# Professor Adam Alter is interviewed about his book, "Irresistible"

1 Faculty News March 13, 2017 ![NPR logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_030855.jpg?itok=Ti1_93MD)>

Excerpt from [NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/03/13/519977607/irresistible-by-design-its-no-accident-you-cant-stop-looking-at-the-screen) -- "'Ten years ago, before the iPad and iPhone were mainstream, the average person had an attention span of about 12 seconds,' [Alter](http://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/adam-alter) tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies. Now, he says, 'research suggests that there's been a drop from 12 to eight seconds ... shorter than the attention of the average goldfish, which is nine seconds.'"

[Read more](http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/03/13/519977607/irresistible-by-design-its-no-accident-you-cant-stop-looking-at-the-screen)