fix

India Today

4 days ago

Technology is rapidly evolving, and now it's easier than ever to reach out to people. But in all this hustle of social media and constant notifications, tech is definitely taking a toll on mental health and making it harder for people to focus. The best way to deal with this problem? According to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, you can regain focus by simply turning off your phone. Yes, the same man who helped build one of the most influential tech companies and who even launched Android which is now powering billions of buzzing devices—is now saying that these very devices are impacting our ability to focus and think deeply.advertisementSpeaking on the Moonshots podcast, Schmidt discussed the impact of constant digital noise, especially on young people trying to do meaningful work. 'I work with a lot of 20-somethings in research,' he said. 'One of the questions I had was, how do they do research in the presence of all these stimulations? I can answer the question definitively: they turn off their phone.'Schmidt pointed to the role of advanced tech in this rising attention crisis. 'We've essentially tried to monetise all of your waking hours,' he said. 'Ads, entertainment, subscriptions—it's all competing for your attention, and that's completely at odds with how humans are wired to think.'
His comments definitely strike a chord, especially coming from someone who was once leading Google, the very company that has so many products built around capturing and keeping user attention. But Schmidt didn't shy away from the irony. 'You can't think deeply as a researcher with this thing buzzing,' he said, referring to the phone. 'Even these apps that are supposed to help you relax, just turn the phone off. That's how humans have relaxed for 70,000 years.'And this isn't the first time we have been warned about the red flags of digital distraction. Schmidt's comments echo broader growing concerns among researchers and psychologists. Dr Gloria Mark, a leading attention researcher, found in her study that the average attention span on a screen has plummeted from 2.5 minutes two decades ago to just 47 seconds today. The consequences are wide-ranging including fragmented thinking, poor retention, and increased stress.Jim Kwik who is known as the brain coach, author of Limitless, points out that the problem with digital distraction isn't just forgetfulness. It is the divided attention. 'They blame their retention, but it's really more their attention,' he told Forbes. 'Every ring, ping, and notification is driving us to distraction. And we wonder why we can't remember things in meetings or with our family.'A separate study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) linked digital distractions to reduced satisfaction and perceived learning. The study found that younger users, and those disengaged from live learning environments, were particularly vulnerable. Frequent behaviours like checking the time, boredom scrolling, or sending instant messages were all predictors of higher distraction levels.While Schmidt emphasises turning off the phone, he also offers a different approach of keeping the tech and focus together. He suggests that people can continue using technology, but to focus they need to strip themselves away from the distracting bits. He shared his own example where he noted how he used Google's Gemini AI to brainstorm for six hours straight during a flight and this was possible due to no interruptions, no ads, no social media. He suggests that turning off technology might not be the only solution, people can still use it effectively, as long as they keep away from the distractions.- Ends