Digital distraction and the loss of depth and meaning
Do smart devices hinder our ability to think deeply? Are social networking sites displacing meaningful connections in the real world? Over the years, researchers have asked such questions about digital distraction, and not without reason. As smartphone ownership has risen and social media use has increased, functional literacy has fallen and people feel more lonely and less connected, despite having hundreds of connections online.
As you can likely guess from these book titles, both authors make similar arguments about some of the negative effects digital technologies have had on our minds and lives. According to their arguments, those negative effects revolve around a common problem: digital distraction, or multitasking with our devices so much, it’s impossible to concentrate on anyone or anything.
Digital distraction and the loss of depth
To start with Carr’s argument, one of the negative effects of digital distraction is that it may lead to a loss of depth—specifically, the loss of focus and deep thought. Here’s his argument, in a nutshell.
When we continually stare at screens to scan for texts, instant messages, notifications, likes, shares, comments, and whatnot, we condition—or, in effect, ‘rewire’—our brains to multitask with digital devices. Of course, multitasking might not be a problem in moderation. Nevertheless, too much multitasking can weaken concentration, hurt productivity, and impede creativity.
That is to say, once this nonstop busyness over the Internet becomes a habit, it hinders our ability to focus. In short, too much multitasking with digital devices conditions us to be present with someone or something in a distracted state, without sustained attention. Consequently, we don’t think about people or things in a deep or attentive way. As brain circuits for deep thinking erode, the end result is shallow or inattentive thinking. As Carr explains,
The constant distractedness that the Net encourages—the state of being, to borrow another phrase from Eliot’s Four Quartets, “distracted from distraction by distraction”—is very different from the kind of temporary, purposeful diversion of our mind that refreshes our thinking when we’re weighing a decision. The Net’s cacophony of stimuli short-circuits both conscious and unconscious thought, preventing our minds from thinking either deeply or creatively. Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, quickly shepherding information into consciousness and then back out again (Carr, 2011, p 119).
Digital distraction and the loss of meaning
Likewise, shallow or inattentive thinking from digital distraction may have a negative effect on our social lives. Which brings us to Jackson’s argument.
Jackson in particular fears that as we lose the ability to pay attention and think deeply, we lose meaningful social connections as well. Here’s why. If we can’t attend to others and have thoughtful conversations, we won’t have meaningful relationships or work together in a constructive manner (regardless of how many ‘friends’ we can show off on social media). Hence, Jackson warns,
The costs are steep: we begin to lose truth, depth, and connection in our relations and our thought. Without a flourishing array of attentional skills, our world flattens and thins. And most alarmingly, we begin to lose our ability to collectively face the challenges of our time. Can a society without deep focus preserve and learn from its past? Does a culture of distraction evolve to meet the needs of its future? These surely are litmus tests of a new dark age and challenges we look perilously at risk of failing (Jackson, 2008, p 215).
The age of interruption
Granted, Carr and Jackson’s commentary are provocative and (in my estimate) hyperbolic. After all, if we can condition or rewire our brains using technology, then we can always recondition or rewire our brain circuits. But if that’s true, then it follows we can always retrain our own minds to think deeply and connect socially, even if digital distractions have conditioned us to think in shallow or inattentive ways. We need not resort to technological determinism by assuming our mind and society are wholly and unforgivably conditioned by technology.
Still, like Carr and Jackson, I’m also concerned about what journalist Thomas Friedman has dubbed the “Age of Interruption.” It’s when people multitask with digital devices so frequently, they can’t give sufficient attention to any single thing. As a result, thinking becomes more shallow, connections feel less meaningful, and fewer people find themselves capable of working together effectively. And that can create problems, including at work.
For instance, like many people, I’ve seen what digital distraction does to the workplace. Perhaps you share this experience. You’re in a meeting and barely speak a few sentences before an interruption of some sort. A cellphone buzzes, or a laptop dings. Then, everyone’s hands jump straight to his or her device. After an awkward moment, you try picking up where you left off. But you hardly breath out another sentence till suddenly the next interruption derails the discussion.
Long story short, many of us have seen this kind of multitasking reach disruptive and aggravating levels. It’s as if the devices control us, instead of us controlling our devices.
When digital distraction is dangerous
It’s not only at work where digital distraction can create problems. Indeed, whenever I’m outside, on the bus, or in restaurants, I see people glued to their smartphones, obsequious to their social media feeds but oblivious to their surroundings. Sometimes, those distractions put them at risk. To conclude with a salient example, it’s not uncommon to see video clips like this one nowadays.
Now, as a valid counterpoint, we could say that a moderate amount of digital distraction is perfectly fine. In fact, it’s desirable, because we all need to unwind and zone out once in a while. In other words, there’s nothing wrong with an occasional evening of streaming movies, playing video games, or just browsing online and watching adorable puppy videos.
Then again, if too many digital distractions begin to interfere with the ability to have thoughtful conversations and healthy interactions, it may be time to put down the device and curb the screen time.
References
Carr, Nicholas. (2011). The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
Jackson, Maggie. (2008). Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. New York: Prometheus Books.
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