6 ms·

Era of Distraction

64 points by zkanda 11y ago

habitue 11y ago
I would say the author's point about buying things and distraction from being connected is pretty weak. There's actually a tension there: why buy other stuff when you only ever interact with your phone? You can be a complete minimalist, live in a house with nothing in it, and just lay on the floor in the dark surfing the internet on your phone, chatting with friends on facebook etc, and all of the problems the author complains about will still exist.
- sarreph 11y ago
  I agree. The link/extrapolation here to general consumerism is tenuous at best.
  - HenryTheHorse 11y ago
    There is a very real problem of people not being aware of their impulse to buy. In fact, it's the foundation for all advertising: plant messages in the buyer's mind well before the buying occurs. I know that sounds Manchurian Candidate-ish but that's the nature of Marketing and Advertising. So perhaps the author is not entirely wrong in positing that distraction is, in a way, fueling meaningless purchases?
    - habitue 11y ago
      It's certainly possible, but if true, its in spite of our tendency to have one device we use all the time, not directly because of it
      - HenryTheHorse 11y ago
        You bet. People have been making questionable purchasing decisions for a LONG time. To blame it ALL on a smartphone or some other distraction is a bit simplistic.
mbrock 11y ago
Consumerism is destroying society! Buy my book about it for more dazzling critiques!
- frou_dh 11y ago
  We're told to refrain from lazy gratuitous negativity on HN.
  - Karunamon 11y ago
    This is pretty blatantly a book ad... FTA: Writer's Note: This is the first chapter of my book "Simplify Life... and Make it Count." Get it in Kindle.
    - buckbova 11y ago
      In these circumstances I support snarky sarcasm with upvotes.
    - frou_dh 11y ago
      All your quote shows me is that you home in on something (anything!) to be offended about. What's wrong with an author's book excerpt?
      - tedks 11y ago
        It's hard to "home in" on something that's only in the last line of the article. But before coming to the comments, I too chuckled a little at the irony of an ad for an ebook being disguised as a polemic against consumerism and distraction. If you do not see the irony in this, that's fine; you are still a special person and your life or viewpoints are no less valuable. But that's not a reason to personally attack those that do notice this irony.
        frou_dh 11y ago
        Trying to "gotcha" article authors by flinging out a oneliner about why they're a hypocrite has to be the longstanding most lazy, negative thing that's done on aggregator sites. Here's the key thought-technology[0]: just because we formulate one, doesn't mean it's worth posting. A private chuckle suffices. [0] I love this term from the fantasticly earnest podcast: http://www.merlinmann.com/roderick/ http://www.merlinmann.com/roderick/
zkanda 11y ago
The first half of the article is a genuine problem. There's just so much distraction going on right now, I wonder how people are being productive.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  I know HN sure isn't helping me be productive from minute to minute! I'm checking it compulsively for new posts. Hopefully its teaching me enough to compensate...
  - eterm 11y ago
    When I'm busy at work I turn on "noprocrast" mode. I still open hn all the time but the "get back to work!" message helps me close it quicker.
LiweiZ 11y ago
Focus is a more valuable trait in this era. We spoil our mouth and stomach first. And it's mind's turn. Information diet might be a solution for most information consumers.
thegainz 11y ago
I've recently given up a big temptation/distractor in my life. I packed up my gaming desktop and gave it away, and now I just use my laptop which I long ago set aside as school-only. This thing couldn't even play games if I wanted to, but it CAN ssh and compile code. I mean, after 9.5 years of playing DotA, what's the point? My grades have improved and I'm overall happier as I invest more time learning skills that I truly want to gain, all while traveling lighter. I think I hit a breaking point when I was living in my last apartment. I had too much junk around that I didn't want, need, or use. And because there was enough of it, I didn't have a real place for anything and didn't feel like cleaning it. My apartment wasn't dirty, but it was perennially untidy. I did not like that at all.
- buckbova 11y ago
  Good for you. This is why the last console system I purchase was the PS2. I can't trust myself not to binge on games.
- jcromartie 11y ago
  One of the skills I truly want to learn is game development (not just for games, though). I'm learning Unity at the moment. I find that to be much easier to do on a powerful PC, although it wouldn't be a total obstacle if I just had a laptop.
- eterm 11y ago
  Good for you. I'm often tempted to do the same, I still play 2-3 hours a day of PC games most nights after work. It isn't healthy but then if I didn't I suspect I'd binge on netflix or even just regular TV instead. I think eventually I'll grow out of it and do more reading, cooking and other activities, but it'll take a decision on my part to make that happen.
  - jerf 11y ago
    I find I have about an hour before bed where I really shouldn't be trying to be productive (because if I keep coding or whatever, it'll actually prevent me from sleeping), where some nice video games or some passively-consumed video content can be slotted in guilt-free. Now, I'm not saying that's the only time I relax, because that would be a lie. But it is a time that at least speaking for myself, I have to relax or I can't sleep.
JoshM33k 11y ago
I think most of the problems with distraction the author points out would be better phrased as over-connectivity. Knowing you are holding the window to the internet, all possible entertainment, and all your friends literally in your pocket makes it very difficult to not be constantly engaged. Over the last several years, I've drifted farther and farther away from Facebook, without really replacing it with anything in my life (aside from closer, more meaningful, more personal relationships). That twitch instinct to constantly check Facebook is now gone, and instead of feeling disconnected by pulling away from my social network, I actually feel closer to my friends and loved ones, because I now have to connect with them one one one, and have real conversations, instead of passively absorbing their lives.
