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

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

#81

Post by ppf »

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #23
ppf wrote: post #8

I've spent the last year or so trying to control my smartphone usage, by removing apps and trying to set rules for myself like "your phone stays in the kitchen for most of the day". I recently took the plunge and got rid of it entirely, and it was truly surprising to realise how much of my time and attention it had still taken, despite my best efforts. If you think you're ready for that step, I highly recommend it. J…

Will it even be possible for many people to give up smartphones in favour of a dumbphone any more? Thanks to COVID, you may have to own an Apple or Android smartphone to do certain things. Several countries have announced that their vaccination certificate will exist mainly in digital form, with one official app that generates limited-time QR codes. For instance, I can’t find any information on what Israelis without…

Fortunately, I live in a country where I think there is less chance of such things happening. However - is mandated smartphone ownership the future we want? It goes without saying that almost all government over-reach is done "for your own good".

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

#82

Post by i5heu »

alsetmusic wrote: post #55
rubicon33 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People seem to have a strange way of 'investing'. For me, it falls into 2 categories: 1) Long term investements which I almost never look at. Regular scheduled deposits going into an index fund. 2) Bets. Fun little side gambles which I always do for one purpose - aquiring something in the real world. Example: I want a new M1 macbook, but rather than drop $1k, I gamble $3k bitcoin. If it makes enough profit for the ma…

> which I am OK losing. This is the most important concept of investing. You should never place an amount you wouldn’t be ok losing. If losing every cent of an investment could cause financial ruin, you’re investing too much.

You can not not invest „money“. If you let the „money“ exists in Fiat money form your money is invested in this exact fiat money.

This is all a big gamble with different risks. But generally: if you have “money” you have a risk to lose it.

I use here ““Money”” as a synonym for buying power, or value that can be exchanged. So it is not like Money because it dose not describe the meta value and is part of the big gamble ;)

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

#83

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

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

#84

Post by nicbou »

acwan93 wrote: post #50

One way to combat this (if you’re physically capable): long distance running without headphones. It forces you to focus on one thing alone: finish your route. I’ve found that my mind wanders, but the pain exerted by running for an hour or so inevitably brings you back.

Bicycle and motorcycle travel works too. You can think about things, but you're mostly focused on staying in movement.

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

#85

Post by sedeki »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #58
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 if we see a rise in ADHD in kids nowadays because it is an increasingly useful adaptation to our environment. We like to think of focus and attention span as innate abilities encoded by our genes, but the truth is that genetics are only a part of the story. Focus and attention are learned skills that can be trained and developed over time. Likewise, focus and attention can be diminished over time through c…

> Obviously I'd never discourage anyone from pursuing study in their chosen field, but in my experience the people who didn't grow up in environments with strong structure, frameworks, and feedback loops from their educators and parents is often ill-equipped to follow their academic desires when they arrive at college or the business world.

Eloquently summarizes my situation precisely.

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

#86

Post by vaylian »

baxtr wrote: post #80
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 always wonder how much more they could accomplish if they’d simply pick four hours each day to turn off their phones. I think most of them sincerely wouldn’t know what to do in those 4 hours. Working on their laptops? I guess I wonder: How can people “accomplish things” nowadays without being on a device?

I think the question should rather be: How can people accomplish things today by using devices that are connected to the internet?

Having internet access increases the potential for distraction by a lot. Some websites are specifically designed to be addictive. The easiest way to deal with this is to block them on your device during certain times of the day.

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

#87

Post by dreamer7 »

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…

Seems like there's an app opportunity here! Free time as a service. "Choose how many hours in a day you would like to be free and we will automatically block your calendar, cancel meeting invites, setup an email auto-responder and disable access to the internet" /s

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

#88

Post by astrobe_ »

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…

> will actually be a more anti-social move than not.

Anti-social is the whole point. Because, precisely, society has been hijacked by consumerism.

It's nothing new, it started with the industrial revolution. Now that (almost) everyone has a fridge, a TV, a car, a washing-machine, a computer, a phone, attention is being siphoned in order to generate revenue.

> Of course this ideological view of society is long gone so there's just no sense trying to push back. Accept that today's child is a highly connected, distracted, techno-proficient being and let that be that.

I think "attention economy" should be treated as a threat and, on the contrary, mercilessly fought against (with education, and not just kids). Because it damage people's mind just like the industry damaged the environment. Don't make the same mistake twice.

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

#89

Post by cher88 »

shortandsweet wrote: post #15
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…

Curious about your mentoring program. How does it work? I always feel that who am I to really provide advice? I was recently asked to attend a virtual mentoring session and I didn't due to scheduling conflicts but I had no idea what to say had I attended. I was going to kick it off if they had any questions about anything and then move into my career over the years. I didn't want to share too much because I feel it w…

Not the OP, but my advice is to tailor your advice / sharing of experiences to what your mentee(s) need. Always start by listening before sharing your experiences, and for each experience, distill the key learning so you can help your mentee see how they can apply it to their situation.

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

#90

Post by hetspookjee »

dreamer7 wrote: post #87
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…

Seems like there's an app opportunity here! Free time as a service. "Choose how many hours in a day you would like to be free and we will automatically block your calendar, cancel meeting invites, setup an email auto-responder and disable access to the internet" /s

It's good that you explicitly made the /s. Otherwise you surely would've fallen victim of Poe's law.
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