The evolving dynamics of working life due to increased technology, multigenerational workforces, and a growing emphasis on employee well-being are reshaping how we communicate in the workplace. As ATTENTION SPANS continue to decline—from 12 seconds in 2000 to just 8.25 seconds today —and with 70% of employees struggling to focus for 20 minutes, event formats must evolve to maintain engagement and effectiveness.
have been declining as digital reshapes how we process information.
Despite rising distraction levels, productivity has remained stable. Just as workplaces have embraced active learning, business events and client engagements are now adapting to balance the benefits of technology with the challenges of digital distraction. NETWORKING4.0 explores how active learning techniques and thoughtful tech integration can enhance engagement in today’s hybrid event landscape.
This paper offers practical insights for event planners and organisations to address the challenges of reduced attention spans while ensuring business events remain commercially impactful.
The findings are based on a survey of senior event professionals and business leaders that took place in Spring 2025.
For event organisers, attention is a new criteria for consideration; from active attention where delegates’ eyes are fixed on the slides, stage or speaker to the passive participant whose focus is elsewhere thereby limiting their potential to learn.
Survey demographics
The average human attention span is now 8.25 seconds—down from 12 seconds in 2000 (Microsoft).
Goldfish, by comparison, can focus for 9 seconds (Time).
Role in events
Around 70% of people struggle to focus on a single task for more than 20 minutes, largely due to multitasking and constant digital interruptions (Harvard Business Review).
Productivity drops by 40% when multitasking (Stanford), but attention improves by 30% in low-distraction environments (Journal of Experimental Psychology).
Attention spans differ by age. Gen Z averages 6–8 seconds (Pew), Millennials about 12 seconds (Microsoft), Gen X around 15 seconds (Forbes), and Baby Boomers up to 20 seconds (Statista). Children under 12 can focus for 4–6 minutes per year of age (Harvard Medical School).
Digital devices have significantly altered attention. People switch screens every 10 seconds (Deloitte) and check their phones 96 times daily (Asurion). Notifications interrupt focus every 11 minutes (Time Management Research Group), and social media reduces sustained attention by 25% (Statista). Turning off notifications can boost focus by 40% (Forbes).
In education, students lose focus after 10–15 minutes of lectures (Journal of Educational Psychology). Active learning improves retention by 40% (Harvard Education Review), short videos increase engagement by 50% (EdTech Magazine), and gamification boosts focus by 30% (Educause Review). Breaks every 20 minutes enhance performance by 25% (Cognitive Science Journal).
In the workplace, employees lose focus every 3 minutes (UC Irvine), and multitasking cuts accuracy by 50% (APA). Meetings over 30 minutes lose 40% of attention (Harvard Business Review). Mindfulness training improves focus by 22% (Forbes), but it takes 23 minutes to regain focus after an interruption (UC Irvine).
To adapt, techniques like the Pomodoro Method (25% boost), digital detoxes (30%), sleep (35%), exercise (20%), and mind mapping (15%) are proving effective.
On average, how long can you focus on a single task without distraction?
Peter Mandeno PHD
Human connectivity expert
Business events and conferences have reached a paradoxical inflection point. To the inflexible and unimaginative, it’s the end of an era with many facing obsolescence. To the adaptable and attentive, it’s a bright new era of opportunity.
As much of the world’s knowledge is commoditised – available to almost everyone everywhere, easily searchable and endlessly manipulable through the likes of GenAI, and as the expectations and behaviours of attendees continue to evolve – shaped in large part by the digitisation of everything from how they register to how they interact with content, with speakers and with each other – event organisers are having to rethink the notion of attendee engagement.
A critical paradox at the heart of this conundrum is the role of digital tools. On the one hand, digital tools facilitate the organisation of events, enabling the efficient capture, coordination and communication of information. For attendees, digital tools can support everything from navigating an experience to networking with others. The challenge, however, is that the more attention people pay to their smartphones and other digitally-enabled distractions, the less attention they’re paying to the experience, and to each other.
As the data in this report show, event attendees are increasingly distracted. Success, therefore, requires that you stop thinking just about how many people show up to instead focus on how many you can get to look up, from the devices that command their attention.
Only then do you stand a chance of delivering the real value people seek from attending events and conferences, that of shared experience and meaningful human connection.
The company conference has shifted from top-down instruction to a learner-focused experience that encourages conversation, collaboration, and connection: mirroring today’s more casual, hybrid work culture.
Business events now focus on self-paced discovery over passive listening. Today’s delegates absorb information by seeing, hearing, and problem-solving and as a consequence build their network and inter-departmental collaboration.
