Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

idratherbewriting.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 231 posts

Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

#51

Post by dumpsterlid »

kristianc wrote: post #43

Although the attention span myth is one of those things that is taken to be almost idiomatic, there’s actually very little empirical evidence for it. There’s no such thing as an ‘average’ attention span, and even for those individual tasks it would be very much context dependent (where I’m sitting, what I’m doing at the time, my general opinion of the author, the mood I’m in). It’s a nice story, and it will invariabl…

This is an extremely crucial point. Though I do think social media apps are designed to be addictive in a negative way, the narrative that they are destroying our attention spans has absolutely no backing in science and yet it is taken almost as common sense.

Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

#52

Post by mrfusion »

dumpsterlid wrote: post #44
arkitaip wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boards games and card games are great too.

It is the golden age of board gaming and it couldnt have come at a more crucial time.

What are some good ones that work for common people?

Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

#53

Post by frosted-flakes »

_abox wrote: post #40
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #7

Since I haven't been commuting or going many places, my phone mostly sits idle for days, unused. I watch my wife and daughter constantly in front of theirs and I don't understand. I hate using those little screens with terrible input and fundamentally boring distracting apps. The problem is though, I'm addicted to my computer. I'm not actually sure it's that much better.

Same here. I don't understand why someone would willingly use a 6" screen when they have a glorious 24" and actual input devices available.

Because it's easier to use a 6" screen when you're laying on the couch or in bed.

Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

#55

Post by MrYellowP »

kristianc wrote: post #43

Although the attention span myth is one of those things that is taken to be almost idiomatic, there’s actually very little empirical evidence for it. There’s no such thing as an ‘average’ attention span, and even for those individual tasks it would be very much context dependent (where I’m sitting, what I’m doing at the time, my general opinion of the author, the mood I’m in). It’s a nice story, and it will invariabl…

There's no such thing as an average. Dividing sums isn't real.

We can't even measure what attracts the attention of people. We can't track their eyes. We haven't been improving our techniques for catching someones attention and focus for the last decades+. We don't try to keep people hooked to our websites by making sure they stay engaged. FarmVille is a only a myth, too. "Endless scrolling" doesn't actually exist either.

Chatbots on websites, which try to engage you in a conversation within seconds of inactivity, don't actually do so to keep your attention on the site.

Man ...

If all your understanding is based solely on data other people have gathered, then you not only are completely unaware of all the potential data that hasn't been gathered yet, you also have only very little understanding of pretty much anything out there.

Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

#56

Post by ornornor »

mrfusion wrote: post #52
dumpsterlid wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is the golden age of board gaming and it couldnt have come at a more crucial time.

What are some good ones that work for common people?

Carcassonne, saboteur, splendor.

Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

#58

Post by vorpalhex »

mrfusion wrote: post #52
dumpsterlid wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is the golden age of board gaming and it couldnt have come at a more crucial time.

What are some good ones that work for common people?

Board games fall into a few categories: https://www.gearhungry.com/types-of-board-games/

Then within those categories you have easier and harder games (and better made or less better).

Try a sampler platter and see what works and is fun.

Some specific suggestions:

Love letter, Takanoko, munchkin, elder sign.

Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

#59

Post by codemonkey-zeta »

> When I pulled up at a stoplight waiting for the light to change, I would instinctively reached for my phone (mounted on my dash) to check my email (personal + work), check ESPN, look up something on Amazon, etc. While pumping gas in the car, I’d whip out my phone while waiting. Stuck in line somewhere? Time for my phone. Waiting in an elevator? The phone. Riding the train? The phone. Going to the bathroom? Make sure to bring the phone! Eating breakfast? The phone. Any spare or idle moment? The phone

This describes every single person I know under the age of 25, and I'm in that demographic. It must be the single greatest public health experiment of all time.

The crazy part is, not one single person I know thinks of it as a bad thing. They just seem to accept it as part of life, which makes me feel so alienated whenever interacting with them, since I am hardly ever using my phone (the computer on the other hand...)

Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span

#60

Post by iratewizard »

codemonkey-zeta wrote: post #59

> When I pulled up at a stoplight waiting for the light to change, I would instinctively reached for my phone (mounted on my dash) to check my email (personal + work), check ESPN, look up something on Amazon, etc. While pumping gas in the car, I’d whip out my phone while waiting. Stuck in line somewhere? Time for my phone. Waiting in an elevator? The phone. Riding the train? The phone. Going to the bathroom? Make sur…

For anyone struggling, turning the screen to black and white helps. Less dopamine per hit makes it easier to break those habits.
Post reply on HN