[HN Gopher] We live in an age of distractions, dealing with cons...
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We live in an age of distractions, dealing with constant mental
stimulus
Author : iamsanteri
Score : 58 points
Date : 2021-02-20 19:49 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.lostbookofsales.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.lostbookofsales.com)
| BannedQuick wrote:
| You get what you where trained to beg for.
| PragmaticPulp wrote:
| 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
| COVID death tolls, how big their stimulus checks are going to be,
| the value of their crypto portfolio, GameStop, and every other
| popular topic under the sun that they don't have any attention
| left for their own lives.
|
| Bitcoin is especially distracting right now, as they're all
| nervously watching the real-time changes of their $1000
| portfolios to see if they need to be sad about losing money
| because it's crashing or sad about not investing more money
| because it's going up.
|
| These are all smart students. I always wonder how much more they
| could accomplish if they'd simply pick four hours each day to
| turn off their phones. That's a tough sell, though.
| zzzeek wrote:
| > 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.
|
| I meditate every day and it's cost me nothing, uses nothing,
| does not require going anywhere, literally brushing my teeth is
| more of a commercial activity than meditation is.
|
| Meditation is exactly what your students could use most
| effectively to learn to manage distracted minds, so given you
| are in a position of mentorship it's kind of sad you seem to
| think the basic act of sitting and doing exactly nothing but
| observing how it feels is some kind of corporate fad that
| should be avoided.
| hybridtupel wrote:
| I think what was meant here are the countless (monetarized)
| apps and courses which gamify the meditation experience of
| course. You are totally right that the original intention of
| meditation is quite the opposite. No app, gadget or anything
| else required.
|
| Edit: Grammar
| mandelbrotwurst wrote:
| I am personally finding myself getting caught in exactly these
| kinds of traps much more often since COVID showed up and all of
| the opportunity for in person social interaction dried up.
|
| Stillness has become difficult and while the digital
| interactions haven been an imperfect substitute, they're better
| than nothing and it's even more challenging to engage in good
| digital habits when you're leaning on these networks for such
| basic needs.
|
| It's been a challenge.
| shortandsweet wrote:
| 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 would
| be bragging.
| eingineer43 wrote:
| I love how you summarize the dilemma of a digital native. May I
| add some juicy polarization by referencing the quote "I don't
| know how to live, but I got a lot of toys" from the song 21st
| Century Digital Boy? Your article gives great reason to rethink.
| How to use the time we have been given in a meaningful way, to be
| labelled as a sentient being rather than a robot. It is
| definitely a daily test to one's choice: Rather to be a creator
| than consumer. Creating things is usually a sequential process,
| without a secret passage, lots of effort, making own
| (in-)abilities public and taking real risks - consumption can be
| found the exact opposite. So it's a path that needs decent
| courage. In the end it makes life brighter - and as you point
| out: it doesn't matter if you write about thoughts, read a book
| in length or build a trustful relationship with a person you
| love. It will be a lasting and enriching experience.
| UnpossibleJim wrote:
| I've been reading technical books for so long, hunting for
| information and with my shortened attention span, I now have
| difficulty reading for the sheer pleasure of it. I tried
| reading fiction not too long ago and found it laborious. It was
| the most disappointing feeling in the world to me.
| defterGoose wrote:
| This is interesting, and I kind of know what you're getting
| at. I've never been a super avid reader, but ive always
| enjoyed fiction and most sci-fi type stuff. As i get older i
| find myself gravitating towards more non-fiction. I recently
| read "Shadow Divers" which is the true story of some divers
| who discover an unknown U-Boat off the coast of New Jersey
| and spend years and several divers' lives in the pursuit of
| an identification. It was completely riveting which id rarely
| if ever experienced in a piece of non-fiction; felt like i
| remember the Harry Potter books feeling when i was a
| teenager. So maybe try expanding the scope of your search a
| little.
| iamsanteri wrote:
| Yes! To your comment, if you could commit yourself to balancing
| and trying to produce an equivalent of just 1/10th of all the
| stuff you consume, I think you would end up being a major and
| great creator.
|
| And just like you said, although creating and publishing takes
| a decent amount of courage, it is very rewarding, especially
| when the main purpose to do it comes for the sake of your own
| observation, learning and joy.
| eingineer43 wrote:
| Which "funny book" are you reading?
| iamsanteri wrote:
| The book was "Crossing the Chasm" by Geoffrey Moore.
|
| Actually, even just by searching online you can find this
| small chapter from the book where he tells his "high tech
| parable", illustrating an (unfortunately) common story of a
| fast growing start-up that struggles to expand beyond its
| early adopter market into the critically important
| majority. I think you might consider it pretty funny too,
| although my humor might be dry here.... Even if it's a bit
| early to tell, the book seems like a nice read!
| ppf wrote:
| 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.
| Just as mindless browsing, refreshing, and scrolling is self-
| perpetuating, so is the obverse. Once you start removing apps and
| accounts, and habits are broken, you will start asking yourself
| "Why am I on my (phone/computer/laptop)? What else could I be
| doing?"
| alexpetralia wrote:
| Similarly, everytime I decide to relegate my phone to another
| room, I am better off for it.
|
| The problem is that, one week or another, it eventually
| liberates itself and somehow makes its way back into my day-to-
| day.
|
| One day, I hope to solve this.
| [deleted]
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