Conferences have become interactive spaces where knowledge is reinforced through real-time engagement and practical application. And while collaboration and networking are key outcomes, we’re blighted by phone addiction and it’s impacting our attention:
each time we check our phone, we get a potential dopamine hit a meme, like or a notification can trigger feel-good dopamine, motivating us to check again, ultimately distracting our attention.
Do you feel your attention span has changed in the past 5 years?
from social and communications apps. Add in workplace emails and in-house apps and the never -ending stream of interruptions are impacting our ability to focus.
As attention spans continue to decline in the workplace driven by frequent task-switching and rising cognitive fatigue; the cost of distraction is having a financial consequence on event return on investment. Despite automation streamlining workflows and reducing repetitive tasks, a new challenge has emerged, notification fatigue, which further erodes focus on the task in hand.
How often do you multitask while working?
At business events, the widespread use of personal devices is also affecting attention and knowledge retention manifesting as:
diminished comprehension and lower retention of key information due to reduced focus on the conversation.
information overload because of competing stimuli.
mind-wandering that disrupts attention and lessens the impact of the event’s objective, whether that is earning or engagement.
The cost of distraction means that organisers must be intentional with their event design and digital discipline to preserve attention and maximise the day’s engagement.
In
the study
“Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity.” Students
were randomly assigned to
leave their phone in another room keep it in a pocket or bag
Which of these influences your attention span?
place it on their desk
They then completed tasks measuring fluid intelligence and working memory, such as problem solving while recalling sequences. Results showed the best performance when phones were outside the room, worst when visible, and intermediate when in the pocket.
During a conference or event, how often do you find yourself checking your phone or other devices?
should look to adopt strategies that engage their delegates with spaces and set ups supporting different outcomes while enhancing attention and engagement.
Outcome: Learning & Imparting Knowledge sharing by prioritising active participation interactive workshops and thinking labs for hands-on problem-solving.
• roundtables, fireside chats and unconferences that foster peer learning and open dialogue.
• hackathons and streaming events that blend collaboration with real-time content creation.
• panel sessions over traditional didactic learning to enable diverse perspectives.
Outcome: Networking & Collaboration connection-driven formats
• speed networking creates structured, meaningful fast-fired interaction.
• net-walking to promote transparency and informal idea exchange.
• experiences, practices and therapies to benefit delegates wellbeing.
Outcome: Immersive Innovation using tech-enhanced formats to boost engagement
• Gamification, live polling and Apps to drive interaction.
• AI personalised content tailored to individual interests.
• Experiential labs, pop-ups and immersive scenarios creating hands-on learning moments.
Which of the following is the most important to you when at a business event?
Open-plan, communal, and cross-functional engagement set ups are shaping the future of both workplace and event design. By removing physical barriers and fostering a sense of community, the layouts resonate with the socially driven nature of tomorrow’s delegates helping to create a more dynamic, inclusive, and connected event experience.
What type of session format helps you maintain focus the best?
workshops Panel discussions
Short presentations (less than 30 minutes)
Engaging Baby Boomers (1946-1964)
Attention span: up to 20 seconds.
Baby Boomers often associate their careers with personal value and long-term financial stability. They’re motivated by titles, recognition and retirement planning. Goal-driven and comfortable with limited feedback, they usually assume things are going well unless pulled up. They excel in structured, hierarchical settings and are motivated by clear milestones such as promotions and prestigious business titles.
How to hold their attention: For event planners, it’s important to note that Boomers may find flexible or nontraditional formats challenging. Boomers relish theatre style set ups and prefer to raise their hands during sessions over using digital tools.
Motivating Generation X (1965-1980)
Attention span: 15 seconds.
Gen X grew up with working parents which fostered independence and self-reliance. As they grew up in the economic challenges of the 1980s, they are cautious about sacrificing personal life for work. They value autonomy, flexible schedules, and hybrid work environments. Giving them control over how and when they complete tasks enhances their engagement.
How to hold their attention: If they’re using a phone or device during sessions, they’re likely catching up on work rather than disengaged on social media.
Millennials at in person events (1981-1996)
Attention span: 12 seconds.
Networking sessions
The shift towards microlearning aligns with the realities of the digital age and addresses learners who seek immediate, bite-sized knowledge. Microlearning is reshaping how individuals value their time and approach learning, with a rising expectation to access information instantly, from anywhere, at any time. On-demand learning resources are becoming the norm, reflecting a broader cultural shift toward instant gratification and craving for dopamine.
