Gloria Mark, Ph.D.
Chancellor's Professor Emerita at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine
David Epstein
Science writer and best-selling author
Attention Span: Find Focus, Fight Distraction
BONUS AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of Attention Span from FAN’s partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Prof. Mark that will start immediately after the webinar. Details on the webinar registration page.
We spend an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting our attention. It takes 25 minutes to bring our attention back to a task after an interruption. And we interrupt ourselves more than we’re interrupted by others. In Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, psychologist Gloria Mark, Ph.D. reveals these and more surprising results from her decades of research into how technology affects our attention.
Based on decades of original research in what Prof. Mark calls “living laboratories,” where she studies technology use in people’s real-world environments, Attention Span not only presents the science of exactly how short our attention spans have become, how much we’re interrupted and how much stress that causes us, but also how we can gain control of our attention and achieve wellbeing.
Prof. Mark is Chancellor’s Professor Emerita at the University of California, Irvine, and has been a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research since 2012. For over two decades she has studied the impact of digital media on people’s lives, focusing on how using our devices affects our multitasking, distractions, mood, and behavior. She has also been a Fulbright scholar and has received the prestigious NSF Career grant.
Prof. Mark will be in conversation with David Epstein (FAN ’16 and ’20), a science writer and author of the New York Times bestsellers Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, and The Sports Gene. Epstein was previously an investigative reporter at ProPublica, and prior to that a senior writer at Sports Illustrated. His two TED Talks on human development and performance have been viewed 12 million times.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.
Event Sponsors
- The Avery Coonley School
- Baker Demonstration School
- Barrington D220
- Beacon Academy
- Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
- Brickton Montessori School
- British International School of Chicago, Lincoln Park
- British International School of Chicago, South Loop
- Catherine Cook School
- Chiaravalle Montessori School
- Chicago Jewish Day School
- Compass Health Center
- Connections for the Homeless
- Countryside Day School
- The Cove School
- Evanston Scholars
- Evanston Township High School D202
- Family Service Center
- The Frances Xavier Warde School
- Francis W. Parker School
- Glencoe D35
- Gorton Center
- Grayslake Community High School D127
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- Hyde Park Day School
- Illinois Student Assistance Commission
- Kenilworth D38
- Lake Bluff D65
- Lake Forest Academy
- Lake Forest Community High School D115
- Lake Forest Country Day School
- Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools
- Latin School of Chicago
- Leo Catholic High School
- Loyola Academy
- Lycée Français de Chicago
- Magnetar Capital
- Mindful Psychology Associates PC
- Morgan Park Academy
- New Trier High School D203
- New Trier Parents’ Association
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Pope John XXIII School
- Psychgeist Media
- Rebel Human
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Resurrection College Prep High School
- Rogers Park Montessori School
- Roycemore School
- Sacred Heart Schools
- St. Bernard’s School
- Santa Clara University School of Law
- Science & Arts Academy
- The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School
- Stevenson High School D125
- University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
- Wilmette Public Library
- Winnetka D36
- Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District
- Wintrust Bank
- Wolcott College Prep
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
- Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.)
Upcoming Events
The Civil Rights Act at 60: Is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream for Chicago and the Country Attainable?
Vaughn Bryant
Executive Director of Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI), a division of Metropolitan Family Services in Chicago
Lerone A. Martin, Ph.D.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor in Religious Studies and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University
Natalie Y. Moore
Award-winning journalist and author
Evanston Township High School Auditorium
Note: Event start time is Central Time (CT).
NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better
Kim Scott
Co-founder of Radical Candor and author of Radical Candor and Radical Respect
Heidi Stevens
Chicago-based writer and Director of External Affairs for the University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health
ON ZOOM
The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations
David Montero
Emmy Award-nominated journalist and producer
Michael Eric Dyson, Ph.D.
University Distinguished Professor at Vanderbilt University and author of 25 books
ON ZOOM
