Mired in Media
We all live with distraction – kids running through the house, a co-worker’s constant pop-ins to chat (and avoid work), telemarketer calls during dinner. Some days it’s a wonder we get anything done. Digital distractions, however, are another animal entirely. Whether we’re updating a financial spreadsheet or working on a document, there’s the lure of the Internet, email, social networking sites. When we’re not on the computer, there are calls and texts from the cell phone, a mind-boggling array of apps on our smart phone, and the old standby – T.V. It’s a far cry from Grok’s day when there was nothing to watch but the stars and dim silhouette of a darkened landscape, nothing to hear except the wind in the grasses, the distant calls of animals and chatter of family.
Yes, the irony isn’t lost on me: in addition to this blog, I’m on Twitter and Facebook. Then there’s the e-newsletter, online forum, and podcasts. I’m a tech junkie at this point, but like it or not that’s the way the world goes round these days. Most of us, I dare say, are caught up in it to some degree by choice or circumstance. Nonetheless, I don’t think I’m alone when I say there are times I need to disentangle myself from the digital web. Whether it’s to walk on the beach or to just totally focus on a project, I periodically unplug entirely.
A recent New York Times series on the “plugged in existence” highlighted the story of five neuroscientists who set out on a rafting trip along the San Juan River, where digital signals don’t reach. Their purpose was two-fold: to personally experience being out of touch for those days and to professionally deliberate the technological tethering of the modern brain. Some of the group had a harder time being disconnected than others. By the third day, however, everyone was noticeably more relaxed and engaged, a phenomenon the trip’s organizer, Professor David Strayer of the University of Utah, calls the “third day syndrome.” (Thinking about my own vacations, this pattern rings pretty true. No?)
The problem with living plugged in is, unlike the momentary chaos of children dashing through the kitchen, we too often bring on the digital distractions ourselves. Experts say we actually seek out interruptions of the digital variety like reward pellets in a lab cage. (There’s a reason they call that thing a “Crackberry.”) If you have a hard time resisting the lure of the computer or phone, you know what I mean. It’s the enticement to look up “one more thing” or not miss an anticipating message, to stay in the know – right now. That’s what some of the scientists dealt with transitioning to the river wilderness, and it’s what many of us might feel when we’re away or when service is down.
Sure enough, the experts say, there’s evolutionary impetus behind the inclination. Evidently, we’re hardwired to favor the new and novel details in our environment over the involved project (like those dirty dishes) in front of us, and there’s a dopamine reward attached to the impulse. It wouldn’t pay for Grok to get so immersed in skinning dinner or talking with family that he misses the wolf pack circling his camp. Of course, our own distraction rarely yields such critical information. Our natural distractibility isn’t as adaptive in the modern digital landscape where our incessant curiosity is more likely met with another spam ad than a vicious predator.
Plugged In: Falling Behind and Checked Out?
Of course, this constant back and forth makes for a rather disjointed existence. That, researchers say, is the real concern. Met with constant interruption, our thinking becomes scattered, jumbled. At times, it can feel like we’re playing multiple shell games, trying to recall where we were in the midst of each one. Researchers tell us that the persistent intrusions and diversions of this technological multitasking leave our brains fatigued. A Stanford University study showed that media multitaskers “do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time.” They have a harder time filtering out “irrelevant” information and getting to work applying what they’ve learned. In every task the researchers administered, self-declared “heavy” media multitaskers were outperformed by those less inclined to multitasking.
One of the problems seems to be multitasking’s demands on our working memory, the mental space that holds information we are currently “working with” and manipulating for reasoning and other purposes. Even the anticipation of a message, for example, absorbs working memory space. Furthermore, short-term memory can take a hit as well because of the added stress reported by multitaskers. And yet another study confirmed that multitasking literally changed the parts of the brain used in learning, and the consequence was less than encouraging. Interrupted learning is compromised learning, the study showed. Distractions resulted in impaired memory recall.
The overall research picture on multitasking, particularly media multitasking, points to a disturbing picture. We live with a damaging combination of influences: a deluge of digital information and a lack of downtime to intellectually synthesize it, reflect on it and make meaning with it.
As one of the neuroscientists on the rafting trip earlier suggests, “[P]eople are walking around fatigued and not realizing their cognitive potential.”
If our productivity and cognition are suffering as a result of our media gorge, experts seem most worried about the state of our relationships. A poll taken by the New York Times found that media use influenced one out of seven spouses to spend less time with their partners and one of ten parents to shortchange time with their kids.
Being There
What do we miss when we step away from dinner to take yet another phone call or check email? What do we give up when family members retreat with their respective devices each night? What do we forgo when we spend a road trip immersed in a DVD player or iPod? What impact is there when people can’t stand in line, sit at the airport or even walk the dog without staring at or talking into an electronic device?
There’s more, actually, than the immediate missed opportunities, neglected obligations, and disappointed loved ones. We’re not only giving up what’s in the moment but also the capacity to later attend to people and events with the same mental energy and focus when we finally disengage ourselves from our techno toys. A taxed brain peters out more quickly after all. How much do we give to our gadgets, and how little is then left for the real priorities in our lives? As balanced a life as I try to lead, I know the article series has given me food for thought. It’s also reaffirmed the Grok metaphor for me once again – the representation of a simpler life rooted in the essentials of existence. It’s a worthy reminder that living Primally for me is really about the full picture.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on making peace/finding balance with the digital realm. Here’s wishing you a little more dasein in your day. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the weekend, everybody!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
I also have the problem of beeing distracted from the media way too much…
It would be nice if the next post would be about how to overcome this addiction.
