I will be the first to say I have an undiagnosed attention deficit. As I sit here attempting to write this blog, I am switching my attention from a movie (which I have seen 20 times) to texting, and back again to the computer screen. However, I cannot blame technology for my distraction. Without being surrounded by all this technology, I would simply find something else to do until I could adequately compose my thoughts. Virginia Heffernan wrote a fascinating article for The New York Times called “The Attention-Span Myth.” In her article, she referenced a gentleman named Nicholas Carr who argued that all of the technology is causing brain damage by “pushing even more distractions and interruptions on us.” But the true point of her article was not to support views such as Mr. Carr’s, but to elaborate on the fact that typically there are other factors involved—lack of interest, lack of understanding, etc. Also in the article, Jonah Lehrer brought gamers and Web users into the equation. For them, technology is not a distraction, it is simply a tool.
Perhaps I would have different choices for my time off task, but I absolutely believe that the lack of technology would not make me more focused.
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