dopeboy 11y ago
I don't think the author should be using the "we" pronoun. He's welcome to talk about himself but it's a step too far in generalizing that everyone has those behaviors and tendencies. Second, he needs to take a deep breath and relax. There is a balance that can be achieved through focus and discipline. How about changing the discussion to educating parents on these distractions and nipping the false sense of anxiety at the bud? How about having a psychology class in high school that confronts these desires and shows how artificial they really are?
- voidz 11y ago
  I guess one of the things that occurs when one becomes aware of realisations like his, is the idea "oh my god, it's not just me, it's everyone!" This happened to me too, years ago. And then I realised, "wait a minute, maybe I am just focusing on that side of my life." And of course on the side of life where more of like-minded people can be found: the Internet. And thanks to this realisation, the idea that everyone is like this, waned. I do agree with what you're saying - not everyone is like this. I for one am not, I keep focusing on my belief that being in contact with others is not something you do with gadgets - it's what you do with focus. So I don't put much value in the technology, and the older I get, the less importance all this tech has to me. But that's just me, and I do still often feel like the odd one out. And not only that: I'm also really disciplined in the pursuit of my idea, that the less you have, the more value the things you do have, are. Most of them immaterial too.
- ickwabe 11y ago
  As indicated at the bottom of the article, this is only the first chapter of a book in which he does offer solutions and strategies. http://www.raymundtamayo.com/p/simplify-life-and-make-it-count.html http://www.raymundtamayo.com/p/simplify-life-and-make-it-cou... Regarding use of "we". Clearly (at least to me) he is referring to societal trends that are fairly common. Not a specific groups of "we"s. So clearly there are plenty of folks who are not effected by these challenges. It's fairly pendantic to get hung up on this word.
- crpatino 11y ago
  I think the author is perfectly entitled to use "we" for the phenomena he is both experimenting first hand and observing around his environment. I can say his experience seems uncomfortably familiar to me, and have talked with more people (both online and face to face) that see the same things and share the same concerns. So, there is a non trivial number of people inside that "we". If you don't experiment this problem in person, you might as well count your blessings. Your point about there being a balance... it might be correct on the individual level. However, you cannot deny the problem at the society level. A large number of people (maybe the majority) never learn how to focus, because they grow up in environments that do not promote formation of discipline - either they are left to do as they see fit, or they are told what to do all the time, but only rarely are held accountable to own up the consequences of their own actions until very late in their upbreeding.
JadeNB 11y ago
> I don’t want to offend anyone, and I’m saying this with absolute care and humility… but if only they hadn’t had that much stuff then they would have had an easier time evacuating their homes and focusing on making sure their families are safe. I've never understood these "I'm not a racist, but"-type comments. This is offensive, and does not demonstrate care and humility. Someone who learns from such a tragedy principally that others shouldn't have so much stuff is, I think, learning the wrong lesson. EDIT: To be clear, I don't mean that I don't understand the purpose of the disclaimer, but rather that, if not always then at least in a modern rhetorical environment, it seems like a poor way of achieving its goal. For example, if the author correctly recognises that his statement sounds offensive, and absent care and humility, why not explain why he thinks that perception is incorrect, rather than trying simply to deny it by fiat?
- mcone 11y ago
  This is an example of "procatalepsis" or "prolepsis" [1], a rhetorical device that is often used to try to defuse criticism. Authors often use this to try to slip something controversial by their readers [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procatalepsis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procatalepsis [2] http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2015/apr/07/politics-and-prolepsis-im-not-a-rhetorician-but- http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2015/apr...
  - JadeNB 11y ago
    It's interesting; I hadn't known the word 'prolepsis' but recently encountered it in another context, in which it was defined quite differently as "the representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolepsis http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolepsis). Is one of these references in error, or is the same word used to describe two very different rhetorical devices?
- ggreer 11y ago
  From Scott Alexander's post, The Eighth Meditation on Superweapons and Bingo[1]: > But why would someone use "I'm not racist, but..."? It sounds to me like what they are saying is: "Look. I know what I am saying is going to sound racist to you. You're going to jump to the conclusion that I'm a racist and not hear me out. In fact, maybe you've been trained to assume that the only reason anyone could possibly assert it is racism and to pattern-match this position to a racist straw man version. But I actually have a non-racist reason for saying it. Please please please for the love of Truth and Beauty just this one time throw away your prejudgments and your Bingo card and just listen to what I'm going to say with an open mind." > And so you reply "Hahahaha! He really used the 'look I know what I'm saying is going to sound racist to you you're going to jump to the conclusion that I'm a racist and not hear me out in fact maybe you've been trained to assume...' line! What a racist! Point and laugh, everyone! POINT AND LAUGH!" Poor reactions to such disclaimers have gotten so bad that I'm now seeing disclaimers referencing that fact. "I know racists say, 'I'm not racist but...', but in this case..." Most often, people who use such disclaimers really aren't racist. Or if they are, it's by accidental ignorance, not purposeful maliciousness. In any case, it's more productive to respond with civil discourse rather than claiming offense and biting their head off. 1. http://squid314.livejournal.com/329561.html http://squid314.livejournal.com/329561.html
