Why ADHD is most definitely not a “social construct” or “modern flaw”
My take on why pinning attention deficit on smartphones and social media completely ignores centuries of human history.
Chapter 01Twenty minutes looking for my phone
I spent 20 minutes yesterday looking for my phone, only to realise it was in my hand all along, and I still wouldn’t have realised if I’d not received a message, prompting it to vibrate. Moments like this are a common occurrence in my life. My brain jumps through 12 new ideas and 15 reminders in my mental to-do list, usually while ignoring the one task I actually need to finish, or the one thing I’m looking for, until something snaps me back to reality; for example, my phone vibrating.
If you’ve ever found yourself hyperfocusing on a completely redundant subject at 3AM while ignoring actual grown up tasks like opening that pile of letters in your porch or washing the pots, you’re in very good company. Yet, we’re constantly told that this way of thinking is a modern-day flaw. A lot of people, including medical professionals, downplay ADHD as a modern social construct. Their go-to argument is that we’ve ruined our own brains with algorithms, smartphones, constant notifications, and a distinct lack of getting outside to "touch grass".
Chapter 02The convenient modern scapegoat
Now, don't get me wrong. I completely agree that modern technology doesn't help ADHD symptoms, and going outside, connecting with nature, and being social most definitely helps. But it's absolutely not a cure. I grew up in the 90s and spent most of my childhood playing out with friends, far away from smartphones and endless scrolling, yet I still have combined ADHD.
The reality is that ADHD presents differently in women and girls. Growing up, I was always sensitive, easily influenced, a chronic people pleaser, and deeply conflict-averse, but these simply weren’t recognisable symptoms of ADHD back then. Today, as awareness expands and more women are finally being diagnosed, people mistake this long-overdue assessment boom for a modern fad rather than a genuine medical catch-up.
Blaming modern technology is an easy scapegoat for these people, but it absolutely ignores verifiable human history.
How can focus issues be caused by screens and the modern age we live in, when the core traits of ADHD have been driving people wildly off course for centuries? Way before technology, no matter how advanced, ever even existed?
These great historical figures didn’t have a clinical label for how they were different. Instead they were labelled eccentric, odd or unreliable.
Chapter 03Research mode: activated
In true ADHD fashion, research mode has been well and truly activated. So let’s take a look at who in history would, more than likely, have an ADHD diagnosis today.
01. Leonardo da Vinci
A serial abandoner of projects, Leonardo took sixteen years to finish the Mona Lisa because he kept wandering off to study bird wings, water mechanics, or human anatomy. No one was sending him push notifications, yet Pope Leo X famously complained he’d never finish anything because he thought about the final varnish before finishing the sketch. His notebooks were packed with half-finished ideas and brilliant tangents. Classic, unmedicated ADHD.
02. Thomas Edison
Teachers gave up on young Edison after just three months, labelling him addled because his mind refused to sit still in a classroom. He didn’t succeed through calm, orderly focus. His brain demanded constant novelty, so he worked on dozens of wildly different inventions at once, jumping between lightbulbs, telegraphs, and phonographs whenever his focus shifted.
03. Lord Byron
A whirlwind of dramatic energy and impulse decisions. Banned from keeping a pet dog at Cambridge, he brought a live bear instead, noting the rulebook said nothing about bears. His writing was equally erratic, switching between weeks of doing virtually nothing and intense, sleepless bursts of creative production that left everyone around him exhausted.
04. Agatha Christie
The queen of crime struggled enormously with formal schooling and writing mechanics, often dictating her novels because sitting down to write by hand was pure torture. She was notorious for losing track of her belongings, misplacing entire manuscripts, and suddenly abandoning writing projects to travel or throw herself into archaeology digs for months at a time.
05. Albert Einstein
Forgetful, notoriously disorganised, and perpetually losing his keys, Einstein routinely ignored basic daily routines because his mind was locked in deep hyperfocus. He failed his university entrance exams on his first attempt because he couldn't bring himself to study subjects that didn't capture his interest, leaving his desk an overflowing mountain of loose papers.
06. Sir Isaac Newton
The father of physics was famous for intense hyperfocus and extreme forgetfulness. He’d regularly forget to eat or sleep for days when locked onto a maths problem, once walking into a lecture hall to speak to an empty room because he didn't notice the students hadn't turned up. When a subject bored him, he couldn't engage at all.
Chapter 04The same brain chemistry that shaped history
When you look at all of these historical geniuses, the argument that ADHD is a product of modern technology falls completely flat. A scattered mind, impulse-driven decision making, and hyperfocus aren’t defects brought on by an iPhone or staying in the house more. Some of the greatest contributions to human culture came from people who couldn’t sit still, pay attention to boring tasks, or follow standard routines.
So the next time some idiot claims executive dysfunction would disappear if everyone just turned off their Wi-Fi and touched some grass, don’t take it to heart. We’re living with the exact same brain chemistry that’s painted masterpieces, perfected the lightbulb, and shaped history. And that’s actually pretty cool when you think about it.