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How One Writer Is Battling Tech-Induced Attention Disorder (wired.com)
New submitter mirandakatz writes: Katie Hafner has spent the last 23 days in rehab. Not for alcoholism or gambling, but for a self-inflicted case of episodic partial attention thanks to her iPhone. On Backchannel, Hafner writes about the detrimental effect the constant stream of pings has had on her, and how her life has come to resemble a computer screen. "I sense a constant agitation when I'm doing something," she says, "as if there is something else out there, beckoning -- demanding -- my attention. And nothing needs to be deferred." "I blame electronics for my affliction," writes Hafner, who says the devices in her life "teem with squirrels." "If I pick up my iPhone to send a text, damned if I don't get knocked off task within a couple of seconds by an alert about Trump's latest tweet. And my guess is that if you have allowed your mind to be as tyrannized by the demands of your devices as I have, you too suffer to some degree from this condition."
Hafner goes on to describe her symptoms of "episodic partial attention" and provide potential fixes for it: "There are the obvious fixes. Address the electronics first: Silence the phone as well as all alerts on your computer, and you automatically banish two squirrels. But how do you shut down the micro-distractions that dangle everywhere in your physical world, their bushy gray tails twitching seductively? My therapy, of my own devising, consists of serial mono-tasking with a big dose of mindful intent, or intentional mindfulness -- which is really just good, old-fashioned paying attention. At first, I took the tiniest of steps. I celebrated the buttoning of a blouse without stopping to apply the hand cream I spotted on the dresser as if I had gotten into Harvard. Each task I took on -- however mundane -- I had to first announce, quietly, to myself. I made myself vow that I would work on that task and only that task until it was finished. Like a stroke patient relearning how to move an arm, I told myself not that I was making the entire bed (too overwhelming), but that I had a series of steps to perform: first the top sheet, then the blankets, then the comforter, then the pillows. Emptying the dishwasher became my Waterloo. Putting dishes away takes time, and it's tedious. Perhaps the greatest challenge lies in the fact that the job requires repeated kitchen crossings. There are squirrels everywhere, none more treacherous than the siren song that is my iPhone."
Hafner goes on to describe her symptoms of "episodic partial attention" and provide potential fixes for it: "There are the obvious fixes. Address the electronics first: Silence the phone as well as all alerts on your computer, and you automatically banish two squirrels. But how do you shut down the micro-distractions that dangle everywhere in your physical world, their bushy gray tails twitching seductively? My therapy, of my own devising, consists of serial mono-tasking with a big dose of mindful intent, or intentional mindfulness -- which is really just good, old-fashioned paying attention. At first, I took the tiniest of steps. I celebrated the buttoning of a blouse without stopping to apply the hand cream I spotted on the dresser as if I had gotten into Harvard. Each task I took on -- however mundane -- I had to first announce, quietly, to myself. I made myself vow that I would work on that task and only that task until it was finished. Like a stroke patient relearning how to move an arm, I told myself not that I was making the entire bed (too overwhelming), but that I had a series of steps to perform: first the top sheet, then the blankets, then the comforter, then the pillows. Emptying the dishwasher became my Waterloo. Putting dishes away takes time, and it's tedious. Perhaps the greatest challenge lies in the fact that the job requires repeated kitchen crossings. There are squirrels everywhere, none more treacherous than the siren song that is my iPhone."
The case presented was of course at the more extreme end, but how many thousands, probably millions, suffer from the same thing to a lesser but still significant degree?
The distractions around us are indeed endless. Someone sends us a text and wonders why we don't answer within, literally, seconds. We're never off work (in many professions) because we carry our phones everywhere, and we're "always connected."
Electronics have advanced us greatly but there's no free lunch.
So now we see the rise of things like the "Pomodoro Technique" --- a means of doing as the subject of the article did, namely, concentrate on just a single task for a period of time.
Do we own our devices or do they own us?
That is a real and relevant question.
I used to have a similar problem. It's why I don't use Facebook more than once a day, and I never use reddit except when I have a specific question to answer. The constant cycle of needing a spike of validation or novelty then getting bored again within a minute was driving me crazy. But I suspect my problem is more common than what the author writes about. It also sounds worse. Her problem can be solved by not picking up the phone, but the novelty addiction manifests as a gnawing addictive craving.
I'm a lot happier now that I limit myself enough that my brain doesn't get used to that crap.
A cat can't teach a dog to bark.
What is this bullshit masquerading as a news story?
1) Writer has short attention span
2) Writer wants attention, blames digital age for her inability to put the fucking phone down
3) Writer checks herself into "rehab" and writes a shitty story about how it's not her fault
4) ???
5) Profit!
Fucking hell. My entire life revolves around the computer too, since I'm a programmer and hobbyist CG artist. I don't give a flying fuck about tweets or social networking. When I'm off the computer, I'm off the computer, and my devices are sitting in the charging docks. I don't keep my phone on me if I'm hanging around the house. I don't need to keep a tablet within reach. Why? Because I don't give a shit. I don't care if my phone is beeping or making noises or whatever. I'll get around to it whenever I get around to it.
This is not "addiction". It is not Twitter/Facebook/Instagram's fault you're getting notifications. These people *like* the attention they're getting when messages show up on their screen. It makes them feel special and wanted, so they go along with it, rather than building up the willpower to simply ignore them. I have met many people like this before and they're all fucking hooked on this shit... by their own decision. They could stop if they wanted to, but they honestly don't give a shit because "who are they hurting?". So you land up with the digital equivalent of a dog where every notification is SQUIRREL! and nothing ever gets done.
But whatever, let's all give this chick the attention she deserves because she's super awesome now that she's fighting back against the evil tyranny of the services she signed up for! You go girl! Wooooo!
I temporarily retired (parents died, leaving me enough to coast by for a while; I'll eventually have to go back to work) and while I have a number of electronics and programming projects I want to do, I find I don't really want to do them. I've got a major case of Meh. I can focus on some things - exercise for example; I can bicycle for hours - but sit me down at my desk, and I'll look through /., FB, just about anything but the projects I "wanted" to do. It's not that I can't do them - I've already mastered the fundamental elements involved - it's just that I don't *have* to do them, so I'm not bothered to get after it. I think her phone and other diversions are just masking a bigger problem: She's bored with what she's doing and craves something - anything - more stimulating.
When your child does this, you know what you should do.
You take the phone away, turn it off, only allow use in certain hours.
Because you're an adult, I expect you to a) be able to do it to yourself, b) not NEED to do that as you have impulse control, c) notice if you're failing in that and grow up rather quickly.
The problem extends because people don't even apply this to their children anymore, let alone themselves. You're an adult. Grow up and stop it. Same thing that I say to smokers. If you are purely acting on base impulses and instincts, of course you'll never cure such things. Just say "Oh, no, I shouldn't be doing that" and stop it. It's not like an iPhone is coated in some addictive narcotic (though it's priced like that).
Nobody expect immediate compliance and perfect application, but come on. You know it's bad for you and you're still allowing it to happen. There's a part of your brain that's been around for millions of years and whose purpose is basically to do nothing more than override the instinctual part of your brain by applying reason. It's basically the bit that makes you a human and not an ape.
Try using it.
I'm surprised she managed to become a "writer" if she can't even get dressed in the morning without being distracted.
Seems like fairly typical behavior for a writer. You're pulling on your pants, and suddenly notice the curious way that dust motes in ray of sunlight swirl on the thermal currents of the room. It occurs to you that maybe that's the way a space battle might look like, with thousands of ships moving in three dimensions.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.