arh68 11y ago
Have any of you seen this television ad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4GjGhAhCn8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4GjGhAhCn8 Cox is the official sponsor of binge-watching. Addiction sells (see Phillip Morris). The wonderful thing about selling Internet is that you don't create the content, you just provide access to it. As content gets larger and larger (320x240 -> 4K streams..) so do profits. It's bizarre to me how blatantly they want their users to be helplessly addicted. I think the author is right about tangible things ("stuff") but could spend more time pointing out the intangible addictions: 1000+ RSS feed items to read, 100+ TV episodes to catch up on, 10+ news aggregators to check, 100+ new PNGs to arrow through, etc. These things don't pile up quite so visibly.
chipsy 11y ago
I think I'll take his advice and not buy the book, cause I don't need more stuff(even digital stuff).
Htsthbjig 11y ago
I think the author uses the term "we" when he should talk about himself. He presents distraction as an insurmountable problem, and it is not. Society develops antibodies for everything, including novelties in the later century like propaganda and media mass control, advertisement and even TV. As tools things like cinema, TV or Internet, or cell phones give us much more options that what is taken from us. For example, going to the cinema for two hours made people understand places and people living far away much better than any book theater or picture could. Now if you want to solve distraction finding people that have solved it and developed effective techniques is only a touch away, if you really want to solve it instead of ranting about "we sinners" on Internet. Having said that "Man shall not live on bread alone". Some distraction in your life is necessary. People are not productivity machines. Curiosity is Ok. I "lost" time on HN, but I always "gain" from things I learn on it. I have cashed lots of money from this knowledge but hadn't I, I will continue reading it. Using twitter or facebook for getting in touch with the people you love does not need to take so much time and could be very useful.
Animats 11y ago
That reads like a rant from the 1950s. People have been complaining about that since the introduction of television. Before television, entertainment was a scarce resource. After television, anyone with a receiver could obtain more entertainment than they could consume. About a dozen years ago, ABC, the TV network, had a promotion to the industry with banners around the Hollywood area. One on Wilshire near Beverly Hills said "All we ask is five hours a day". That refers to the average TV viewing time of Americans. That number has dropped since, much to the annoyance of the TV networks. We may have passed peak cell phone overuse. I see fewer people walking around while looking at their little screen. It's been several years now since someone walked into me while looking at a screen; in the early days of smartphones, that happened often in stores. I'm no longer seeing people on the California Coastal Trail watching little screens. Society seems to be dealing with this.
- nosuchthing 11y ago
  Funny that the plea is for 5 hours of TV consumption rather than 5 hours of labor per day.
thanatropism 11y ago
The ideas in this article: 1. Contain a grain of truth 2. Might be better understood by reading Csikszentmihalyi (or Heidegger, for that matter) 3. Come in sets of three
l33tbro 11y ago
My favorite part of being a human is that I get to decide what stresses me, what makes me anxious, etc. So I make interacting with technology about me deciding how much I want to engage. Phones have silent. You can turn off email notifications pretty easy. You can turn it off on nights and weekends (I can't recommend this highly enough if you are in a position to do so). Sure, I get peeved with folk obsessing over their phone's Instagrat feed. But then I remember that it's their life, their choice, and who am I to think it's inherently wrong? I also couldn't help but think of this Louis CK bit the whole time reading this: https://vimeo.com/69662330 https://vimeo.com/69662330
colund 11y ago
People should be masters over the technology, not the other way around. It's important to feel in charge and to retain the right to freedom of choice. Too many people are too worried not to keep up with everything new and shiny. But many people don't care and go their own way...
johnchristopher 11y ago
> In fact, it leads to deeper debt and needing bigger houses to contain all this meaningless stuff. > It also becomes a cause of unnecessary stress, as it will take your precious money, time, emotion, attention, and effort to take care all of this stuff. > The recent massive flooding here in Olongapo City is a testament to that. Visiting houses of families ravaged by the flood, I was reminded by how too much stuff is not a luxury – it’s actually a burden, a liability. I am not rich. I am poor. The few possessions I have, that you might think are cluttering my rented apartment, I hold to them because I can't afford to replace them. Too many chairs in my living room, too many different knives in the kitchen drawer. I don't have a TV though. But I won't ditch my mp3 collection burned on CDs because I can't afford to listen to it on Deezer. I wish I could go on holidays with only my iPhone and my sennheiser headphone and just buy what I need on the spot. I'll drop some karma points to say this: "Fuck you".
lurkinggrue 11y ago
TL;DR

