A “norm” that jeopardizes our attention

This year, I'm 21 years old. That makes the first iPhone 16 years old. As I sit here writing this blog post, it is painfully obvious that the stark difference of five years between me and the birth of my most dangerous addiction was not nearly enough time for me to... to just be in this world. Interrupting every part of my present daily routine with a ding and vibration, my phone is a constant reminder of my suffering attention capacity. What did I even do before my phone? Maybe I was coloring or playing dress up with dolls. Maybe I was watching the Wiggles or reading a book or doing fake magic tricks in my living room. That seems about right. But I was a kid, that's what kids are supposed to do. Fast forward to 10 years old. Now, everyone around me is getting a phone for our fifth grade graduation. I remember thinking to myself; is that what kids are supposed to do too? 

Now, at 21, I can tell you, no. That is not what kids were supposed to do too. After reading the first three chapters of Deep Work by Cal Newport and the article “Your Attention Didn’t Collapse. It was Stolen”, I learned that the massive obstacle me and the rest of the world must face now is the “attention crisis”. The attention crisis is the world’s decreasing capacity for attention due to technology and the internet. I say “must face” intentionally to highlight the fact that this is something that has happened to us with the massive growth of technology at our fingertips during all times. It is not something we can just easily avoid or decide not to use. In the book Deep Work, Newport highlights that in a 2012 McKinsey study, they found that the average worker spends more than 60 percent of the workweek engaged in electronic communication and internet searching. Given that that study was 10 years ago now, you can only imagine how much that percentage has likely grown. I mean, take schoolwork for an example. When’s the last time I completed an on-paper assignment? Two years ago… at least. I wouldn’t be surprised if I observed myself and discovered that over 80% of my day is spent staring at a screen. Another major point that Newport brings to our attention is the concept of Deep Work and why it is becoming increasingly rare at the time that it is needed the most. In fact, many successful people such as JK Rowling, Woody Allen and Bill Gates have only achieved their successes after completely isolating themselves for extended periods of time in order to allow themselves to think. I think this reading has really awakened me to the pressing ways in which our society needs to wake up and understand how necessary it is for people to dive into deep work.