Distraction: BFA Thesis Paper

March 2016

Ben Hansen

We live in a time of sound bites. Information is consumed in bits and pieces, and we are constantly distracted by new information, pushed by a culture of speed and amusement. Rationing our attention, we impatiently skim for answers and constantly seek entertainment. Tasting scores of ideas, we feed our eyes with a myriad of notions but lack the time, attention and capacity to digest what we sample. Our discipline to focus is weakening. Many lack the patience to enjoy a book, read a newspaper, or write a letter. An information overload and our attempt to indulge it is lessening our capacity to listen, think, and understand.

THE DISTRACTION OF TECHNOLOGY

According to the Technorealists, technology is neither good nor bad and to look at it with such an extreme view is not a good idea. The Technorealists prefer to have a healthy view of technology: to recognize all the good that it does but at the same time be aware of its shortcomings. In their principles is listed the phrase: “Information is not knowledge” (Technorealism). Being aware of something does not equate understanding. While there is so much information our there to consume, merely reading about a myriad of things will not necessarily help us make better choices or even better understand the world. Understanding comes through deep investigation

and study. It cannot come by simply skimming.

The internet has dramatically increased the amount of information we have access to. We can access a trove of information on computers and mobile devices often carried on our very person. Whereas there was a time when people had to make a more concerted effort to communicate or to seek out information, answers to questions, and current news and events, we can now get this information by simply pulling a phone from our pockets. The instantaneous nature of the internet has led us to consume information in a gluttonous manner.

The instant results that the internet provides us also may lead us to develop an addiction. The web has been compared to a Skinner box: we get random rewards of new information when we browse the web (Anderson). While our web browsing may at times leave us feeling like we’ve wasted time, other times we are rewarded with a discovery of something that brings us satisfaction. This motivates us to go back, visiting the internet often in hopes of again receiving a reward of some kind. Examples of such rewards include likes on social media websites (Goodwin), "a life-changing email" or a "funny YouTube video" (Anderson).

The lingering worry of missing something makes us more susceptible to the distractions of technology and the internet (Urgo 7). John Garvey, referring to our tendency to distract ourselves with information said, "The madness of all of this ... is the notion that the next thing you hear might be what you were looking for all along" (Garvey). The internet contains more information than one can possibly consume. It is difficult to judge what information online will be worth our time. Users sample bits of information until they discover something that seems worth further reading or captures their interest.

One of the issues affecting our addictive ties to technology is the speed at which we live today—in large part a result of the internet. The internet has decreased the amount of effort to perform many forms of work, including writing, designing and communicating. We quickly go from activity to activity. In order to fit in an activity like reading, it is usually only done in spare minutes. Often this doesn’t give the proper amount of time to dive deep into a subject or into a book. When we have a moment, we may check Twitter or read the headlines in a news app to get the gist of what is going on in the world. True study into a topic can only happen when we take the time for it. Being busy going about our day, reading bits of information from all over the place, it’s not surprising that we may become tired and only feel like performing a lazy skim of information before we go to bed. Skimming has become part of the way we consume information, resulting from this culture of speed and instantaneousness.

The overload of information provided by the internet is both a blessing and a curse. It is a miracle to have access to information, allowing us to research and form connections unshackled by the constraints of time and geography. But with a sea of information come certain consequences. It is best worded by Herbert A. Simon: “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” Our susceptibility to the distractions of technology is increased by other factors, including disinterest, lack of quality, or the difficulty of the primary task at hand. Citing Merlin Mann, Anderson wrote: "Many

of our attention problems are symptoms of larger existential issues: motivation, happiness, neurochemistry" (Anderson). Jerry Seinfeld said: "There is no such thing as an attention span. There is only the quality of what you are viewing" (Heffernan). If someone is distracted easily in a certain setting, perhaps it is simply that the person lacks interest in the subject at hand. Perhaps whatever it is that is working for attention is not at a level of quality necessary to induce attention. Or maybe it is as Mann pointed out, an issue that is affected by deeper issues.

In "The Attention Span Myth," Virginia Heffernan questions the notion that an attention span is a free-standing thing. She argues that there’s something strange about the idea that something in the brain will make us more interested in a topic than others. (Heffernan.) This relates to what Jerry Seinfeld said in that it is not a matter of "attention spans"; it’s a matter of, first of all, quality. And secondly, it is a matter of person. Peoples’ interests vary. If an article is particularly intriguing to someone, he or she will be more likely to read through it.

The internet is instantaneous. It draws us in by offering rewards. It has affected the speed at which we live. It is a source of constant information. Because of this, technologies featuring these abilities have drawn us in, distracting us from our usual thinking and working.

HOW DOES DISTRACTION AFFECT US?

