Column: Training your brain to detox from rapid internet-mode
Melissa Herrera (COLUMN)
February 3, 2014
371
COLUMN SUMMARY: Do you have trouble focusing on things you used to love? Things like reading which takes sitting down and focusing? I'm having trouble settling my internet-fast brain long enough to finish a book.
I used to be a voracious reader. In all my thrift store gleanings I have compiled books known and obscure, stacked in a neat pile ready to be devoured. My night stand groans with my to-read pile, and I have added an extra stand, slender with shelves, so I can pile more. Thats right I have two night stands with book stacks – doesnt everyone?
As of late, though, Ive stumbled across a troubling thing. Something that if really is true will be the end of me because I wont know the cure. The problem? Im having a terrible time staying focused on my books. I used to be able to sit down in the evenings and ready several chapters. If the book was really intense, I could read for hours during the day. Now I have problems finishing a chapter and books are becoming harder and harder to finish. I think I know what the issue is and dont want to admit it. I believe Ive succumbed to the social media/technology disorder. You know the one? Where you cant go five minutes without checking your FB, Twitter, or Instagram feed? I might settle in with my book, get comfy and cozy, ready a few paragraphs, and then my palms start itching. I start thinking about what might be new or have been said and bam – my book is facedown and Im scrolling. This, my friends, is what we used to yell at our kids for.
Technology has become part and parcel of our world. On our hand-held smart phones the world is at our fingertips. We cant go anywhere without it or we feel disconnected and apart, and I cant believe Ive succumbed to it. Im not really sure that there is a cure. When I think back, its only been ten years since we got our first computer. The first time I got online it was like magic, even though it was dial-up and took years to get on. Cell phones, big and clunky, were purchased and through the years became more streamlined and full of more options. Now, my laptop is my portal to the writing world where I gather ideas, and also where I type up the thoughts that come to my head. It was only last August that I caved to the iPhone and finally decided I needed one. That was the last straw. Im now connected wherever I go, even in the Wal-Mart bathroom if need be. Its a constant at-the-ready deal and one I believe, has taken away my ability to focus on something (like reading) for an extended period of time.
Im not sure how to cure this because we all know that technology isnt going anywhere. Its only becoming faster and better every second of every day. We dont have to bow to it, this I know. Its become the norm, though, to be available at all times. I have to say that I do miss when I was out and about and could disappear from the world in the grocery store and let my answering machine at home pick up the calls. Alas, our answering machine went out the door years ago along with the landline phones. I say good riddance, in all sincerity. Has anyone else experienced this phenomena? The inability to concentrate on the simplest things like browsing a magazine or reading a lengthy book? The fast paced world where pages fly by and tabs are opened and closed with alarming speed. I would love to know that Im not alone. I would love to know someone elses ways to deal with this. I love social media/technology and know that I must learn to embrace it yet manage it. Ive simply got to learn how to switch my internet-fast mind off and learn to switch off the phone and computer as well. Our brains are computers as well that can be trained, because after all, I have stacks of books waiting for me. But unlike technology, they will never change – they will remain static, full of their words and wait for me to come back to them.
