Continuous partial attention (CPA) is the paying of simultaneous attention to a number of sources of incoming information, but at a superficial level.The term was coined by Linda Stone in 1998. Nate Torkington's blog coverage of Stone's talk at the 2006 O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference. Author Steven Berlin Johnson describes this as a kind of multitasking: "It usually involves skimming the surface of the incoming data, picking out the relevant details, and moving on to the next stream. You're paying attention, but only partially. That lets you cast a wider net, but it also runs the risk of keeping you from really studying the fish."Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter by Steven Berlin Johnson, p.59 Currently, we live in the "Information Age", being exposed to a huge amount of information and data. The internet has enhanced our accessibility to information, offering real-time connectivity and accessibility to tons of information which may disrupt our daily lives. For this reason, the term has evolved from the Information Age to the "Age of Interruption", characterized by an overabundance of information. People are constantly interrupted by emails, spam, instant messages and cellphones, making attention a scarce resource in this era. Stone has clarified that CPA is not the same as multi-tasking.Continuous Partial Attention — Not the Same as Multi-Tasking, July 24, 2008, Business WeekMultitasking versus continuous partial attention Lifehacker, January 11, 2008 Where multi-tasking is driven by a conscious desire to be productive and efficient, CPA is an automatic process , motivated only by "a desire to be a live node on the network" . It is driven by the willingness to connect and stay connected, scanning the best opportunities, activities and contacts in an effort to not miss anything that is going on. Compared to multi-tasking, full attention is not required by CPA (hence the "partial") and the process is ongoing rather than episodic (hence the "continuous"). Another distinction results from the fact that CPA has evolved from and is dependent on computers and especially the internet, which acts as a platform for a variety of distractions. Further, it creates a compulsion to connect, meaning that CPA is motivated not by productivity but by connectivity. The stateof continuous partial attention can be functional . However, it leads to a higher level of stress in the brain, prohibiting reflection, contemplation and thoughtful decisions. It also dilutes efforts to focus and concentrate on the present (effectively paying attention to what one is doing in the momentinstead of shifting from one activity to another). This constant connectedness also affects real-time relationshipsand lowers productivity levels, leading to over-stimulation and  lack of fulfillment. The generalization of the study Most of the priorities and time frames are USA-centric. However, other cultures have many similarities to American culture. "We may not all find ourselves in the same ridiculous era at the same time. We are likely to find ourselves experiencing a flow: attraction to an ideal, taking the expression of the ideal to an extreme and experiencing unintended and less than pleasant consequences, giving birth to and launching a new ideal while integrating the best of what came before  " , says Linda Stone.
Linda Stone, a tech writer and consultant, coined the term continuous partial attention in 1998 to describe a modern adaptive behavior of giving continuously dividing one's attention. Nate Torkington's blog coverage of Stone's talk at the 2006 O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference. Stone has clarified that continuous partial attention is not the same as multi-tasking.Continuous Partial Attention — Not the Same as Multi-Tasking, July 24, 2008, Business WeekMultitasking versus continuous partial attention Lifehacker, January 11, 2008 Where multi-tasking is driven by a conscious desire to be productive and efficient, CPA is an automatic process motivated only by "a desire to be a live node on the network" or by the willingness to connect and stay connected, scanning and optimizing opportunities, activities and contacts in an effort to not miss anything that is going on. Continuous partial attention is not necessarily a dysfunctional state . However, it may lead to increased stress and decreased ability to focus and concentrate on the present moment, prohibiting reflection, contemplation, and thoughtful decision making. The constant connectedness that is associated with continuous partiat attention may also affect relationships, lower productivity levels, and lead to over-stimulation and a lack of fulfillment. Linda Stone's research has focused on examples in the United States though she has posited that, "We may not all find ourselves in the same attention era at the same time. We are likely to find ourselves experiencing a flow: attraction to an ideal, taking the expression of the ideal to an extreme and experiencing unintended and less than pleasant consequences, giving birth to and launching a new ideal while integrating the best of what came before . " 
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Continuous partial attention (CPA) is the paying of simultaneous attention to a number of sources of incoming information, but at a superficial level.The term was coined by Linda Stone in 1998.
Linda Stone, a tech writer and consultant, coined the term continuous partial attention in 1998 to describe a modern adaptive behavior of giving continuously dividing one's attention.
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Author Steven Berlin Johnson describes this as a kind of multitasking: "It usually involves skimming the surface of the incoming data, picking out the relevant details, and moving on to the next stream. You're paying attention, but only partially. That lets you cast a wider net, but it also runs the risk of keeping you from really studying the fish."Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter by Steven Berlin Johnson, p.59
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Currently, we live in the "Information Age", being exposed to a huge amount of information and data. The internet has enhanced our accessibility to information, offering real-time connectivity and accessibility to tons of information which may disrupt our daily lives. For this reason, the term has evolved from the Information Age to the "Age of Interruption", characterized by an overabundance of information. People are constantly interrupted by emails, spam, instant messages and cellphones, making attention a scarce resource in this era.
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required by CPA (hence the "partial") and the process is ongoing rather than episodic (hence the "continuous"). Another distinction results from the fact that CPA has evolved from and is dependent on computers and especially the internet, which acts as a platform for a variety of distractions. Further, it creates a compulsion to connect, meaning that CPA is motivated not by productivity but by connectivity.
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(effectively paying attention to what one is doing in the momentinstead of shifting from one activity to another). This constant connectedness also affects real-time relationshipsand lowers
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