The Explainer Series: Attention Span

The Explainer Series is about exploring the questions we’re all asking.

In an age of endless notifications, short-form content, and algorithmically curated feeds, are we losing our ability to focus? Or are our brains simply adapting to a new kind of information landscape? This session will explore what social media is doing to our attention spans, how platforms shape the way we consume and process information, and what it all means for our mental health, civic engagement, and the next generation.

Meet Our Speakers

Professor Daniel Angus is Director of the QUT Digital Media Research Centre and is a leading authority on the role of algorithms in modern society. Outside of work Dan is a very amateur track cyclist, a proud mid-pack wonder who enjoys riding fast and turning left. At the Explainer Series event, he's most excited to unpack how platforms and AI systems are quietly reshaping the way we experience the world, and what that means for culture, society, and public debate.

Tess Bennett is a technology reporter with The Australian Financial Review, based in the Brisbane newsroom. Beyond work, Tess is a Hyrox debutante, who still supplements her training with a serious, non-negotiable dumpling habit. She is most excited, and a little embarrassed, to reveal how many times she checks her phone each day. 

The Explainer Series

The Explainer Series is a space for thoughtful conversations with people who really know their stuff, sharing insights and context so we can better navigate the big and small questions in our lives.

From international law and cryptocurrency to climate change, gut health and space junk, these talks bring ideas, trends and debates into focus, helping us form our own understanding, guided by curiosity and expertise.

There’s no spin and no hype, just experts helping us think more clearly about the world around us.

The Explainer Series is generously supported by Gina Fairfax AC and Tim Fairfax AC through the Queensland Library Foundation.

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The views expressed by the speakers are their own and the promotion of products/services is not endorsed by State Library.