There was once a time when I despised my parents for not giving me a smartphone. Maybe “despised” is a bit of a strong word in this scenario, but I always felt so left out when I was in middle school. My friends had iPhones and Androids, and I had what I liked to call a “grocery store phone.” (You know, like the phones they used to have by the checkout at Vons? It wasn’t actually that bad but it certainly felt that way in my mind.) I was also forbidden to have any social media, and I was always trying my best to find loopholes in my parent’s strict policies when it came to the Internet and my access to it. At the time, it felt like my parents were trying to socially torture me. When I was granted an Instagram account and an iPhone as a freshman, I felt like it was long overdue, but better late than never. Looking back though, I realize that my parents may have actually been doing me a favor.
I mean, obviously my parents weren’t withholding a smartphone and social media just to be cruel. Presumably, it was to protect my sister and me from turning into some of the mindless children we see nowadays. Of course, that’s not to say every child with a smartphone and/or social media is a zombie, but it would be naive to say it doesn’t affect them at all. In reading the books assigned for homework, I feel like my eyes have really been opened. As discussed in depth in The Shallows, the Internet soon becomes an addiction, and it quite literally changes the way we think. I’ve noticed this in my own experience. Before I had constant access to the Internet, I was an avid reader. I devoured books at a ridiculously rapid pace for hours, and I loved doing it. Today, I couldn’t tell you the last time I got lost in a book for more than 30 minutes. While some of that might have to do with the fact that I’ve gotten busier, been assigned more homework, and generally have less time to spend than I did when I younger, a lot of it has to do with how I now choose to spend my free time: on my phone. It also not only affects how much I read, but how I read. I found so much irony in my inability to pay attention while literally reading about people’s inability to pay attention due to their continuous use of the Internet. It frustrated me! It still does. I’m sure plenty of us could easily blame our smartphones for our perpetual procrastination too. (However, smartphones in that case may be more of a scapegoat than the actual problem: our addiction to the Internet.) We are so easily distracted by what is happening on social media or who is texting us that we can’t easily devote our undivided attention to our homework.
Though Carr’s book has opened my eyes to the way the Internet has affected my brain, the information won’t make my brain revert to the way it was before. As Carr says in the first chapter, “I [miss] my old brain” (16), and I can’t be the only one here who does. Has anyone else noticed a correlation with the age you got a smartphone and a change in your ability to pay attention? At what age did you get a smartphone, and how do you think it affected you and your ability to focus? When, if ever, is this this inability to concentrate the most obvious to you?
Isabelle Goodwin
Though it occurred gradually, I definitely noticed a change in my ability to pay attention. I received my fist smartphone in the seventh grade, and I've just recently noticed how much different my reading patterns have become. Excluding the summer books required for this class, the last time I read a book ALL the way through was probably in the eighth grade. As you mentioned about your own life Isabelle, with all the homework assigned during the school year (and over the summer), on top of the extra-curricular activities I'm involved in, there's rarely any free time. I take advantage of the minuscule amount of free time I do have to check my phone. However, before I had any smartphone, I would spend my extra time in books, as I used to enjoy reading. When I try to read a book now, I find myself stopping every page or so to check my email, go on Instagram, or respond to the people who've contacted me through Snapchat. It was really ironic as I was reading our books for summer homework. I kid you not, as I read Carr's last digression about how he changed his email settings to enable the completion of his book, I thought to myself "I haven't checked my email in almost two hours, I should go do that." I proceeded to follow my distraction, which caused me to stop reading for almost half an hour. I would say for certain, having the access of the Internet, a valuable yet distracting tool, right at my fingertips has influenced me to check it frequently; my attention span has no doubt suffered because of these inclinations.
ReplyDeleteI first received my IPhone when I was in sixth grade, my parents gave it to me for my birthday which was in the middle of the school year. However as I received it both my mother and father warned me that by having this phone comes with great responsibilities and that meant keeping my grades up. Considering the fact that I had turned twelve my parents said I could only use it for calling or messaging them, so I didn't really use it. As I became older then things started to change, my parents began to allow me more freedom with the phone and with that came social media. Now with the addition of social media my attention span has suffered because of it. I do agree with Carr when he says "I [miss] my old brain,(16), because I miss mine too. Before my phone I was so invested in my studies and would be able to read lengthy texts, but when I did get my phone it wasn't so much as a distraction as it is now. I also agree that being involved in extra-curricular takes it's toll on the mind too, trying to balance everything is stressful but when it comes to free time I'll admit I do check my phone, which is something I plan on changing this year. Not being able to read as much as I used to is indeed very frustrating and makes me wonder if not only our ability to pay attention would be the same, but will our collected thought process be the same too.
ReplyDeleteI can most definitely relate to your arguments and as a friend and a former teenager of this point in time. Countlessly, I begin to recall the age in which I would pester my parents for a phone, due to having an older, teenager sister at the time always being on it and saying the statement: “Get your own!” And you know what, I eventually did.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in this age of times, I observe children whom appear to be younger than the ages of 8 who have acquired a cellphone. What!? I remember getting my first phone in 8th grade, due to the fact that I would most responsibly walk to the Starbucks nearby Mayfair and wait for my parents there. However, the increasing technological world around me suddenly began to change my perception of the usage of a phone. I began wanting more, to the point where the electronic items that I had were not ‘good enough’ to have around school. To this day, I get lip from my closest friends for having an Android, thus not having the certain features that they have on their phone. Most prominently when I was younger, I experienced the social outcasting due to the amount of materialistic items that I had.
Today, I most recognizably see my lack of concentration when it came to certain exams last year. Amongst other things, certain subjects may be harder for one person than another, I ultimately I would find myself lose concentration in areas where there was a lack of instruction, whether that be from the teacher or the students around them. Furthermore, as we speak, I am constantly fighting the urge to check my notifications that I see flashing at my phone.Ultimately, I am trying to thus motivate and weed myself off of technology, whether that be to enjoy the scene around me or to find adventure elsewhere. Sadly, I do not see others doing the same.
Since I’ve gotten my smartphone, I’ve noticed that my attention span has drastically changed. Like you, Isabelle, I used to be able to read for a couple hours without any problems. There were even times when I was excited to read or finish a book. Thinking about it now almost seems like a dream, or a joke considering how difficult it is for me to read today. Now, as I’ve grown less attached to books, I notice that it has something to do with when I hopped onto the technology train. Even though I think I’m not as attached to my phone like others, I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve lost due to being on social media or texting my friends. Many times during homework, as Veronika puts it, “I am constantly fighting the urge to check my notifications.” It is crazy to believe that a smartphone could do this much damage, but I often wonder what could change in order to get back my old reading skills. I wish I was able to read like I used to.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I've been so sad that I've been stuck with an iPhone 4 since 6th grade, but now that I'm reading all these things, I'm actually kind of glad that I got stuck with this. I'm already so distracted with the internet, imagine a more stronger distraction that I can actually use social media on. With my limited iPhone, I became outdated with most social media apps, but because of this, I've learned a habit of not checking my phone so much, and that has made such a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteLooking at it now, I see that I've been much more productive without an able phone. I had more patience with things and I actually focused a lot. Then my sister lent me her iPod 5. I lost so much focus so quickly and I was checking my apps left and right. Recently, it broke down, but that's given me the slap in the face to start being productive once more. Technology really does change your brain.