64 points by zkanda 11y ago

I would say the author's point about buying things and distraction from being connected is pretty weak. There's actually a tension there: why buy other stuff when you only ever interact with your phone? You can be a complete minimalist, live in a house with nothing in it, and just lay on the floor in the dark surfing the internet on your phone, chatting with friends on facebook etc, and all of the problems the author complains about will still exist.

sarreph 11y ago
I agree. The link/extrapolation here to general consumerism is tenuous at best.
- HenryTheHorse 11y ago
  There is a very real problem of people not being aware of their impulse to buy. In fact, it's the foundation for all advertising: plant messages in the buyer's mind well before the buying occurs. I know that sounds Manchurian Candidate-ish but that's the nature of Marketing and Advertising. So perhaps the author is not entirely wrong in positing that distraction is, in a way, fueling meaningless purchases?
  - habitue 11y ago
    It's certainly possible, but if true, its in spite of our tendency to have one device we use all the time, not directly because of it
    - HenryTheHorse 11y ago
      You bet. People have been making questionable purchasing decisions for a LONG time. To blame it ALL on a smartphone or some other distraction is a bit simplistic.

mbrock 11y ago

Consumerism is destroying society! Buy my book about it for more dazzling critiques!

frou_dh 11y ago
We're told to refrain from lazy gratuitous negativity on HN.
- Karunamon 11y ago
  This is pretty blatantly a book ad... FTA: Writer's Note: This is the first chapter of my book "Simplify Life... and Make it Count." Get it in Kindle.
  - buckbova 11y ago
    In these circumstances I support snarky sarcasm with upvotes.
  - frou_dh 11y ago
    All your quote shows me is that you home in on something (anything!) to be offended about. What's wrong with an author's book excerpt?
    - tedks 11y ago
      It's hard to "home in" on something that's only in the last line of the article. But before coming to the comments, I too chuckled a little at the irony of an ad for an ebook being disguised as a polemic against consumerism and distraction. If you do not see the irony in this, that's fine; you are still a special person and your life or viewpoints are no less valuable. But that's not a reason to personally attack those that do notice this irony.
      - frou_dh 11y ago
        Trying to "gotcha" article authors by flinging out a oneliner about why they're a hypocrite has to be the longstanding most lazy, negative thing that's done on aggregator sites. Here's the key thought-technology[0]: just because we formulate one, doesn't mean it's worth posting. A private chuckle suffices. [0] I love this term from the fantasticly earnest podcast: http://www.merlinmann.com/roderick/ http://www.merlinmann.com/roderick/

zkanda 11y ago

The first half of the article is a genuine problem. There's just so much distraction going on right now, I wonder how people are being productive.

