Distracted

Attention Residue and its Increasing Prevalence

P. P. Zhang

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably seen the memes along the lines of “me lying in bed at 3 am thinking about what I should have said in an argument 6 years ago”. And whilst these memes are just that, designed to instigate a chuckle, they naturally contain some truth behind them. Speaking from personal experience, it is during times like these – for example, lying awake at night or taking a shower – that I come up with some of my best ideas, including the subject of this very article. Why is it that this catharsis only occurs in the most random of places? Well, it’s no secret that the modern world is fast-paced, with all its distractions that come in almost every form imaginable. It is only when we are not subjected to the whims of the world that we are able to access this ‘deep thinking’.

Don’t get me wrong, this topic has been done to death: how often have teachers and parents criticised the detriments of phones and other modern distractions? The adverse effects of technology have even been covered in previous editions of the Shore Weekly Record. But I think the perspective we haven’t dealt with enough is how our ability to focus and reflect has been severely compromised. This is especially topical in the present, as students are in the thick of exams, and it’s evident that a pattern of procrastination is slowly emerging. In fact, a 2017 survey from the American Psychological Association found that being constantly accessible on an electronic device significantly increased stress levels, which further affected productivity. One could even go as far as to argue that scientific and technological advancement is slowing and will inevitably continue to slow in the modern era, due to future generations’ inability to focus for long periods of time. All the famous discoveries we learn about in school, across every subject, were only discovered from periods of deep thinking. Take a look at any famous ‘genius’, and you’ll find that their theories and discoveries were only possible because of the excess time they had, to do nothing but think deeply. 

This inability to focus properly has become so prevalent that it’s been formally labelled as “attention residue”. Our transition from task to task means we cannot fully allocate our attention to anything, not only affecting our productivity, but degrading the quality of work completed, leading to negative outcomes overall. Reducing distractions and availability to everyone will be an essential habit to have in the future, which will not only lead to increased productivity but also creativity that stems from a still mind, as well as lowering stress levels overall. I’m not saying there’s a one size fits all solution, but the importance of finding something that works for you cannot be overstated, and the sooner the better.

If we are unable to do this, in the future humanity is undeniably going down a concerning road. The only thing that separates us from machines currently is our ability to creatively think and share these ideas, but with our obsession with urgency and the flashy, combined with the rise of artificial intelligence, this line is slowly being blurred. We may think that modern developments are only making our lives easier, but as time passes, it’s becoming unclear whether we’re mastering speed, or whether speed is mastering us.