Hi, I’m Anna Srinivas. I strongly believe in dreams and I believe that each of you are sitting with a phone in your hand watching youtube and scrolling Instagram Reels, and on the other hand, an assignment is pending which is capable of more than what screens often let you become.
Today, I want to tell you a story backed by data, lived by many and ignored by most. It’s about Attention Deficit. Not clinical ADHD necessarily, but a slow, creeping loss of attention because we all are trapped in what’s called the Attention Economy. And that’s the reason why I believe that this threat is even more dangerous for you than AI, bots, or tech stealing jobs.
A Wake-Up Call with Real Numbers
Let’s begin with some facts:- In 2024, Indians spent on average 5 hours daily looking at mobile screens. Nearly 70% of that time was consumed by social media, video content, and gaming. (Source: Economic Times) and also in 2024, Indians collectively spent 1.1 lakh crore hours (“1.1 trillion hours”) on their smartphones. That’s not merely statistics, it’s lost hours of creative thinking, face-to-face conversations & dreams being deferred.(Source: Economic Times).
A study by CyberMedia Research found that 74% of Gen Z users spend at least 6 hours per week playing mobile games. That’s only just gaming not counting the time for WhatsApp, reels, memes. (Source: Indian Express)
Another recent report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) discovered 84% of Indian smartphone users check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up. People now touch their phones more than 80 times a day. Waking life and screen life have merged. (Source: India Today).
Stories Behind the Numbers
Here are real examples perhaps very close to your own life:
“I opened Instagram to see one post,” a young student says, “then another, then Reels kept auto-playing before I realised 2 hours had passed, and I hadn’t done my project.”
A youth from a Tier‑2 city shared: “I scroll so much that when I try to read, I forget what I read five minutes ago yet I stay up till late watching videos or gaming.”
These are not rare. This is what many of us live.
Why Attention Loss Is More Dangerous Than AI (Yes, I Mean It)
AI is powerful. It can do many tasks. But losing attention means losing you. Here’s how:
1. Creativity Dies in Distraction
2. Mental Health Takes a Hit
3. Learning Gets Shallow
4. Values, Identity, Purpose Fade
Indian Wisdom Meets Modern Reality
The Upanishads say that the mind is like a chariot if horses (senses) are uncontrolled, the chariot (mind) goes anywhere. But if reins are held firm, we can direct it towards the destination (goal).
Yoga and dhyana (meditation) in Bhagavad Gita are not just spiritual practices they are technologies of concentration, vedanta says self‑knowledge comes when we withdraw senses and focus inward. But how can we do that when every minute, an app or a notification message grabs us?
Data‑Backed Examples of the Damage
Voice of Teacher Survey 2016 (Pearson India): 29% of teachers said that personal gadgets (mobiles, tablets) distract the students so much that the academic engagement declines and almost around 32% saw lower attentiveness in classrooms. (Source: Indian Express). The smartphone‑usage study (vivo + CMR): Indians today spend 1/3 of waking hours on the phone, amounting to about 1,800 hours a year per person. Mentally, socially, physically, many agree this pace is harming health. (Source: The Hindu Business Line).
What Can We Actually Do?
– Set your first and last screen‑free moments every day.
– Use apps or settings to limit usage.
– Practice ancient habits: meditation, yoga, journaling.
– Create & produce more, consume less.
– Companions of discipline: friends who reduce screen time.
Why The Anna Show Exists – A New Direction for Youth
That’s where The Anna Show comes in.
I’ve been getting messages from the dear youngsters
“Anna, I want to build something original.”
“Anna, I know I’m wasting time, but I don’t know how to stop.”
So I decided: The Anna Show will be your compass.
A space where instead of trending content, we talk about your attention and episodes where the youth share how they reclaimed hours in their day, and we conduct workshops to help in focus‑building and goal setting, and also we interview the people who shaped their destinies through deep work.
Because your dreams deserve more than flicks on a reel. They deserve attention nurtured, focus sharpened, mind awakened.
A Creative Call to You
Imagine this: Ten years from now, you sit back, and you look at a creation an artwork, a startup, a story, or a community that came from your attention. Not something you saw, but something you built.
That realizes your potential. That echoes your purpose.
The Anna Show is coming for you with a new direction, not just to navigate distractions, but to harvest your attention. To help you build, focus, dream, and finally, achieve.
Because AI and social media trends will change. But your capacity to stay focused, to see deeply and to create that is yours. Let’s reclaim it.
Stay alert. Stay present. Stay undistracted.
– Anna Srinivas