Nine Voices on the ADHD Explosion: Is It Biology, Burnout, or the Cost of Modern Life?

Everywhere you turn, someone is talking about ADHD. Parents, teachers, managers, friends — half the people you meet either have a diagnosis or wonder if they should. What if the rise of ADHD diagnosis is the sound of our collective nervous system trying to tell us that something deeper is out of balance? To explore that question, imagine a round-table: nine people from different worlds, each with a piece of the puzzle.

The Neuroscientist — Biology Matters

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, with differences in dopamine regulation and brain connectivity. It's real and heritable. But the modern world amplifies those vulnerabilities — turning up the volume on a signal that was always there.

The Trauma Therapist — Attention as an Adaptation

Inattention can be protection. When early emotional needs aren’t met, the nervous system learns to tune out to survive. Now we’ve built a world that demands constant performance but offers little safety — so the same survival strategy becomes pathology.

The Technologist — The Algorithm Made Me Do It

Apps are slot machines in your pocket. Each ping, like, and scroll is engineered dopamine. Even neurotypical brains are learning to crave novelty. The same tools could help regulate attention if designed ethically — the issue is incentives, not technology itself.

The Economist — The Fight to Survive

Attention follows security. When families juggle multiple jobs just to stay afloat, the nervous system lives in fight-or-flight. Wealth concentration keeps society in chronic stress — ADHD symptoms are the physiology of inequality.

The Teacher — The Classroom Mirror

Children are overloaded by content and under-fed by connection. Big classes, little play. The environment is broken, not the children. When learning includes movement and curiosity, attention returns.

The Sociologist — Who Gets Seen?

Privileged families can access diagnosis and treatment; marginalized children are often overlooked or punished. So the ADHD epidemic is also about visibility and equity.

The Philosopher — Perhaps Attention Is Evolving

Maybe distraction isn’t decline but adaptation — the psyche rebelling against an inhuman tempo. Perhaps ADHD reflects intelligence seeking new ways of awareness in an over-mechanized world.

The Sceptic — Where’s the Evidence?

Every generation complains about distraction. But today’s environment is different — we’re all immersed in artificial stimulation. ADHD is measurable, but the scale of distress we see now is the outcome of modern life itself.

The Collective Voice — The Permacrisis and Metacrisis

The world is in chronic alert: war, climate, economics, doom scrolling. Humanity is living inside a permanent nervous-system activation. The attention crisis mirrors a deeper metacrisis — our technology and economy have outpaced our wisdom, leaving civilization dysregulated.

Closing Reflection — What If None of These Voices Are Wrong?

Perhaps every voice is right. ADHD is biological, psychological, economic, cultural, and spiritual all at once. The rise in diagnoses isn’t proof of fragility — it’s evidence that modern life has become incompatible with the natural pace of the human nervous system. Instead of blaming individuals, we can see their struggle as feedback — a message that our systems, technologies, and rhythms must change. Attention isn’t just a personal resource; it’s a collective ecosystem, and right now, it’s in crisis.

Paul Howarth, Founder & Research & Development Director