Hooked on gadgets, and paying a mental price
The debate continues: scientists say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information from e-mail and other interruptions. The New York Times reports.
“Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.
These play to a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored.
The resulting distractions can have deadly consequences, as when cellphone-wielding drivers and train engineers cause wrecks. And for millions of people […], these urges can inflict nicks and cuts on creativity and deep thought, interrupting work and family life.”