JoeAltmaier 11y ago
I know HN sure isn't helping me be productive from minute to minute! I'm checking it compulsively for new posts. Hopefully its teaching me enough to compensate...
- eterm 11y ago
  When I'm busy at work I turn on "noprocrast" mode. I still open hn all the time but the "get back to work!" message helps me close it quicker.

LiweiZ 11y ago

Focus is a more valuable trait in this era. We spoil our mouth and stomach first. And it's mind's turn. Information diet might be a solution for most information consumers.

thegainz 11y ago

I've recently given up a big temptation/distractor in my life. I packed up my gaming desktop and gave it away, and now I just use my laptop which I long ago set aside as school-only. This thing couldn't even play games if I wanted to, but it CAN ssh and compile code. I mean, after 9.5 years of playing DotA, what's the point? My grades have improved and I'm overall happier as I invest more time learning skills that I truly want to gain, all while traveling lighter. I think I hit a breaking point when I was living in my last apartment. I had too much junk around that I didn't want, need, or use. And because there was enough of it, I didn't have a real place for anything and didn't feel like cleaning it. My apartment wasn't dirty, but it was perennially untidy. I did not like that at all.

buckbova 11y ago
Good for you. This is why the last console system I purchase was the PS2. I can't trust myself not to binge on games.
jcromartie 11y ago
One of the skills I truly want to learn is game development (not just for games, though). I'm learning Unity at the moment. I find that to be much easier to do on a powerful PC, although it wouldn't be a total obstacle if I just had a laptop.
eterm 11y ago
Good for you. I'm often tempted to do the same, I still play 2-3 hours a day of PC games most nights after work. It isn't healthy but then if I didn't I suspect I'd binge on netflix or even just regular TV instead. I think eventually I'll grow out of it and do more reading, cooking and other activities, but it'll take a decision on my part to make that happen.
- jerf 11y ago
  I find I have about an hour before bed where I really shouldn't be trying to be productive (because if I keep coding or whatever, it'll actually prevent me from sleeping), where some nice video games or some passively-consumed video content can be slotted in guilt-free. Now, I'm not saying that's the only time I relax, because that would be a lie. But it is a time that at least speaking for myself, I have to relax or I can't sleep.

JoshM33k 11y ago

I think most of the problems with distraction the author points out would be better phrased as over-connectivity. Knowing you are holding the window to the internet, all possible entertainment, and all your friends literally in your pocket makes it very difficult to not be constantly engaged. Over the last several years, I've drifted farther and farther away from Facebook, without really replacing it with anything in my life (aside from closer, more meaningful, more personal relationships). That twitch instinct to constantly check Facebook is now gone, and instead of feeling disconnected by pulling away from my social network, I actually feel closer to my friends and loved ones, because I now have to connect with them one one one, and have real conversations, instead of passively absorbing their lives.

dopeboy 11y ago

I don't think the author should be using the "we" pronoun. He's welcome to talk about himself but it's a step too far in generalizing that everyone has those behaviors and tendencies. Second, he needs to take a deep breath and relax. There is a balance that can be achieved through focus and discipline. How about changing the discussion to educating parents on these distractions and nipping the false sense of anxiety at the bud? How about having a psychology class in high school that confronts these desires and shows how artificial they really are?

