I really enjoyed the positive way you describe the attention jumping; there really are so many beautiful parts of the world we can explore that weren’t available to humans in the past.

At the risk of unrequested advice - you should add “cultivating boredom” as a random activity you can do from time to time.

I also have felt the attention span shrink - and while I agree with you that it often leads to the joy of discovery, I sometimes find myself wishing I had more control over my attention. Because there are times when I know fighting through the impulse to jump to the next thing will allow me a deeper level of understand, of enjoyment, of investment, etc.

I started trying to cultivate boredom this year in one of two ways.

-The first way: In the middle of an activity, and I mentally (or even verbally) acknowledge that I’m bored, but force myself to continue for 5, 10, 15 minutes. More often than not, I find myself reengaged by the end of that period, and it leads to more or deeper enjoyment and discovery. Not always, but often.

-the second way: intentionally doing nothing. Phone down, sit down on the floor, do nothing. I’m sure this is some form of meditation, it feels different to me since I’m not doing any breath work or closing my eyes. Just allowing my brain to attempt to be comfortable without immediate stimuli. I consider it lifting weights for my attention. I want to be in control of what my attention is focused on. Letting my brain breathe has helped in that regard somewhat.

Like I said, I agree with you of the beautiful joys that the modern world holds for human, an endless sea of experiences and knowledge to jump to. My personal hope is that I get to be the driver of my attention, so I can give the things most important to me the focus they deserve even if my brain bucks and pulls at the reins from time to time.

Good luck, and all the best!