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We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

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Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#61

Post by tayo42 »

hybridtupel wrote: post #12
zzzeek wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is interesting how manufactured distraction-free sessions like yoga, meditation, paid retreats, have emerged to fill the demand for idle time. We’re forgetting how to unplug unless it’s a product or service that we can buy. I meditate every day and it's cost me nothing, uses nothing, does not require going anywhere, literally brushing my teeth is more of a commercial activity than meditation is. Meditation is ex…

I think what was meant here are the countless (monetarized) apps and courses which gamify the meditation experience of course. You are totally right that the original intention of meditation is quite the opposite. No app, gadget or anything else required. Edit: Grammar

> countless (monetarized) apps and courses which gamify the meditation experience

What do these apps do? Ive been giving meditation a shot recently. (Because i have similar thoughts about my distractions) So im aware of them, ive been mediating just by setting the timer on my phone and finding some quiet time and then well mediate. Mediate as i understand it is just sitting still and being present and aware of your mind wandering then bringing it back to being present.

What am I missing?

Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#62

Post by [deleted] »

hauget wrote: post #45
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #7

It is interesting how manufactured distraction-free sessions like yoga, meditation, paid retreats, have emerged to fill the demand for idle time. We’re forgetting how to unplug unless it’s a product or service that we can buy. The distraction issue is the number one issue holding back most of the young people in the mentorship group I’m part of. They’re so glued to their phones to check minute-by-minute updates about…

This, and undiagnosed and untreated ADHD. By the way, for anyone struggling with ADD, check out a book called" by Johhn Ratey the way. It's GREAT. He also wrote Spark, which I think everyone should read.

[deleted]

Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#64

Post by mc10 »

lrossi wrote: post #46

Sorry to say this, but HN is a problem as well. I’m looking for that 1% of the posts that interest me, and when I find them it’s fantastic, since it’s info I would not be able to find anywhere else. But going through the other 99% is a waste of time. These two combined have a harmful effect on me. I don’t know if there’s a name for it, but it’s the same as the one causing addiction in gambling/bets/games. Gathering e…

> I’m looking for that 1% of the posts that interest me, and when I find them it’s fantastic, since it’s info I would not be able to find anywhere else. But going through the other 99% is a waste of time.

Would this really help with HN addiction? I imagine it might exacerbate it since everything you see is so much more engaging (by definition), and probably count(posts that interest you) >>> count(posts that you've read).

Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#65

Post by pencildog »

tayo42 wrote: post #61
hybridtupel wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what was meant here are the countless (monetarized) apps and courses which gamify the meditation experience of course. You are totally right that the original intention of meditation is quite the opposite. No app, gadget or anything else required. Edit: Grammar

> countless (monetarized) apps and courses which gamify the meditation experience What do these apps do? Ive been giving meditation a shot recently. (Because i have similar thoughts about my distractions) So im aware of them, ive been mediating just by setting the timer on my phone and finding some quiet time and then well mediate. Mediate as i understand it is just sitting still and being present and aware of your m…

The main advantage of an app is guided meditation. If you only want to sit quietly, or you're already trained in meditation, or you've read some books on practice, then the apps may not provide an advantage to you.

Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#66

Post by ph2082 »

dylkil wrote: post #54
acwan93 wrote: post #50

One way to combat this (if you’re physically capable): long distance running without headphones. It forces you to focus on one thing alone: finish your route. I’ve found that my mind wanders, but the pain exerted by running for an hour or so inevitably brings you back.

isnt the pain of running long distance a distraction too though?

Man, I am reading this book Awakening Intelligence by Jiddu Krishnamurthy. It says same thing. Everything we do is trying to distract us from our true selves.

Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#67

Post by thombee »

tayo42 wrote: post #61
hybridtupel wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what was meant here are the countless (monetarized) apps and courses which gamify the meditation experience of course. You are totally right that the original intention of meditation is quite the opposite. No app, gadget or anything else required. Edit: Grammar

> countless (monetarized) apps and courses which gamify the meditation experience What do these apps do? Ive been giving meditation a shot recently. (Because i have similar thoughts about my distractions) So im aware of them, ive been mediating just by setting the timer on my phone and finding some quiet time and then well mediate. Mediate as i understand it is just sitting still and being present and aware of your m…

It's kinda like having a meditation teacher, but in an app. Totally not necessary, but I like it :D

Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#68

Post by steve_adams_86 »

warent wrote: post #17
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #7

It is interesting how manufactured distraction-free sessions like yoga, meditation, paid retreats, have emerged to fill the demand for idle time. We’re forgetting how to unplug unless it’s a product or service that we can buy. The distraction issue is the number one issue holding back most of the young people in the mentorship group I’m part of. They’re so glued to their phones to check minute-by-minute updates about…

> Bitcoin is especially distracting right now, as they’re all nervously watching the real-time changes of their $1000 portfolios to see if they need to be sad about losing money because it’s crashing or sad about not investing more money because it’s going up. Great way to articulate this! This very experience is relatable although in my case with normal stocks, and something very interesting happened. I sold some st…

I posted something recently here about a similar epiphany. We really do get to decide what we believe to be true, and we even get to decide how we respond to the truth. We can change how we feel about things over time. None of this is static.

What sent me down that rabbit hole in a big way was stoic philosophy. I’m not 100% on board with it, but when it comes to this it has literally changed my life. I now take an active role in how I perceive things and how I react to those perceptions, and I actually enjoy that exercise a lot.

So you lost some money. Can you still eat? Pay rent? Still have a job? Then it’s not a problem at all, is it?

Not long ago I would have gotten worked up too, and maybe I still would. Who knows. But there really isn’t any need for it.

Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#69

Post by coffeefirst »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #37
rubicon33 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am going to make a counter point, albeit one that I don't like: Advising kids to lean away from modern life and push back on the progress of distracting technologies will actually be a more anti-social move than not. What I mean is that to exist and live in the modern world increasingly requires adept skills at managing bespoke technological platforms. To be a social being in the 21st century is largely about navig…

> Advising kids to lean away from modern life and push back on the progress of distracting technologies will actually be a more anti-social move than not. It's not about telling kids to unplug completely. It's about balance. There are so many endless digital distractions available today that people need to know how and where to draw the line on their consumption. Or they don't recognize that the short-term value they…

The food analogy is really good.

Like food, hyper-distraction affects different people differently, I've watched really bad habits affect real peoples lives in bad ways, and many people who grow up in a culture where that's normal may never break those habits.

Also like food, I'm spending way more time in front of screens in order to cope with the pandemic. Is it okay? Eh, not really, but I think it's okay to accept the necessity of overindulgence given the circumstances.

Re: We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus

#70

Post by throwawayboise »

esperent wrote: post #34
ppf wrote: post #8

I've spent the last year or so trying to control my smartphone usage, by removing apps and trying to set rules for myself like "your phone stays in the kitchen for most of the day". I recently took the plunge and got rid of it entirely, and it was truly surprising to realise how much of my time and attention it had still taken, despite my best efforts. If you think you're ready for that step, I highly recommend it. J…

I've considered doing this, but it's not possible for two reasons: all my banking apps require using a smartphone. And second, I'm a web developer and need to test sites on a phone daily. There's also one killer app I don't want to stop using: maps (Google, Apple, Open Street Map, doesn't matter which). However, I have switched to NextDNS and locked out a large chunk of the internet on the phone. That helps.

Maps are definitely the one thing that still keeps me owning a smartphone. The navigation is just super convenient.

That said, before smartphones, I managed to find my way to where I needed to be, using paper maps and written directions. It's not that hard.

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