The following are a few ways that we are affected by the distractions of technology and the internet:

Productivity. Our culture of instantaneous information can, ironically, lead to less productivity. Maggie Jackson discussed how multitasking is happening in the workplace: "After studying workers at two West Coast high-tech firms for more than one thousand hours over the course of a year," Gloria Mark discovered that "Workers on average spend just eleven minutes on a project before switching to another, and while focusing on a project, typically change tasks every three minutes" (Jackson 84–85). This lack

of focus and constant task-switching interrupts thinking and increases the amount of time to perform tasks.

Safety. Multitasking and using mobile communication and information devices is obviously a hazard when it comes to transportation. Distracted driving and walking are common. Texting or talking on the phone can makes one less aware of what is happening around him. On this topic, Marc E. Weksler said commented that multitasking while driving and walking both contribute to car accidents (Weksler 386).

Reading. Reading today for many is different from reading in the past. When print was the way to access information, one only had what he was holding in his hands or other books he had nearby. We have the internet, with links and buttons that can take us through miles of information. Whereas our ancestors were stuck with a book, we have a world of books—and thoughts and ideas and tweets and memes—available to us. The sea of information that we live in has effected the way that we read. In the words of David Heddendorf: "We read restlessly, provisionally, ready to bail out when we become bored, irritated or tired" (Heddendorf 263).

We lack the patience to read deeply when we read on the internet. This is evident in the way that we read: "When we read online, we hardly even read at all—our eyes run down the page in an F pattern, scanning for keywords" (Anderson). We may start with good intentions but, as Heddendorf points out above, many times we will simply get bored or start skimming the text and then move on to something else.

Reading on the internet gives us the chance choose among a huge number of things to read. There is so much that often we may read from one thing and not have time to finish it. Leaving the web page, we easily forget about it.

Books are often easier to stay focused in because they do not have capabilities beyond their purpose to deliver the text on the page that is stuck there in ink. They do not announce emails or other notifications. They don’t turn off when you haven’t touched their surface for over a minute. They don’t really change at all, and so full attention can be given to the text itself, assuming that the text is engaging. Reading from a physical book, we have the book as a reminder that we were reading something.

Books are limited. It is just that though that makes them much more digestible. It is unlimited material that is not digestible. But is this form of reading all bad? In time, something much more distracting and addictive may take place of the internet. Ours is the responsibility to give our attention out as we see fit, either to our benefit or for our downfall. The type of information we give our attention to defines us and makes us the type of people we are (Attention 4).

THE BENEFITS OF DISTRACTION

Being distracted on the internet can help us make discoveries or connections we may not otherwise make. Discussing distraction, Anderson points out, "This sort of free-associative wandering is essential to the creative process; one moment of judicious unmindfulness can inspire thousands of hours of mindfulness" (Anderson).

Information spreads like a wild fire. Within minutes of the event, we can read, watch or listen to what is happening miles away.

The information may be weighty or frivolous. It may be important or it may simply be amusing. This is the blessing of the internet: the ability to access a nearly-endless trove of information. Whatever we want to learn about, we can—it is only a search away. Bits and pieces of information about varying subjects are fed to us through social media and news websites. We have become knowledgeable about a vast number of things.

Ideas are complex. People are complex. And so is the world. We can never fully understand it. But balance is necessary. We cannot say distraction is bad, because it has many benefits such as making connections with very different ideas. Through collaborative understanding, we can work together to piece together more about the world. Distraction may be what is helping us to progress. No one can know everything about the world. Is it bad to know tidbits though, in addition to deep knowledge gained through a study that is more focused?

I don’t think we should be overly worried about the problem of distraction, only inasmuch as it becomes a problem in relationships with others and our personal happiness. This subject has been explored so much and is it really the huge problem we think it is? I think only time will tell that for sure, but certainly we can see from the past that technology is not a bad thing. And those who become overly worried about something may simply be hindering progress. But there will always be people who will continue to bush the boundaries of technology, to better understand it and how it can serve the human race. What’s beyond the internet? How will we change to better understand the world despite an overload of information? Will the information overload that we encounter everyday actually make us smarter and more able to progress and make connections?

There are many times that distraction can be beneficial, such as when they remove our minds from unnecessary discomfort or frustration.

MANAGING DISTRACTION

Josef Urgo wrote: "Distraction needs to be understood and harnessed, not succumbed to" (14). Ultimately it is our choice to either succumb to the distractions of technology, or take control by setting it aside when necessary. It is, in many cases, a matter of self-mastery and self-control. Unless we make a conscious effort to slow down and remove unnecessary things from our lives, then we will likely struggle with focusing on things.

