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Scholastic Medical Sciences
(ISSN: 3139-7352)



Research Article
Volume 3 Issue 8 August 2026

Information Overload, Public Opinion, and the Fragmentation of Attention
From Plato and Bernays to Goebbels, ADHD, Smartphones, and Digital Media

Dragutin Novosel, MD

MD, Glaserbergstrasse 23, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.

Corresponding Author: Dragutin Novosel, MD, Glaserbergstrasse 23, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.

Received: July 04, 2026; Published: July 24, 2026



Abstract

What connects Plato, Goebbels, ADHD, smartphones, and digital media? Maybe nothing. This essay asks whether a very large flow of information can be used to influence public opinion, especially among adolescents and young adults as present or future voters. It follows the subject in historical order. It begins with Plato, then discusses Edward Bernays and Joseph Goebbels, and finally turns to ADHD, smartphones, media multitasking, and the modern attention economy. The argument remains cautious. A large amount of information does not automatically mean manipulation. Smartphones do not cause ADHD, and poor concentration is not the same as a neurodevelopmental disorder. Still, an environment of constant interruption may weaken the conditions needed for slow and careful thought. The democratic danger is therefore not only false information. It is also the possible replacement of sustained thought by repetition, strong emotion, rapid switching, and personalised streams of stimuli. Protecting attention should therefore be seen not only as a civic, medical, and educational task but also as part of a broader cultural discourse.
Keywords: information overload; propaganda; Plato; Edward Bernays; Joseph Goebbels; ADHD; sustained attention; democracy

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Citation: Dragutin Novosel. “Information Overload, Public Opinion, and the Fragmentation of Attention”. Scholastic Medical Sciences 3.8 (2026): 01-05.

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