ADHD, Distraction, and the Cost of Losing Connection

The Deeper Thinking Podcast

In a world that confuses attention with productivity and presence with performance, what happens to the divergent mind? This episode explores how ADHD—and the forms of thinking it fosters—are often not failed versions of focus, but alternate architectures of care, relation, and creative clarity. We consider what it means to live in an environment that misreads difference, and what is lost when attention is interrupted before it lands.

Divergence is not a disorder to be corrected, but a rhythm to be received. Drawing from Simone Weil’s idea of attention as prayer, bell hooks’s ethic of love as presence, and Søren Kierkegaard’s reflections on inwardness and despair, we reframe ADHD not as a deficit, but a form of perception asking to be understood on its own terms.

Attention, in this episode, is reimagined not as discipline, but as design. And presence—as both architectural and ethical—is the question we return to again and again. Especially when so many minds are asked to become legible before they are allowed to arrive.

A 2018 longitudinal study published in JAMA followed 2,587 adolescents aged 15–16 without ADHD symptoms at baseline. It found that higher frequency of digital media use was associated with the emergence of ADHD symptoms over a 24-month period. Specifically, each additional high-frequency digital media activity was linked to a 10% increase in the odds of developing ADHD symptoms. ​

Research by White and Shah (2006) demonstrated that adults with ADHD scored significantly higher on measures of divergent thinking, particularly in fluency and originality, compared to non-ADHD adults. This suggests that individuals with ADHD may possess enhanced creative abilities in certain contexts. ​

A study conducted by the University of Essex found that the mere presence of a mobile phone during face-to-face conversations can reduce the quality of social interaction. Participants reported lower levels of trust and empathy when a phone was present, even if it was not being used. ​

According to CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), an estimated 6.0% of adults in the United States have a current diagnosis of ADHD. However, many adults remain undiagnosed, particularly women, due to differences in symptom presentation and social factors. ​

In her book Attention Span, psychologist Gloria Mark reports that it takes an average of 25 minutes to return to a task after an interruption. Additionally, people tend to spend an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting their attention.

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Bibliography

hooks, bell. All About Love: New Visions. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2001.