tl;dr, but here's the difference: we willingly purchase devices that are sworn servants of entities who profit from grabbing our attention, engagement, and cash

tl;dr, but here's the difference: we willingly purchase devices that are sworn servants of entities who profit from grabbing our attention, engagement, and cash. I doubt that you can say a monk, who may be distrated by flies buzzing, or cows mooing, or his brothers' quills scratching at vellum, is on the same plane of distraction as someone who's jacked in to the Cybernet at all times. There's an interdependence and reliance on these distraction factories, now, where people have given over functions to their phone: such as wallet, notebook, any and all communications with loved ones (especially in the post-C19, increasingly isolated urban wastelands.) If we can't live without our phones, and we rely on our phones for the minimum functions of life, what does that say for their ability to distract us? Monks who are good at prayer are good at managing distractions. You don't simply "shut them out" or shun them. You roll with them like a reed swaying in the wind. I have practiced a tiny bit of Centering Prayer (see also, Hesychasm or Mindfulness). It is marvellous. I simply wish I could do it every day and live a lifestyle that's centered on Christ. Needs lots of devotion and practice. It won't reduce my distractions or ruminations, but it will help me become the master of my own thoughts.