Hooked On Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price

Zecheus writes "In the New York Times: 'Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls, and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.'"

Comments

Sorry, can you repeat that?

[davidwr]

I'm sorry, can you repeat that, I lost my train of thought. My crackberry just buzzed and I had to read an important email. By the way, tomorrow's department lunch is canceled.

Detailed analysis of why the article is wrong

[snowwrestler]

As soon as I finish checking Techmeme and Twitter.

Could someone summarize the summary?

[circletimessquare]

It was too long to read.

Read the article? Who are you kidding?

Also I think that... wait what? Hold on, I'll be right back

Re:Could someone summarize the summary?

[Hognoxious]

tl;dr

ft4u

step #1, ignore the phone when it rings

[petes_PoV]

We've conditioned ourselves to stop doing almost everything in order to answer a phonecall. Even if we have no idea who's calling, we are prepared to interrupt most activities and (unforgivably) most people in order to speak to a little voice who almost certainly only called because they want something.

I say, let them wait. If it's important they can leave a message - although there's nothing that a normal person can tell us that can't bear being delayed for an hour or two. If they are prepared to do some work themselves, they can TEXT you, instead.

Re:step #1, ignore the phone when it rings

[Ephemeriis]

We've conditioned ourselves to stop doing almost everything in order to answer a phonecall. Even if we have no idea who's calling, we are prepared to interrupt most activities and (unforgivably) most people in order to speak to a little voice who almost certainly only called because they want something.

I say, let them wait. If it's important they can leave a message - although there's nothing that a normal person can tell us that can't bear being delayed for an hour or two. If they are prepared to do some work themselves, they can TEXT you, instead.

Exactly.

The problem isn't the technology itself, it is our reaction to it.

We've built some kind of always-on, instant gratification communication system. Folks expect to be able to instantly communicate with basically anyone about basically anything at basically any time.

I get bombarded all day long with phone calls, instant messages, emails, whatever. Many of these are just useless status updates or questions that they could have answered themselves with about 30 seconds of thought... But the impulse is to reach out and touch someone.

And my impulse is to stop whatever I'm doing and respond to the phone call/text message/IM/email/whatever.

It is horribly distracting, but I can't really blame anyone but myself.

Focus?

[scottwilkins]

I have no problems with foc.. Squirrel!

Obligatory XKCD

[lobiusmoop]

Addiction

I agree

[pcraven]

I used to be a good programmer until I got into management. The flood of information, calls, and e-mails that came in seriously did a number on my brain. It felt like it was being remapped.

I've gotten out of that field, but I still feel the effects from it. Now I've taken to learning Russian. I think I enjoy it because of the concentration required.

Re:Basically

[Anonymous Coward]

And what proof do you have to back up the last claim? Show me a car that can win the Indy 500 and is the most fuel efficient of all cars. Your statement is just words without testing it to prove it is valid.

Re:Basically

[EL_mal0]

There is no false dichotomy that you can only be good at one or the other, and neither one comes naturally

But there is research suggesting that you can't be good at multitasking, or rather very few people actually are. Link. Even though talking on the phone and driving isn't necessarily what this article is talking about, I think it does fall into your classification of "boring things".

It would be interesting to see some research actually showing whether you can improve your multitasking skills.

Research Suggests Brain Has a 2-Task Limit

[PatPending]

In related news:

Research Suggests Brain Has a 2-Task Limit for Multitasking

Summary:

"The brain is set up to manage two tasks, but not more, a new study suggests. That's because, when faced with two tasks, a part of the brain known as the medial prefrontal cortex (MFC) divides so that half of the region focuses on one task and the other half on the other task. This division of labor allows a person to keep track of two tasks pretty readily, but if you throw in a third, things get a bit muddled. 'What really the results show is that we can readily divide tasking. We can cook, and at the same time talk on the phone, and switch back and forth between these two activities,' said study researcher Etienne Koechlin of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. 'However, we cannot multitask with more than two tasks.'"

Future Shock

[handy_vandal]

See Future Shock by Alvin Toffler:

Toffler argues that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an industrial society to a "super-industrial society". This change will overwhelm people, the accelerated rate of technological and social change leaving them disconnected and suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation" – future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems were symptoms of the future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock, he also coined the term information overload.

Published in 1970 -- based on a 1965 article -- and still timely today.