voidz 11y ago
I guess one of the things that occurs when one becomes aware of realisations like his, is the idea "oh my god, it's not just me, it's everyone!" This happened to me too, years ago. And then I realised, "wait a minute, maybe I am just focusing on that side of my life." And of course on the side of life where more of like-minded people can be found: the Internet. And thanks to this realisation, the idea that everyone is like this, waned. I do agree with what you're saying - not everyone is like this. I for one am not, I keep focusing on my belief that being in contact with others is not something you do with gadgets - it's what you do with focus. So I don't put much value in the technology, and the older I get, the less importance all this tech has to me. But that's just me, and I do still often feel like the odd one out. And not only that: I'm also really disciplined in the pursuit of my idea, that the less you have, the more value the things you do have, are. Most of them immaterial too.
ickwabe 11y ago
As indicated at the bottom of the article, this is only the first chapter of a book in which he does offer solutions and strategies. http://www.raymundtamayo.com/p/simplify-life-and-make-it-count.html http://www.raymundtamayo.com/p/simplify-life-and-make-it-cou... Regarding use of "we". Clearly (at least to me) he is referring to societal trends that are fairly common. Not a specific groups of "we"s. So clearly there are plenty of folks who are not effected by these challenges. It's fairly pendantic to get hung up on this word.
crpatino 11y ago
I think the author is perfectly entitled to use "we" for the phenomena he is both experimenting first hand and observing around his environment. I can say his experience seems uncomfortably familiar to me, and have talked with more people (both online and face to face) that see the same things and share the same concerns. So, there is a non trivial number of people inside that "we". If you don't experiment this problem in person, you might as well count your blessings. Your point about there being a balance... it might be correct on the individual level. However, you cannot deny the problem at the society level. A large number of people (maybe the majority) never learn how to focus, because they grow up in environments that do not promote formation of discipline - either they are left to do as they see fit, or they are told what to do all the time, but only rarely are held accountable to own up the consequences of their own actions until very late in their upbreeding.

JadeNB 11y ago

> I don’t want to offend anyone, and I’m saying this with absolute care and humility… but if only they hadn’t had that much stuff then they would have had an easier time evacuating their homes and focusing on making sure their families are safe. I've never understood these "I'm not a racist, but"-type comments. This is offensive, and does not demonstrate care and humility. Someone who learns from such a tragedy principally that others shouldn't have so much stuff is, I think, learning the wrong lesson. EDIT: To be clear, I don't mean that I don't understand the purpose of the disclaimer, but rather that, if not always then at least in a modern rhetorical environment, it seems like a poor way of achieving its goal. For example, if the author correctly recognises that his statement sounds offensive, and absent care and humility, why not explain why he thinks that perception is incorrect, rather than trying simply to deny it by fiat?

mcone 11y ago
This is an example of "procatalepsis" or "prolepsis" [1], a rhetorical device that is often used to try to defuse criticism. Authors often use this to try to slip something controversial by their readers [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procatalepsis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procatalepsis [2] http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2015/apr/07/politics-and-prolepsis-im-not-a-rhetorician-but- http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2015/apr...
- JadeNB 11y ago
  It's interesting; I hadn't known the word 'prolepsis' but recently encountered it in another context, in which it was defined quite differently as "the representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolepsis http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolepsis). Is one of these references in error, or is the same word used to describe two very different rhetorical devices?
ggreer 11y ago
From Scott Alexander's post, The Eighth Meditation on Superweapons and Bingo[1]: > But why would someone use "I'm not racist, but..."? It sounds to me like what they are saying is: "Look. I know what I am saying is going to sound racist to you. You're going to jump to the conclusion that I'm a racist and not hear me out. In fact, maybe you've been trained to assume that the only reason anyone could possibly assert it is racism and to pattern-match this position to a racist straw man version. But I actually have a non-racist reason for saying it. Please please please for the love of Truth and Beauty just this one time throw away your prejudgments and your Bingo card and just listen to what I'm going to say with an open mind." > And so you reply "Hahahaha! He really used the 'look I know what I'm saying is going to sound racist to you you're going to jump to the conclusion that I'm a racist and not hear me out in fact maybe you've been trained to assume...' line! What a racist! Point and laugh, everyone! POINT AND LAUGH!" Poor reactions to such disclaimers have gotten so bad that I'm now seeing disclaimers referencing that fact. "I know racists say, 'I'm not racist but...', but in this case..." Most often, people who use such disclaimers really aren't racist. Or if they are, it's by accidental ignorance, not purposeful maliciousness. In any case, it's more productive to respond with civil discourse rather than claiming offense and biting their head off. 1. http://squid314.livejournal.com/329561.html http://squid314.livejournal.com/329561.html

arh68 11y ago

Have any of you seen this television ad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4GjGhAhCn8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4GjGhAhCn8 Cox is the official sponsor of binge-watching. Addiction sells (see Phillip Morris). The wonderful thing about selling Internet is that you don't create the content, you just provide access to it. As content gets larger and larger (320x240 -> 4K streams..) so do profits. It's bizarre to me how blatantly they want their users to be helplessly addicted. I think the author is right about tangible things ("stuff") but could spend more time pointing out the intangible addictions: 1000+ RSS feed items to read, 100+ TV episodes to catch up on, 10+ news aggregators to check, 100+ new PNGs to arrow through, etc. These things don't pile up quite so visibly.

chipsy 11y ago

I think I'll take his advice and not buy the book, cause I don't need more stuff(even digital stuff).