Millennials are often seen as job hoppers, driven by the pursuit of better compensation and benefits. However, their motivation goes beyond money—they seek flexibility, variety, and opportunities for growth. They thrive in environments that offer learning opportunities, mentorship, and professional development.
How to hold their attention: They relish content that supports their career advancement. Generally self-starters for self-improvement, if they’re on a device they are likely to be supplementing their knowledge by listening to a podcast or watching a tutorial.
Engaging Gen Z (1997-2012)
Attention span: 6-8 seconds.
Gen Z seeks a strong sense of purpose in their work. They expect employers to demonstrate commitment to sustainability and community. They are the most diverse of the generations and place high importance on inclusion.
How to hold their attention: Having grown up in a hyperconnected world, they are fluent in digital communications and social media. Keep them on topic to avoid distracted attention.
Our internal clock influences our energy levels throughout the day. This circadian rhythm is ingrained and can significantly affect our interactions during conferences.
Traditionally, delegates were expected to be at their best throughout the entire conference day. It takes a few hours after the start of the workday to reach peak alertness and energy, and it doesn’t last long! Energy levels typically dip after lunch, rise again around 3pm, and hit a second peak around 6pm. Alertness then declines for the rest of the evening, reaching its lowest point around 3:30 AM.
For business event organisers, planning events around these natural energy fluctuations can greatly enhance the attendee experience. More importantly, note that younger attendees (ages 16-21) have different circadian rhythms compared to their adult counterparts.
Live polling and engagement at Q&A time: measuring how many attendees interact with polls, ask questions, or upvote others’ questions indicates active attention and participation.
App usage analytics: tracks how often attendees use the event app, which features they engage with, and how long they stay on specific content, which helps to identify attention fatigue.
Dwell time:
tracking how long attendees spend in sessions or at exhibition stands.
• Digital well-being tools such as Flora and Forest are gaining traction especially when you are rewarded for staying disconnected from your personal device.
• Larger high-tech conferences use cameras or wearables to measure where attendees are looking during presentations to better understand active vs. passive attention.
• Tracking what’s shared, both during and after your event, lets you know exactly what people are paying attention to, which in turn provides invaluable insights regarding the interests and desires of your attendees.
• Commencing your engagement strategy well in advance of event-day. Capture attendee preferences and use that data to shape the event experience.
Which environment do you personally learn and retain knowledge best from?
The way we learn has undergone a significant transformation and is reflected in the structure of modern events. Traditional formats have given way to more interactive experiences, with breakout sessions and workshops fostering deeper learning and collaboration. As learning becomes increasingly experiential, attention has emerged as a vital metric for evaluating event effectiveness.
Technology plays a dual role in this landscape. While it enhances access and engagement, it can also fragment focus—particularly among digitally native generations. In this hyperconnected environment, capturing and maintaining attention while recognising there’s a cost to distraction is more difficult and more important than ever.
For event planners, this shift demands a new approach: NETWORKING4.0 where experiences are immersive, relevant, and emotionally engaging. Measuring attention, rather than just attendance, is essential to understanding true impact and delivering lasting value.
The untapped potential of human connection, Peter Mandeno PHD, human connectivity expert
This report makes a strong case for reframing digital technology as the means not the end when it comes to delivering lasting value for your attendees. I would argue the same can be said for human connections. Thinking of networking as an end in and of itself misses the point, and the potential.
The quantification of connections in recent years (counting friends, contacts, likes etc. on all the platforms) has distorted peoples’ views about what it means to be well connected. It’s become a numbers game. Forward thinking event and conference organisers understand, however, that connections are not so easily quantifiable. It’s not how many connections you have, it’s what you’re able to do with them.
We don’t connect to others just to be connected. We connect for the value our connections provide access to. They are the means to all manner of valuable ends. Sometimes the ‘end’ is clear and measurable but often it emerges in wonderfully unpredictable ways.
Your job doesn’t stop at creating experiences that just bring people into contact. Success occurs when your attendees are able to fully engage in the experiences you create, together. Only then will the true value of your event or conference begin to reveal itself – to your attendees, and possibly even to you.
understand however, that connections are not so easily quantifiable. It’s not how many connections you have, it’s what you’re able to do with them.
Peter Mandeno
NETWORKING4.0 is our latest insight paper on delegate engagement. NEWORKING3.0 looked at delegate wellbeing, while NETWORKING2.0 addressed the impact of hybrid working on in-person events.
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Peter Mandeno PHD Human connectivity expert
petermandeno.com www.linkedin.com/in/petermandeno/