Constant mediatized interruption corrodes attention to others and to self

Evidence

A second kind of discourse emphasizes the MACHINIC EROSION OF SOCIALIZING ATTENTION brought about by our intensely mediatized lives: the proliferation of communication machines bombarding us with urgent messages inhibits our ability to be attentive towards others and attentive to our own desires. When Winifred Gallagher characterizes our existence through the experience of ‘focus interruptus’, or Edward Hallowell emphasizes that the real question is not whether or not you are overoccupied, but whether you are overoccupied by things that you yourself value, they join a long line of authors subscribing to the analysis developed in Maggie Jackson’s book: The seduction of alternative virtual universes, the addictive allure of multi-tasking people and things, our near-religious allegiance to a constant state of motion: these are markers of a land of distraction, in which our old conceptions of space, time, and place have been shattered. This is why we are less able to see, hear, and comprehend what’s relevant and permanent, why so many of us feel that we can barely keep our heads above water, and our days are marked by perpetual loose ends. What’s more, the waning of our powers of attention is occurring at such a rate and in so many areas of our life, that the erosion is reaching critical mass. We are on the verge of losing our capacity as a society for deep, sustained focus. In short, we are slipping towards a new dark age. — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 403

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘machinic erosion of socializing attention’ is the middle term in Citton’s taxonomy and connects to the reader’s digital-media/Frankfurt bridging goal. — connects to: Permanent alertness exhausts itself by killing sustained attention — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 127; Intense attention can become immobilizing and bring one out of step with everyday life; The remote control actually reduced viewers’ conscious control over attention — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 634

Broader Connections

• Permanent alertness exhausts itself by killing sustained attention #corroborates (0.85) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 127
• Intense attention can become immobilizing and bring one out of step with everyday life #complicates (0.75)