We are losing a battle with our attention spans. ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders in children, adolescents and college students. With the ever-presence of the Internet and social media to distract us, are we responsible for creating our own diagnosis?

Husband-and-wife panelists Michael and Lizz Pietrus discussed ADHD in America, disruption technologies, our social media brand, and the advertiser’s role in our attention problems. Michael is a staff psychologist and coordinator of ADHD assessment protocol at the University of Chicago, while Lizz is the associate director of social media for R/GA.

Michael said ADHD diagnoses are on the rise in America, with an average increase of 5 percent per year. ADHD is not only a biological problem, but a cultural and social one, too.

.@mpPsyD: ADHD is a ‘rule out’ diagnosis, because a lot of things can cause attention problems. #AllADHD #SXSW #SXTXState

— Aisling Clare (@aislingclare27) March 15, 2015

He said the problem with this high number of diagnoses is that there are a number of reasons for inattentiveness, including depression, OCD and sleep disorders. Self esteem, relationships and happiness also affect attention, as does technology and social media.

“The more we use the web, the more we train our brain to be distracted,” Michael said. “Imagine reading a book, listening to music, doing a crossword and watching TV at the same time. That’s the intellectual environment of the Internet.”

Lizz then talked about how social media is changing our interactions and readjusting our value scale.

“We used to only be known by the people we interacted with physically,” Lizz said.

She said the more we share, the more we define ourselves, and companies use this to their advantage. Every time consumers do something on the web, data is collected on them, which is how tailored ads happen.

“Advertisers have a big role to play in mitigating America’s attention deficit,” Lizz said.

There are three key questions marketers should ask themselves:

• What are my consumer’s needs?
• How can I create a connection between my product and what my consumer needs?
• How can I create something of value to positively impact my consumer’s life?

As companies start to think about their consumers and what they need, it starts to create more relevance, connection, affinity and advocacy.

After the main discussion was over, Michael addressed the problems that occur when students who aren’t diagnosed with ADHD are able to obtain and take the medicines used to treat it. Does their attention span get worse after they become dependent on the drug?

He also talked about the agendas of pharmaceutical companies in regards to the prescription drugs used to treat ADHD.

Although effective, prescription drugs aren’t the only way to increase focus.

Relaxation techniques like yoga can help.

“Unplug, calm down and focus on one thing at a time,” Michael said.