January 1st 1983 is considered the official birthday of the internet but it only became available for public use 10 years later. It also wasn’t until the year 2000 that cell phones were connected to the internet with the first 3G networks.
While there are a myriad of advantages to all of us being so connected, unfortunately a big downside is starting to come to the forefront. That is our collective ability to concentrate.
We are constantly distracted. We get notifications all day long from the multiple apps on our phones. Email, WhatsApp, Facebook… the list is endless. Big tech hires the brightest minds to keep our attention and apps are designed to appeal to intrinsic psychological cues that keep us coming back for more.
Children born in the post internet and smart phone revolution will never know what it’s like to not have the world’s information at their fingertips and although greatly privileged in this regard, they will also never know what it’s like to live without the constant distractions that this technology comes with.
More and more studies are showing the negative impact switching between apps and tasks has on our ability to concentrate. Each time we sit down to work and our phone pings we’re compelled to stop what we’re doing to read the WhatsApp or email. Even if only for a few seconds, there is still a delay from the time it takes from checking our device to getting back into the focused state we were in previously.
Researchers are saying that when we are interrupted it can take up to 20 minutes to get back to the same level of focus prior to the interruption. That’s from one message. They’re calling this phenomenon the switch cost effect and its having a devastating impact on our concentration. Count how many messages you get each day and it becomes apparent that we’re living in a state of distraction. The big question now is what long term effect this will have on the youth who have grown up with this technology.
For years the research has shown the mental benefits that creating art has on our brains but the biggest case for going analogue could be made now. Simply put, getting valuable time away from our screens and working on something creative could provide the much needed respite we desperately need in order to destress and build back our ability to concentrate.
Studies were done on artists and the intense focus that went into spending the day creating art. The focus and concentration applied to each detailed brushstroke results in what is called flow state, which has an overwhelming benefit on our wellbeing.
The same could be said for reading actual books instead of snippets from news articles surrounded by distracting adverts or scrolling through Tweets.
The act of picking up a paintbrush, mixing some colour and applying it to a physical canvas. Although a seemingly simple sequence of events, could provide us with the ultimate distraction of all. The distraction from our devices.
At The Deckle Edge we’re proud to be a part of so many people’s creative journeys. We love being able to provide our customers with the tools and tips they need to bring their ideas to life. More so now than ever I feel the creative industry is playing an extremely important role in giving people an outlet to
step away from their screens and adding so much more value to people’s wellbeing than we anticipated. We encourage all our customers to foster time for them and their families away from their screens in order to paint, draw, read or simply to contemplate.
I’ll leave you with my final thought: if you’re not creating you’re consuming.
Let’s keep this country creative.
A great reminder Peter!