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We need to reclaim our attention

theguardian.com

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Re: We need to reclaim our attention

#231

Post by softwaredoug »

Here's a protip that helps me.

Return yourself to the 1990s: Keep your mobile phone plugged in at all times when at home. Make it like a home phone line - turn on phone / texting notifs and disable all else. If you want to / need to check it, force yourself to walk to it to see that text or look something up. Print out things you need (like recipes, etc). Similarly, dock your laptop, and keep it docked when at home.

Not 100% possible, but it is a way to try and reduce the temptation to always check.

Re: We need to reclaim our attention

#232

Post by erikerikson »

fullshark wrote: post #102
slibhb wrote: post #42

> Some scientists say these worries about attention are a moral panic, comparable to the anxieties in the past about comic books or rap music, and that the evidence is shaky. I agree with them. It's hard to pay attention to something for long unless it's entertaining. Reading a book, reading a paper, etc -- these activities take discipline that most people don't develop or don't often apply. This isn't new. The mista…

Another possibility: the moral panic about comic books / rap music / low brow culture was justified and its ubiquity has done active harm to our society.

I don't know about "low brow culture" but comic books and rap have some fantastic material in them. Consider works like Promethea from Alan Moore or In Her Magic Box by Atmosphere.

Re: We need to reclaim our attention

#233

Post by andersonvom »

rightbyte wrote: post #90
bootlooped wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder what kids raised on iPads with big childproof cases will be like when they grow up, or even just when they get into high school.

I had that discussion this week end. I wonder if it will be any different from our Game boys? Or is the problem that smaller children get their hands on them?

I think there are two main factors that are different (not necessarily in order):

* companies can much more easily weaponize their services and tailor them to get individuals addicted, than individual video games ever could. And the feedback loop happens much faster.

* it was easier to moderate video games, because they had a single purpose: entertainment. since you can be in a device for any number of reasons: gaming, studying, catching up, reading,... and _everyone_ is on their devices _all the time_ (both kids and parents), it's much harder to establish good boundaries.

Re: We need to reclaim our attention

#234

Post by blowfish721 »

neuronic wrote: post #188
mc32 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d say more broadly it will be used for manipulative purposes. It’s a great tool for getting eager participants and then “gamifying” it to achieve some wanted behavior that extends to real life.

A Pokemon GO - like game but developed by a subversive power to destabilize society further and further, inch by inch, slowly until the strength withers from within. Would be a decent Black Mirror episode.

Or maybe a Southpark episode? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinpokomon

Re: We need to reclaim our attention

#235

Post by radicalbyte »

jacquesm wrote: post #22
radicalbyte wrote: post #18

My attention has collapsed in recent times, but it's not because of mobiles. It's because I have three young kids. You literally have to keep your eye on them at all times so you stop them killing themselves. Also, going from 8 hrs of sleep a night + 1 hr of intensive sport a day to 4-5 hrs of sleep a night and 1 hr of sport a year is an absolute mind killer. When I was younger I could never imagine going into manage…

I would say that your attention has improved rather than collapsed, it is now again focused on the real world around you instead of on a virtual window into a world that isn't really there.

I'm talking about during work. I work from home and the covid restrictions here (NL) mean that I've had the kids at home an average of two days a week. I also have a high pressure + important job (the NL COVID apps the last 6-7 months one of the key technical people driving the EU-DCC and other vaccination credentials).

I've had to stop coding because of it; finally admitted defeat (I love coding) and have essentially 10x'd my effectiveness. So there's that.

Before COVID my screen time with the kids was when sitting waiting for them to go to sleep, or feeding during the night (or staying up with them).

Re: We need to reclaim our attention

#236

Post by radicalbyte »

jacquesm wrote: post #64
lacerus wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This 100x! I am in the same boat, ours are 4 and 2. I recently installed rings and a super sturdy pull up bar next to the kids room and hope to do some basic calisthenics there with the kids before putting them to bed. Wish me luck. So far they really like it and I get at least a mini-workout out of it. Nothing like an hour at a real gym, but better than nothing.

One family member I have uses his kids as weights for exercising, they get a huge kick out of it and he gets his workout.

I did the same two years ago :)

Re: We need to reclaim our attention

#237

Post by drewcoo »

philipswood wrote: post #168
zentropia wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do we have an epidemic of chess?

In the late 18-hundreds Chess was considered a bit of an undesirable epidenic. Check out this gizmodo article: https://gizmodo.com/chess-was-once-deemed-a-menace-to-societ...

A century ago in the USSR there was a comedic film about chess addiction.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015673/?ref_=ttls_li_tt

Re: We need to reclaim our attention

#238

Post by drawkbox »

ImprovedSilence wrote: post #21
ErikVandeWater wrote: post #10

The problem isn't as much that social media is addictive. The issue is that people aren't happy with their other options of what to do. If you have a draining job and don't have energy to put into a hobby, or you don't have lots of friends to hang out with, you're much more likely to waste time on something addictive.

This 100%. Consuming media is an escape from reality, an escape from right now.

Exactly, social media is not reality.

Repeat after me: Social media is not reality.

In a way, social media is the new tabloid mixed with popularity contests and politics. Very easy to consume, mostly bullshit, mostly doomscrolling eventually, mostly divisive and tribal in the cult-like movements.

It is somewhat scary when people believe the "movements" on social media, they are mostly being engineered. People's first reactions and bad takes are what you find mostly on social media, those are usually worked out in normal reality.

There is some good to social media, for hobbies and information, but it is submerged under the astroturfed and cult/popularity/tabloid madness.

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