William James said "Geniuses differ from ordinary less in the character of their attention than in the nature of the objects upon which is is successively bestowed" (Attention 16). James points out that some are better at paying attention than others: citing James, Gallagher wrote:

"A person’s total ‘mental efficiency’ derives from the combination of all his faculties, the most important of which is not attention, but ‘the strength of his desire and passion.’ Compared to a more naturally focused but less motivated person, the individual who really cares for a subject ‘will return to it incessantly from his incessant wanderings, and first and last do more with it, and get more results from it’" (Gallagher 148).

If we can exercise that effort to return to what we are doing after becoming distracted, we can still learn, develop knowledge, experience and understanding. The question is, will we let ourselves become distracted from our passions or our goals, rarely to return if ever? Or will we constantly come back to what we were working on? William James continues: "The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will" (Attention 16). In overcoming distractions, desire, vision, priorities and discipline are key.

In her book Rapt, Winifred Gallagher gives some insight on the things that we pay attention to. She says that we need to carefully select what we will give our attention to and that we shouldn’t just be carried about by "willy-nilly" (Gallagher 13). It’s easy however to get lost on the internet. We may begin with a target in mind but lose our way. I don’t think that is enough. The challenge lies in the fact that there is so much available to us, and it presents itself to us without us even looking for it. Information comes to us and we read it and before we know it, we’re lost in a pool of information, focusing one moment on this and another moment on that. As our

focus is on other things, our whole intention is gone.

Gallagher made another interesting point that goes along the idea of our own self-control when it comes to distraction. Said she: "Your machines are not in charge of what you attend to—you are. When they prove distracting, you have only to turn them off" (162). Earlier in her book she made a point about how mind-wandering can be good and help us solve problems and get work done (150). It is multitasking that can make us less able to remember what we are doing, and can also get in the way of relationships (152–154).

As noted earlier, according to William James, the way we handle distraction determines the type of person we become because we create our universe based on what we pay attention to (Attention 4). So the real thing to consider when it comes to attention and distraction is what is the nature of the thing we’re paying attention to. How often do we log on to social media sites? How is that affecting the type of person we are? How would it be different if we frequented another site often instead? What is it that draws us back to certain sites? We find it difficult to resist the urge to return to social media sites as they give us a reward for going there. We see notifications, evidence of attention being given to us personally. We become engaged in the conversation, engaged in the information. Part of us is within it. This differs from the experience of reading other information or reading a book where we are not personally a part of it.

So the real question one should ask himself is what he wants out of his life. What does he want to see happen? What are his true interests? What is most important to him? It is there that he should give his best focus should he decide to do so. It’s a matter of choice and will. We have control over what we will pay attention to. We must decide whether or not we will become slaves to technology.

Time is about progress and learning. We cannot and should not simply retreat to a time of the past thinking it will be better and less distracting than the time we live in. We would likely be disappointed anyway. Humans have always experienced attention

and distraction. Technology hasn’t introduced those two phenomena to the world. Technology is not to blame when the real problem is us and our choices. It’s not technology’s fault if we’re not paying attention. It’s ours. No one can force us to pay attention to one thing or another, no less a machine.

So what will we do about distraction? Will we make excuses? Or will we accept who we are, make goals if we need to and take control of our lives? We made it technology, we can control it. We’re the ones with the brains, whether they can focus long or not.

Mona M. Shattell wrote about the importance of occasionally doing nothing. In an article, she talks about how many of our free moments are taken up with technology. She says that when we aren’t doing something, we’ll check our phones

or our messages. She wonders if we might be healthier if we were to have more time where we didn’t do that— where we actually were alone with our thoughts. She says we should make idleness a priority. (Shattell 368.

Shattell discusses getting away from our technological devices for a time, or getting them away from us (369). When we need to get something done, it is true that

we can have a hard time starting because there are so many options of things to do on our phones or our computers—things that may be easier than the task at hand. If the temptation is nearby to procrastinate a difficult task by doing something easier, then we will likely take it. In that sense, it is smart to step away from one’s technology. Say one is already working, however, and he or she is on the computer. He may at one point stop what he is doing to check Facebook. Is the problem that he or she is getting distracted or is it that he or she simply needs a break? Perhaps Facebook isn’t the best choice of something to do on a break and it can certainly be easy to lose track of time when on Facebook, but perhaps our brains get a little fried at times and distraction of some kind is necessary.

I think that idle time is good. The amount of idle time will depend on the person. We all need variation in our lives to keep things interesting. Doing the same mundane task gets difficult. And even if we have the willpower to stick through it, that doesn’t necessarily mean we will be more productive. In fact, in some cases, we may be much more productive if we take time for breaks. By doing so, we allow our minds can stew on ideas.

CONCLUSION

Being aware of our distractions and our susceptibility to them may help us in making decisions that will increase our ability to think, create, and progress.