We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental stimulus • Hacker News Board

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

#121

Post by toto444 » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 1:30 PM UTC

tluyben2 wrote: post #72

fxtentacle wrote: post #33

I wonder if we see a rise in ADHD in kids nowadays because it is an increasingly useful adaptation to our environment. "Hyperfocus is the experience of deep and intense concentration in some people with ADHD. ADHD is not necessarily a deficit of attention, but rather a problem with regulating one’s attention span to desired tasks." I don't know, but "hyperfocus" on a hobby you love sounds exactly like what most peopl…

I wonder what the officially diagnosed number for adhd is and it it is rising over the decades; literally all my kids of my friends and acquaintances 'have adhd'. Most are not diagnosed by a medical professional but self diagnosed. A lot of people I talk with (people over 35-40) have self diagnosed themselves as having adhd to explain their issues in life. Did the actual number increase? Did the definition broaden? W…

Also I have literally never met anyone in my life telling me 'I have ADHD'. However on the internet it seems that everyone has it. My pet theory is that it is a very American thing, not that people feel more free to talk about it on the internet.

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

#122

Post by benhurmarcel » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 1:50 PM UTC

lm28469 wrote: post #118

keiferski wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The blank page is unpopular these days. People have lost the ability to be creative, as in “create from scratch.” Everything must be appified and scheduled, offered with multiple preplanned choices and not with anything open-ended. This is easy to see with an example like kids toys or Legos: most of their new (and lucrative, I imagine) products are branded franchise ones, which is a far cry from the freeform building…

> Everything must be appified and scheduled You see it very often on HN with all the articles about tweaking your productivity, scheduling everything, writing what you're doing every 15 minutes in a logbook as to not lose a single second of your life to "unproductivity", &c. We're applying machine concepts to human life as if all that mattered was how much "things" you can produce and how much other things it allows…

I enjoy to read/watch about productivity apps and new tech, but it seems to me that all this "optimization" doesn't have any strong effect on output. It's not negative, you can do it if that brings you joy, but don't expect it to increase your output.

One of my last year's most productive days, I was stuck in a small hotel room on a business trip for a entire day, with a 13-inch laptop on shit wifi. In just a few hours I wrote one of the most useful document for my job in the last couple of years. I guess I had nothing else to do, and had no distractions.

Both at my office and home, I have all kinds of ergonomic setup, great connection, comfortable drinks, whatever. And I work ok there most of the time, but I got more focused and productive stuck in a hotel on a small laptop and a wooden chair…

Recently this video [1] got my the same impression. A dozen content producers in the "productivity" niche show their workplace. Obviously there are some high-tech desks full of expensive latest tech, but also some simple laptops and a wooden chair. In the end it doesn't matter, they're all producing good output regardless of their productivity setup.

So it looks more like a hobby than an actual link to being productive. It's really not about the apps or setup.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs7TCNDQy1E

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

#123

Post by benhurmarcel » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 1:54 PM UTC

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…

This has helped me cut down on the time I read HN: https://hckrnews.com/

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

#124

Post by Loouu » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:13 PM UTC

rubicon33 wrote: post #29

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…

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…

>Of course this ideological view of society is long gone so there's just no sense trying to push back.

I mean, the amish and mormons exist, and their birth rate is quite healthy.

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

#125

Post by agumonkey » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:22 PM UTC

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…

It might be a shallow conclusion but the level of absurdity of 2000s life is getting to me. Everything good that was free is now ~offered as paid services to compensate for all the subtle toxicity of the average mainstream life.

I just came back from a very free (for now) walk in the woods.

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

#126

Post by AtlasBarfed » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:27 PM UTC

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…

Exercise is shoes and a trip out the door away.

It's really reflective of a (hopefully) near-endgame of marketing: turning over the last stones available. Well, I don't really believe that.

Again, a failure of economics. EVERYTHING shouldn't be monetized, that is truly a path to dystopia, where you pay for the air you breathe.

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

#127

Post by agumonkey » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:35 PM UTC

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…

Trading is a soulless activity but the psychological, social and superstitious aspect of it are quite interesting. It taps deep into the fear/hope/chaos part of our brains.

Everybody is angry to see $crypto reaching 300% but when it dips back half, nobody wants it anymore, until it grows again. Trading flips our natural reflexes upside down.

The guru/superstition aspect is also something rare.. the actual knowledge of traders is really thin, but it can sound sophisticated if not advanced for the average crowd. Paired with the fact that all that is said comes with a "work 70% of the time" there's always enough room to justify errors and failures and still look like a guru to your crowd of wannabee-rich.

That said it's also a good tool to learn about calculated risk, adventurous and also balance (many start glue to their screens but with time you know how to not overspend your time like this).

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

#128

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:59 PM UTC

Loouu wrote: post #124

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…

>Of course this ideological view of society is long gone so there's just no sense trying to push back. I mean, the amish and mormons exist, and their birth rate is quite healthy.

[deleted]

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

#129

Post by nicbou » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #110

pascalo wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Came on here to say it's exactly what I use cycling for. 5 hours on the bike means 5 hours not looking at my phone or laptop. Just turn the legs over and let your mind wander or stare into the landscape (or deal with traffic, which sucks).

I spend a lot of every year bike touring, and on popular routes I have met other tourers and talked about this very issue, or observed their behavior. Apparently, a lot of cyclists still feel a compulsion to stop every X minutes so that they can take out their phones and look at their social media.

Everyone travels their own way

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

#130

Post by nicbou » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 4:22 PM UTC

iamsanteri wrote: post #100

pascalo wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Came on here to say it's exactly what I use cycling for. 5 hours on the bike means 5 hours not looking at my phone or laptop. Just turn the legs over and let your mind wander or stare into the landscape (or deal with traffic, which sucks).

Hi Pascalo, I have exactly the same feeling when going on a bike tour. We just did a 5-day, 250km bike ride along the Danube river here in south-Germany and it was one of the most incredible experiences I've had. On the saddle I feel free and my mind is resting. High-five!!

I've done the same route, with the same results! When you get to your stop, you're usually too tired to check your social media.