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Yes, you read it right, it’s ‘distraction’ and not ‘destruction’. A lot has been written & discussed on weapons of mass destruction and how hazardous these are for humanity. However, we being unaware of the threat, ‘distraction’ is even more dangerous in the longer run.
“If destruction fails to entangle us, distraction will do its best”. Beth Moore
Cause & Effect
When we talk about distraction or lack of focus, we all can picture people around us frantically doing their work, seeing their smartphones in between every 5-10 minutes to ascertain the movement on their social media accounts and instant messaging apps. The world is packed with smartphone zombies who can’t hold a meaningful conversation because they’re perpetually busy scanning their phone’s push notifications, and we all have ‘most selfie-centered’ friends in our network who are invariably trying to find a better shot to spice up social media platforms.
The research shows that we are all tech-junkies, to a certain extent. Most of us spend a minimum of four hours a day on our smartphones and tablets, not counting all the time we’re on the computer or laptop which is inexorable to do our respective jobs. Though there are multiple internal reasons for lack of focus, biggest external factors primarily responsible for our distractions has been ‘use of the smartphone, internet and social media’. Depending upon our situations and our individual ability, we tend to deal with all kind of internal & external distractions in our own ways. However, the use of smartphone & social media has got the better of us and our attention span is now all-time low.
The research on human attention span revealed that it is reducing significantly. An average attention span of 12 seconds in the year 2000 shockingly declined to 8 seconds in the year 2013, which is even lesser than the attention span of a Goldfish. Apart from impacting our attention span; excessive use of this form of technology poses serious challenges from depression & anxiety to serious issues like Cyberchondria, Insomnia, Nomophobia, FOMO to developing symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The list is endless.
Science of distraction
Distraction is not a recent phenomenon, humans have been dealing with it since eternities, but the addiction and distraction caused by digital technology is unprecedented. Though human brain also got evolved to some extent in order to perceive, record and deal with more complex information, but the immeasurable volume of information that we get exposed to is still beyond imagination.
Research proved that the brain is not quite coping with the amount of information we receive, and our ability to disconnect from the outside and be present in the moment is actually decreasing, according to Adam Gazzaley, a renowned cognitive neuroscientist.
Most people don’t even see ‘distraction’ as their enemy, they use these distractions as an escape, in order to get rid of issues they don’t wish to face in reality. Ironically, they fall into the trap of these escapes, and gets even harder to deal with escapes than real-life issues.
Using smartphones apps to divert your attention is tricky as compared to something like watching a movie because the movie will eventually end in 120 odd minutes, whereas the smartphone apps are purposefully curated to get us addicted to the content i.e. online games, compulsive shopping, and social media feeds. The platforms are designed to cater our need for instant gratification and easy source of dopamine release in our brain resulting in addiction. People on smartphones are people on cocaine and this addiction is the cause of distraction.
Understanding
There’s school of thought that says distraction is ‘Good and bad both’ as it helps in refreshing the mood whilst using smartphone & social media in between doing something important. In my opinion, what helps you rejuvenate is a ‘welcome break’ and not the ‘distraction’ and the Key lies in ‘knowing where to stop’.
It’s not just the actual amount of time one spends over these gadgets, it’s the hangover too which doesn’t let one focus on the current task. As far as the function of the brain is concerned, information acts upon information, regardless of how useful or wasteful the set of information is. After each session of smartphone or internet use, some information gets downloaded in the brain which keeps acting upon the existing information stored in memory. This being default process keeps our faculties of perception and memory occupied for long, which leaves us with lesser bandwidth to manage tasks in hand and we struggle to bring back our focus.
The key is knowing your enemy and the understanding of how harmful these distractions are and how much it’s costing us. Half the battle is won if one realizes the threat of digital distractions. A brief scan of your smartphone will give you an idea of which apps are eating up most of your time & energy. In case you think you don’t overuse your smartphone and want to test on how dependent you are on these you can try removing all social media apps, needless online shopping apps, and online gaming apps for a couple of weeks and see how it works for you.
Since Information overload is driving this addiction, we need to curb the tendency of knowing more & more, and the fear of missing out on information. In the process of limiting your use of phone, you would surely miss on the gossips, events, or latest updates in your network. There is a humongous amount of information already available on the internet and it’s impossible to remain on the top of this information despite spending a complete lifetime without wasting a single second elsewhere. Acceptance of this might calm your nerves a bit and can help in moving forward.
In case one needs professional help in limiting smartphone use, there are number of solutions available like digital detox and technology rehab centers which can help one disconnect from digital technology use. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is also helpful in dealing with the issues related to compulsive behavior in using technology. This therapy includes the systematic handling of unpleasant emotions like anxiety, stress, and depression which might be triggering the technology overuse to the extent of addiction.
There’s no doubt the element of comfort & convenience ‘digital technology’ offers in terms of connect with the world and the abundant information it has to offer. After having used these, we can’t imagine a world sans gadgets & technology. It would be highly inefficient to not to get benefitted by the technology and at the same time we must not let this hijack our health & wellbeing.
What distracts us will begin to define us – Bob Goff