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My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
151–160 of 231 posts
Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#152At the risk of sounding repetitive, this can also be a classic case of ADHD. If you also resonate with the post, ask yourself - do you have issues planning and completing long projects? Time management and procrastination issues? Lacking motivation? (Dis)organization problems? (Bonus: frustrated with yourself/your progress!) If (like me) you say "damn that's a lot of things I have to a significant degree" then you sh…
For Diabetes, there’s Type I (genetic) and Type II (caused by frequent exposure to high blood sugar).
I wonder if ADHD might have something similar, that we’re just beginning to notice. The brain’s plasticity might be adjusting to higher levels of dopamine from our phones.
Anecdotally, I never had ADHD-like symptoms until COVID lockdowns. In the last year, I would spend pretty much all day in front of a screen and never get much meaningful stuff done. Now that I’m out and about more and staying away from phones, I feel less ADHD and I’m back to reading full length books and picking up hobbies.
Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#153"Hari's book connected with me in a deep way, which is why I was drawn to it, page after page. Hari explains that "wherever my generation gathered, we would lament our lost capacity for concentration."
As a member of a generation that can still focus, i.e., one not born into a world of personal computers, let alone pocket-sized ones, nor "tech" hype, I hope the author and his peers^1 figure out that this "economy" needs to be "disrupted" sooner rather than later, no matter how profitable it may be for a chosen few.
1. And the other people doing most of the work to "build" these distractions and the people being targeted with them.
It saddens me that many members of older generations, who did learn how to focus, have decided to go along for the ride with the younger ones into this attention span abyss. IMHO there are substantial "life skills" that are being lost due to "tech" hype and money-making. We cannot expect younger folks to understand what they are, as the mindless "tech" hype ceaselessly commands their attention above all else. Money-making no matter what the cost to society. These disappearing life skills have value, e.g., ability to concentrate, ability to evaluate facts and think critically (cf. simply voicing uneducated opinions and complaining about anything and everything to the internet), ability to deal with conflict, and so on. The OP managed to remember the value of concentration, so perhaps anyone can do it. Please do not give up. That is exactly what the "tech" companies want you to do.
Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
Schedule a time where everyone agrees to not use screens. Dinner is a good starting point but ultimately, whatever works. Practice conversing and talking. Socialising is a muscle, and smartphones (and other devices) are a crutch that lets us avoid using that muscle.
What about people who use smartphones for socialising? Staying in touch with friends, finding new interesting people, browsing local events, deciding where to meet, etc.
Do that in the other 22 hours of the day that isn't dinner.
There's nothing wrong with smartphones per se. It's that the smartphones become a crutch to avoid socializing in person. All the excuses come out to prevent that crutch from being removed.
Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#155I did a digital detox in July of 2020, I had become overwhelmed with Discord and Reddit moderation and trying to Keep Up. I burned out hard. I turned off all electronics for a month and uninstalled the apps and restricted my phone use to calls and responding to 3 close friend's texts at a set time each day--I didn't keep it on me at all. No video games, no TV, no watch or music streaming. I had my library of local mu…
I know of someone who has undergone a similar detox. From what I've heard it's been somewhat life changing (in a positive way). I don't necessarily think it's lead to more _material_ success, but they seem happier and more positive generally. I'm trying to do a light version of this. I'm not sure I can ever completely give up the internet and video games. They're a big source of enjoyment for me. How much of that enj…
I replaced video games with making music. Scratches the same itch and is much more rewarding.
Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#156I’m developing a personal opinion that being on a phone all the time is like being high all the time. Eventually you look back and see thousands of hours you could have spent building something or learning an instrument or whatnot. Instead you just kinda pissed it away on gossip and getting anxious about events you have no control of. My most productive time on this phone is when I’m learning new stuff here on HN. Bu…
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Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#157The best thing you can do is FULLY TURN OFF notifications from any social media app (twitter, facebook, instagram, etc). Anything that would result in a requirement to swipe down from the top of the screen on android and look at a notification/popup and either slide it away to dismiss it or click on it. It's easy to do in android or ios. You should only see content when you specifically choose to open the app. This i…
Or uninstall the apps and use a browser instead.
Right? You'd be nuts to have the bird app on your mobile. It works perfectly in the browser, and when you close it, it's dead and gone! Can't use any battery at all!
Gmail is the same way. Gmail for mobile web is a phenomenally good web app, and completely incapable of notifying you of anything whatsoever.
Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#158One thing the "I used to be able to focus" folks all have in common is they're all older now, but this is never mentioned.
Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love the form factor and input for reading fiction. Probably 90% of my phone screen time is that, which adds up to a significant time each week.
Have you tried an e-ink screen like the kindle? It's perfect for consuming fiction books
Yes, I own a kindle and rarely use it, because i much prefer the smaller form factor of phones for fictions.
Technical books are better on larger screens, so the Kindle only gets used if I read that kind of book. Though the Kindle has way too few pixels imo, so I often read these on my desktop or ipad too.
Re: My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
I never developed phone addiction in this way because I always had mobile data disabled. I only enable mobile data when I need to sync calendars. That being said: on PC and too often check hacker news and similar sites: I'm trying out Krishnamurti's "observation": Can you catch yourself the VERY MOMENT you wish to go to some website (NOT after you already did: but when you wish to go: what kind of pressure/frustratio…
Will definitely check out "observation", sound interesting! I feel like the next step after recognizing and slowing/stopping the problem is with filling that void with meaningful work. For this I recommend "Deep Work" by Cal Newport. I felt like that book gave me the tools I needed to not just stop the bad habit, but replace it with constructive ones
That is an easy read, and I liked the examples such as hay farming, and 'shallow' v. 'deep' work.
People have to be willing to prioritize and set down the distractions.