Hmmm. Just got home. While driving I noticed several bad drivers. I immediately assumed they were holding their cell phone in one hand and looking at it. I was right. Then I thought of making bumper stickers: "Do you hold your spouse's hand as much as you hold your phone while driving?!?" Then I reached over and held my wife's hand.
Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
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Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#22Hmmm. Just got home. While driving I noticed several bad drivers. I immediately assumed they were holding their cell phone in one hand and looking at it. I was right. Then I thought of making bumper stickers: "Do you hold your spouse's hand as much as you hold your phone while driving?!?" Then I reached over and held my wife's hand.
hahaha!
that was so cute
edit: ops i forgot there is a thumbs up button… so how about vehicles having a simple lock checking if driver phone is being used? that would save so much accidents
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#23I've said this a thousand times and will repeat it until I die: The #1 job for a parent is to make sure their children are bored out of their minds regularly. Take away the sources of easy serotonin (usually the smartphone), either by taking the kid outside without it or whatever works for you. For example if you're on a 20 minute car ride as a family, the kids don't need to be on their smart device every second of t…
100%. A book, a backyard and a stick is all kids need. For each birthday they get an additional book and stick.
To pair with a book: blank paper and something to mark it with
To pair with a stick, when old enough: a knife.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#24Sometimes I wonder if our preoccupation with information consumption is a catalyst for our inability to have epiphanic thought. We’d probably have more Einstein-like breakthroughs in science if we weren’t constantly reading to find the answer and instead let our minds connect into the collective consciousness that already knows all.
We stand on the shoulders of giants.
...but the giants are getting bigger for every generation and it takes longer and longer to climb to the shoulders.
Some people make it, some quit half way and some don't even try when they see the monumental effort needed.
It takes huge effort and tons of time just to stay current on world events, never mind popular culture and hobbies and other interests. Combine that with 8-10 hours of work every day (including commutes) + family time + sleep and there really isn't time for epiphanic thought.
A bit over a hundred years ago we had people like Sabine Baring-Gould[0], who wrote over a hundred books and published over a thousand papers. He was born to a rich family, though, which did give him the time and resources. But at the time it was possible for him to learn much of the existing knowledge and expand it radically during his lifetime.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#25Don't most people think about stuff before they fall asleep? I know I do. Often it takes quite awhile to fall asleep for me and have plenty of time to do it.
I fall asleep pretty much instantly. Isn't thinking about things distracting you from sleep?
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#26There is some interesting discussion in the analysis portion of the paper that resonated deeply with me.
>However, the fact that participants underestimated the potential task motivation during the thinking period may indicate that people avoid thinking not because it is aversive but because it is expected to be aversive.
>Such an inaccurate expectation may lead people to unnecessarily avoid spending time thinking in their daily life.
>For example, the current widespread availability of the Internet and mobile phones makes it extremely easy for people to kill time when they have nothing to do, and our results suggest that people’s continual engagement in electronic devices may in part reflect inaccurate metacognitive beliefs about the value of not doing anything
I found that hiking helps me break the addiction (or dopamine hits or whatever you prefer to call it) to the internet. I observe a similar effect to that described in the paper (not because it is aversive but because it is expected to be aversive) -- the act of filling my water bottle an getting in the car sometimes takes every ounce of my will, but after I am over that I absolutely enjoy the exercise and sense of clarity it brings to let my mind wonder for a few hours.
As an experiment I just changed my HN bookmark to point to this story, to remind me that I shouldn't be refreshing HN for the 12th time today, and then add one more click to get to the homepage.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#27I wonder how much of the current anxiety wave that seems to have stricken Millennials and Gen Z is because they have no idea how to be alone with their thoughts. Anecdotally, I have heard a great many jokes about needing a distraction due to negative internal discourse. Like if they are left alone for more than 5 minutes by themselves, they will inevitably spiral into depression. I have people in my life that need a…
Well, that and the world is a pretty terrible place. Think about it for too long and you'll get pretty depressed.
The trick is not to think about it.
I stopped following the 24 hour news cycle a some time last decade and my quality of life improved radically.
I curate what I read myself, with RSS feeds, Reddit subscriptions and whatever happens to get to the front page of Hacker News =)
I don't need to know up to the minute death tolls from COVID the war in Ukraine or the latest natural disaster. I don't need to know which politician lied this time and what their opponent said to that. Knowing that doesn't bring anything positive to my life.
(I also find it fascinating that Gen X is completely forgotten in this discourse, like the OP did. It's just "Millennials and GenZ" for every debate)
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#28Hmmm. Just got home. While driving I noticed several bad drivers. I immediately assumed they were holding their cell phone in one hand and looking at it. I was right. Then I thought of making bumper stickers: "Do you hold your spouse's hand as much as you hold your phone while driving?!?" Then I reached over and held my wife's hand.
Many pediatricians in Berlin (presumably all around Germany as well) have a poster showing parents doom-scrolling with the mention "how much did you talk to your kids today?".
Brutal and relevant. I think of it every time I have a "I am in this picture and I don't like it" moment.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
100%. A book, a backyard and a stick is all kids need. For each birthday they get an additional book and stick.
To pair with a book: blank paper and something to mark it with To pair with a stick, when old enough: a knife.
This is a good guide to follow with kids: https://www.fiftydangerousthings.com
Our kid started with a knife when they were around 2 or 3. A dull-ish slightly serrated one first and graduated to an actual kitchen knife at 4. Got their first actual outdoor knife for their 5th birthday.
Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests
#30I've said this a thousand times and will repeat it until I die: The #1 job for a parent is to make sure their children are bored out of their minds regularly. Take away the sources of easy serotonin (usually the smartphone), either by taking the kid outside without it or whatever works for you. For example if you're on a 20 minute car ride as a family, the kids don't need to be on their smart device every second of t…
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