Mark, thank you for another wonderful and thought-provoking post! Our family, which includes three young children, has no TV, no “smart” phones, and is limited in the use of the internet. We do have lots of family time, long conversations, books read aloud after dinner, and connections that are far more fulfilling than any tweets, texts, or commercial-break conversations! Extended family has questioned our choices, but we’re happy this way!
Fantastic post, Mark. Your points on multitasking are also consistent with business literature on improving productivity. The whole point of the Getting Things Done Method and some key aspects of Four Hour Work Week tie in to eliminating non-priority junk so that you can focus on high-priority things with 100% attention. These methods get you out of the office faster, happier and with more time to spend with your family. Grok on!
Brilliant. Just the push I needed for a change. Not a extreme swing to the other side, but a few steps in the simpler direction. I think I might switch back to a land line, which makes gettingnin touch harder for others than for me, a difficult choice, but possibly a worthy sacrifice.
I know I usually deny it, but our most unhealthy habit is the time we spend in front of the computer. We gave up our TV a year ago and don’t miss that a bit, but our work keeps us in front of a computer screen, we both love reading various blogs that interest us, and I keep up w/ the Red Sox online and administer a website for my league. It’s too much.
Now, what are we going to do about it?
I love, love, love the computer and internet. Being a curious person and an information junkie, I am constantly amazed that I can find out anything I want to know on the internet.
In high school, I took a typing class back before electric typewriters were invented. For me, it was a nightmare having to correct all my misspelled words on that thing and I never was able to type very fast. Typing on a computer is pure heaven in comparison.
I also like connecting up with friends and family on the other coast (US) via email since with the time difference, phoning is difficult. Also, when people are busy, we can communicate in our own time. I also like that I can send photos. Oh yeah, and occasionally I buy something on the internet…easy.
I only use my cell phone rarely. Much like I would have used a pay phone. I do like having it in case of emergency.
Mostly, the only calls I get on it are from truckers because somehow my cell phone number was mistaken for another and then spread all over the country. Every time I think I have the problem solved, it starts up again. The up side is, the truckers are very polite and friendly.
As for TV, I just try to ask myself if what I am watching is something I really want to see or I save a show on the DVR to watch when I am doing some mindless thing. I am trying to be more conscience of how I am spending my allotted time here on earth. If I see no TV, I don’t really care. Love the DVR by the way.
One of my pet peeves is TV’s in public places, especially waiting rooms. What is with that?
This is why I make myself sit on the front porch to knit. My cellphone does not work there, and sometimes a neighbor will actually stop and talk to me. Oh, and I get a little vitamin D while I’m sitting there!
Wonderful article on a topic I think most of us already know, but need to be reminded!! As a nurse I do nothing but multitask, and I absolutely feel the decrease in memory and in-ability to think things through without having to “move onto the next”. By reading some of the other comments…I feel challenged to give up facebook!
I remember that as a new flight attendant only 15 years ago, people would line up at pay phones in the airport with calling cards to tell contacts that they would be late…remember all those phone banks in airports and malls? They are GONE…NOW they just email right from their seats! Some good, some bad with the digital age. One just has to know how to balance it all…sOOooo…it’s time to get off this thing! TATA!
“Less TV. More Real Life.”
No truer words have ever been written on a bathroom stall.
As part of the Primal Challenge, I’m also going on a ‘media diet’. I’ll be reducing my internet + cellphone usage during the course of the Challenge, and document the changes (physical and mental).
I may even go so far as to install one of the ‘stay on task’ applications for the month! Perhaps you could add this as ‘extra credit’ for the Challenge, Mark?
I realized I should also state that we don’t own a television, so no need to remove that from my intake. We watch occasional movies on our computer, and will probably reduce that as well.
The most that the media is in my life is when im at home. when im at home i spend more time on the computer and watching tv. but when im away from from the media doesnt affect me a whole lot
granted, there are amusing things on tv and it can be very entertaining, tv is okay as a distraction as long as it is in moderation.
I know what you mean about the 3rd day syndrome. I went on vacation for most of August and was checking my email 1-2x a day for the first couple of days. By week 2 I wasn’t even interested in turning on a computer. It felt nice to “unplug|. Of course, as soon I came home it was right back to the old habits!
I never realized how much time I waste with electronics until I read this article. Real eye-opener!
This summer was the ultimate ‘unplug’ for me. I was working in Alaska for 4.5 months and for 6-7 days at a time I had no phone, radio, internet, etc. I was living in a place where they just didn’t exist.
I did use my iPod to listen to a little bit of music (mostly while washing the dinner dishes!) and several books on tape (that was awesome and actually got me thinking a LOT. I listened to Born to run and Animal, vegetable, miracle, both of which I would recommend!)
I did have all the normal amenities (minus TV which I don’t ever have anyway) on my ‘weekend’ and I did use electronic media pretty heavily for those couple days a week but since my weekends were unpredictable as to when they would happen I didn’t get any phone calls or texts unless I initiated them and the internet was very slow so I often gave up on that too.
I have never in my life had as much time in my own brain as I did this summer. And I discovered an amazing thing.
After about 6 weeks (yes WEEKS!) my brain finally quieted down. At first it was busy buzzing and thinking and processing things from my ‘real’ life. And eventually it just….. stopped. It got quiet. I could actually go for several hours just thinking about the work I was doing. And not to much of that was about the work I was GOING to be doing but mostly the work I was doing RIGHT NOW.
I found the most comfortable, amazing place to be inside myself.
Since I’ve been headed home and immersed back into the ‘real’ world I’ve been an internet junkie. But I’ve also not had a whole lot else to do. I’m visiting friends but they have days jobs so I’m entertaining myself for several hours a day outside of my normal access to things. And it has included some walking, reading, exploring, and people watching but a lot of internet too.
My plan when I get home is to really focus on some things I want to accomplish in my life and limit the amount of internet I fall back into using. We’ll see how that goes.