Htsthbjig 11y ago

I think the author uses the term "we" when he should talk about himself. He presents distraction as an insurmountable problem, and it is not. Society develops antibodies for everything, including novelties in the later century like propaganda and media mass control, advertisement and even TV. As tools things like cinema, TV or Internet, or cell phones give us much more options that what is taken from us. For example, going to the cinema for two hours made people understand places and people living far away much better than any book theater or picture could. Now if you want to solve distraction finding people that have solved it and developed effective techniques is only a touch away, if you really want to solve it instead of ranting about "we sinners" on Internet. Having said that "Man shall not live on bread alone". Some distraction in your life is necessary. People are not productivity machines. Curiosity is Ok. I "lost" time on HN, but I always "gain" from things I learn on it. I have cashed lots of money from this knowledge but hadn't I, I will continue reading it. Using twitter or facebook for getting in touch with the people you love does not need to take so much time and could be very useful.

Animats 11y ago

That reads like a rant from the 1950s. People have been complaining about that since the introduction of television. Before television, entertainment was a scarce resource. After television, anyone with a receiver could obtain more entertainment than they could consume. About a dozen years ago, ABC, the TV network, had a promotion to the industry with banners around the Hollywood area. One on Wilshire near Beverly Hills said "All we ask is five hours a day". That refers to the average TV viewing time of Americans. That number has dropped since, much to the annoyance of the TV networks. We may have passed peak cell phone overuse. I see fewer people walking around while looking at their little screen. It's been several years now since someone walked into me while looking at a screen; in the early days of smartphones, that happened often in stores. I'm no longer seeing people on the California Coastal Trail watching little screens. Society seems to be dealing with this.

nosuchthing 11y ago
Funny that the plea is for 5 hours of TV consumption rather than 5 hours of labor per day.

thanatropism 11y ago

The ideas in this article: 1. Contain a grain of truth 2. Might be better understood by reading Csikszentmihalyi (or Heidegger, for that matter) 3. Come in sets of three

l33tbro 11y ago

My favorite part of being a human is that I get to decide what stresses me, what makes me anxious, etc. So I make interacting with technology about me deciding how much I want to engage. Phones have silent. You can turn off email notifications pretty easy. You can turn it off on nights and weekends (I can't recommend this highly enough if you are in a position to do so). Sure, I get peeved with folk obsessing over their phone's Instagrat feed. But then I remember that it's their life, their choice, and who am I to think it's inherently wrong? I also couldn't help but think of this Louis CK bit the whole time reading this: https://vimeo.com/69662330 https://vimeo.com/69662330

colund 11y ago

People should be masters over the technology, not the other way around. It's important to feel in charge and to retain the right to freedom of choice. Too many people are too worried not to keep up with everything new and shiny. But many people don't care and go their own way...

johnchristopher 11y ago

> In fact, it leads to deeper debt and needing bigger houses to contain all this meaningless stuff. > It also becomes a cause of unnecessary stress, as it will take your precious money, time, emotion, attention, and effort to take care all of this stuff. > The recent massive flooding here in Olongapo City is a testament to that. Visiting houses of families ravaged by the flood, I was reminded by how too much stuff is not a luxury – it’s actually a burden, a liability. I am not rich. I am poor. The few possessions I have, that you might think are cluttering my rented apartment, I hold to them because I can't afford to replace them. Too many chairs in my living room, too many different knives in the kitchen drawer. I don't have a TV though. But I won't ditch my mp3 collection burned on CDs because I can't afford to listen to it on Deezer. I wish I could go on holidays with only my iPhone and my sennheiser headphone and just buy what I need on the spot. I'll drop some karma points to say this: "Fuck you".

lurkinggrue 11y ago

TL;DR