They Stole Your Attention | MOAI Studio

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Surf the Singularity #019<br>February 2026

They Stole Your Attention

Trillion-dollar machines compete for your next 47 seconds. Here are the logs.

SCREEN FOCUS 47s ▼69% SINCE 2004 ▪ META ARPU US+CANADA $233/YR ▲13× ▪ TEEN NOTIFICATIONS 237/DAY MEDIAN ▪ IN-APP HOURS 5.3T (2025) ▪ TOP-20% PINGED EVERY 2 MIN ▪ REFOCUS ~25 MIN ▪ SCREEN FOCUS 47s ▼69% SINCE 2004 ▪ META ARPU US+CANADA $233/YR ▲13× ▪ TEEN NOTIFICATIONS 237/DAY MEDIAN ▪ IN-APP HOURS 5.3T (2025) ▪ TOP-20% PINGED EVERY 2 MIN ▪ REFOCUS ~25 MIN ▪

> the feed is a slot machine that fits in a pocket

> each scroll is a pull, each notification a bell

> the reward is randomised on purpose. randomness is what hooks.

> an AI tunes the feed against the weakest moments of the day

> it learns the triggers faster than the user does

> focus is sold by the impression

> attention is the scarce resource of the age

> and it gets strip-mined for ad revenue

> the cost surfaces as a mind that can't sit still

> deep work feels impossible because it's being out-competed

> willpower loses to a machine built to beat it

> the lever that works is removing the machine

> reclaim the input, the output follows

Seconds of attention on one screen before switching

Logged screen focus, knowledge workers & students &middot; Gloria Mark, UC Irvine

0s<br>100s

150s<br>75s<br>47s<br>47s<br>2004<br>2012<br>2016<br>2025<br>reaffirmed &middot; steady state

data table<br>yearavg seconds<br>2004~150201275201647 (median 40)202547, reaffirmed (replications 44–50)

Measured by unobtrusive computer logging, workplace and home. The famous &ldquo;goldfish attention span&rdquo; stat is folklore; these are logged durations. The 2025 column marks Mark's January 2025 reaffirmation: the average has held at 47 seconds since ~2016, a steady state. Whisker shows the 40–50s band across the median and independent replications. After a diversion from an active task, re-immersion takes about 25 minutes.

> UC Irvine has logged screen focus for twenty years

> 2004: two and a half minutes on one screen

> 2012: 75 seconds

> 2016: 47 seconds. median 40.

> 2025 check: still 47. the floor is in.

> the machine only has to win once every 47 seconds

> losing once costs 25 minutes of recovery

The interruption tax

Focus interval vs cost to re-immerse &middot; Gloria Mark, UC Irvine

47s<br>25min 26s<br>one focus interval<br>re-immersion after a switch<br>&times;32<br>the asymmetry

data table<br>quantitytime<br>avg focus on one screen47 sre-immersion after a switch25 min 26 s

Each switch is cheap for the feed and expensive for the switched. One 47-second loss costs a 25-minute recovery: a 32&times; asymmetry, and the asymmetry is the business model.

> microsoft telemetry, 2025: the most-pinged fifth of workers eat an interruption every 2 minutes

> the ping lands before the focus interval finishes

> 117 emails a day. 85% skimmed in under 15 seconds.

> recovery from one interruption contains the next twelve

An 8-hour day, one tick per interruption

Microsoft 365 telemetry, 2025 &middot; most-pinged 20% of workers

09:00<br>13:00<br>17:00<br>240 pings in core hours<br>275 per day incl. after-hours<br>117 emails/day<br>85% read in<br>ping cadence: 2 min

data table<br>metricvalue<br>interruption cadence, core hoursevery 2 mininterruptions per 24h275emails received/day (typical)117emails read in under 15s85%

Rolling 28-day Microsoft 365 telemetry ending Feb 2025, top 20% of users by ping volume: meeting invites, emails and chats land every 2 minutes across the 9–5. Set against the chart above: the recovery time from one interruption contains the next twelve.

> and the buy side publishes its books

What one year of your attention sells for

Meta ad revenue per user, US & Canada, $/year &middot; company filings

$0<br>$60<br>$120<br>$180<br>$240

$17<br>$233<br>2022 dip: Apple ATT<br>2011<br>2024

data table<br>year$/user

Annual average revenue per user, US & Canada segment, compiled from Meta quarterly filings. Meta moved the denominator from Facebook-only users to Family of Apps users in 2021; historical figures were restated. Full-year 2025 worldwide figure: $57.03 per user, an all-time high.

> meta earned $17 per north american user in 2011

> $233 in 2024. 13x in 13 years.

> 2025 worldwide: $57 a head, an all-time high

> teens: median 237 notifications a day. a quarter land during school hours.

> humanity spent 5.3 trillion hours inside apps in 2025

> the auction clears every time the phone unlocks

> pricing like that funds very good engineers

> they optimise for the next 47 seconds. optimise for the next 47 years.

5.3Thours in apps, 2025 (Sensor Tower)

3.6havg time in apps per user per day, 2025

237median daily notifications, US teens (Common Sense, 2023)

~25minto re-immerse in a task after a diversion (Mark, UC Irvine)

275daily interruptions for the most-pinged 20% of workers (Microsoft 365 telemetry, 2025)

Chart & stat sources: Gloria Mark, APA interview &middot; Univ. of California &middot; Common Sense Media, Constant...