Amazing New Opportunities to Dilute Your Focus
Wow! What a time we live in!
New technology has made so many things possible that we never even dreamt of a few years ago. Along with the other great features of Google’s new Google TV technology it actually allows you to ”Watch and browse, simultaneously”! The TV network, ABC, has released a new iPad “app” that allows you to answer polls and play games while you’re watching their TV programs.
Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone who is engrossed in watching a program or reading something their really in to? Doesn’t work very well, does it? So what is this technology actually helping us to do?
I feel like a cranky old curmudgeon for saying so, but how can we develop medicines for ADD and push products like this at the same time. Society is telling us that one must multi-task to be productive and now one even has to multi-task your entertainment.
Is focused attention becoming a bad thing?
CC-licensed photo from Flickr by Daquella Manera
Good post, thanks. You don’t sound like a curmudgeon to me, just a reasonable person processing the new technology and deciding how it may fit into your life and your society. I definitely thing there is a problem with attention spans going on, along with etiquette issues, with smart phones and such devices. I think eventually society will catch up, and find some kind of happy medium. Also sometimes I try to tell myself some of these problems are uniquely middle to upper class American. Also being in a technology field as a job or hobby will make you part of the first wave of adoption. So I suppose the bright side is you can help set the trends by incorporating technology into your life how you see fit and serve as a good example I’m sure for others. I try to be mindful of my Droid use, but it definitely can creep into everything. Any question I can look up on Wikipedia, physical encyclopedias are completely obsolete to me. It’s powerful but distracting. I think we do need to tell each other when enough is enough. And don’t get me started on the drug issue or marketing medicines to people on their super Google enabled TVs now
Thanks for your time and reading my ramblings.