I’ve become convinced that smartphones, notwithstanding how handy they are, are training us not to be able to focus deeply on any one thing. I’m also convinced that an ability to focus is important for our effectiveness, our ability to learn, the quality of our relationships, and our overall peace of mind.
When I got my first iPhone in 2008, it seemed like such a blessing that I no longer had to be bored standing in line at the grocery store — or anywhere for that matter — because I could always pull out my phone and play a game, read my email or check the news. (For many people, checking Facebook, Instagram or Twitter would also be on that list, but social media was never my thing.)
But eventually some observers began noting the cognitive consequences of being glued to a screen all day. Cal Newport talked about some of these downsides in his 2016 book, Deep Work, and explored the issue further in Digital Minimalism two years later.
Those cautions correlated with my own experience. For example, I noticed how much more difficult it was to read for an hour or more at a time. My mind would get restless after just a few minutes and I’d find myself counting the pages to the end of the chapter.
In the interest of reclaiming my ability to focus, I deleted the news apps and most of the games from my phone, and experimented with being fully present to whatever I was doing at any given time. But I left myself an out — a single game that I could play when I was really bored for an extended period of time.
As you might imagine, that was a slippery slope. I gradually increased the frequency with which I pulled my phone out and played that one stupid game. It got to the point where I played it even when I wasn’t particularly bored, like while watching a movie at home. I didn’t find watching movies this way as satisfying, but that didn’t stop me. The little dopamine hit I got when I completed a row of wooden blocks and made it disappear was too addictive.
Last week I was given an opportunity to consider how far things had gone when I got a mailing from Leo Babauta with a link to an entry on his Zen Habits blog titled Let Each Task Fill Up Your World. In part it says,
Just listen to something, with nothing else open. Just watch one video.
Just respond to one message, as if it’s the only conversation in the universe that matters.
Just wash one dish. Just eat one bite. Just brush my teeth, or wash my hands, or walk without stimulation. Just exercise.
One thing at a time.
Yeah, that made sense to me. And the first step, I decided, would be leaving my phone in the other room when I sat down to watch a damn movie. I’ve watched one movie since then and the experience was so much better. I did reflexively reach for my phone a couple of times, which is why I needed to leave it in the other room, but eventually I just settled in and enjoyed the show.
There’s another downside to having a smartphone, which is that we never need to get bored. Why should that be a problem? More on that tomorrow.