..... Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
I was trained as an occupational therapist and worked for a time in brain injury recovery. One of the methods I used to train limited attention spans in individuals was to get them to read aloud. I want to suggest this method if you are trying to break away from devices that promote the limitation of your attention span. Get a book that you've wanted to read, perhaps a novel with interesting characters and a sharp plot and read off a chapter out loud. You may be surprised at how this will entrain you back into reading and eventually increase your stamina. Any book you're interested in may do. I suggest one with a plot that will capture your attention. From there, you can move on to technical books, papers, etc if you like. Thank you for your efforts!
I actually started reading out loud because it calms my dog down and you’re right, it’s much easier to stay focused and feel engaged when reading, even if it feels a little weird lol
For years now I have always read books aloud (even whispering when reading aloud isn't really an option). I also use it as a kind of creative exercise in the case of novels, as I pick different voices/accents for different characters and try to act them out to the best of my abilities, which is quite fun :) Additionally, I study foreign languages, so reading aloud is a good way for me to practice reading, pronunciation and intonation! Minus is that I think it takes me a bit longer to get through texts, but for me it's definitely worth it.
A small tip from a person who also is batteling that same issue. I unsubscribed from data on my phone. Now im forced to only use the internet is there is a wifi connection. Otherwise people need to call me or send me an SMS to reach me. It really helps my friends and it also saves you some money. A few questions i get asked from my friends , Yes i can still receive a call without data. Yes , I can receive a regular SMS message without data. Your google maps will work without data if you saved an offline map of the area or you turned the route on while you were still connected to WiFi
This video had a profound impact on my habits. I watched it four days ago. Since then I've almost entirely dropped watching TH-cam videos. I got my mechanical wristwatch repaired and have been using it instead of my phone to check the time. I've picked up paper books or gone for a walk when I wanted stimulation. I hadn't noticed how much idle screen time had sucked me in. I'm intentionally coming here to make a note saying: thank you. You've made a difference in my life.
I'm curious how that will impact your mental health in the long term. I've done that too, for long periods of time, but I never saw a "return". Unless you have kids or other people to take care of, there is literally no point in not entertaining yourself constantly.
@@mcdoj2763 At the very least limiting or getting rid of cell phone time will help the attention span so you can concentrate on other tasks more efficiently. If you want to spend your life entertaining yourself then I also see nothing wrong with it. But many people have dreams and aspirations and they put them off because they waste so much time online and eventually they will run out of time and be filled with regret.
@@mcdoj2763 While I haven't been able to sustain actually quitting, I find getting off the internet provides mental clarity and calm. I'm able to do tasks without NEEDING background noise. I have a greater sense of self because I'm not ALWAYS listening to what other people do/think/want. I'm able to watch a TV show again for the full 60-30 minutes without missing something (and as a result, I'm able to watch better media. Sometime complex rather than something I'm mean to only be 1/2 way paying attention to). I'm bringing more room into my life for other things (other hobbies, rest, talking with friends, literally anything else). I guess it depends on the person but I'd argue that most of us are addicted to the internet. Or at least have a very high tolerance. The benefit isn't physical like breaking a smoking addiction or lowering a sugar tolerance, but rather mental and time based. Getting to a point where you don't WANT to spend 8 hours scrolling frees up 8 hours of your life. Valuing other forms of entertainment can add variety and richness to your life.
@@mcdoj2763 Not speaking for the Original Commenter of course, but for me, the return is being more creative, like coming up with lyrics or poems in my head, drawing or writing stories; as well as thinking more about life and whatever is happening around me at the moment. Ultimately, it comes down to the question if you're happy if you just entertain yourself constantly, or if you want to improve, create and/or learn using the time that you have. And if that is the answer for you, then no other people are needed, your own fulfillment is the point.
Aldous Huxley pointed this out in Brave New World in 1931 - never ever let anyone get bored. Because if they are bored, they start to think, and if they start to think, they start to long for something else, and longing is the base of Not Being Satisfied (as per the philosophy in the book). It's very accurate today.
I was looking for someone to talk about Brave New World. Entertaining and pleasuring ourselves to our individual and societal doom is the whole warning of that book, and it gets scarier and scarier as time goes on.
Holy God, how frighteningly true. And I'd like to add, make them so busy and so frightened and so overworked that in their spare time all they can do is consume entertainment. They don't have the energy, physical, mental, or emotional do more than that. Then also ruin their education system where they should be learning to think, then it's all over. Even if they had the time to think, if they don't know how, they still won't; they can't. Hence our clowns running the circus for the next four years. Plus, if a person also has mental illness they are royally screwed.
As a mental health therapist, I can’t emphasize enough how important everything you just said is. Also, The fact that there are brilliant people coming together to strategize on how to steal our attention for profit is, in my opinion, the definition of evil.
Do you have any tips on how to deal with loneliness in regard to the topics discussed in this video? 2020 really shook up my life and I have been at most times very lonely since then. However, having something on in the background (such as commentary videos or music) has been one of the only things to help quell the lonely feeling. Would it actually be a good idea for me to become more alone with just my thoughts by having more silence? I can’t tell if this practice I have is actually something bad for me, or if it’s therapeutic while I work on improving my life in the meantime. I’m really curious. I don’t know who to trust with my health anymore, which definitely includes mental health. Thanks if you’re seeing this
@@bluedash24I too have become more alone since the controllers lockdown, lies and restrictions. It is healthier to be in a group for 36 to 140 people. Do you like birdwatching, or a religion? I became friends with Nature, the birds, squirrels, the environment. Almost every human are very brainwashed. I refuse to go along with the controlled narratives. There need to be tribunals to those whom perpetrated all this against us.
attention is the most sought after capital today. Competition for attention is everywhere ! ! I can't even pump my gas ! There's a TV screen on the gas pump competing for my attention !
Creating items, be it via painting, sculpting, crafting, knitting, crocheting or whatever medium you prefer, requires focus and attention to detail. When I am crocheting an item, my focus is on the work in my hands. It calms me & is good for my brain too. My manual dexterity also increases for other activities.
The same I read A LOT and as I I’d I also spent a lot of time writing stories. Now I find it hard to focus read and my writing confidence is shocking. I’m going to Start reading and cut out digital media and turn of notifications
I will die on the hill that watching shows/movies/youtube/etc. Is more conducive and productive than reading. I've prolly watched over 30k hours of content at this point since my childhood (15 years). We shorten sentences by adding lingo and generational slang, we compress the contents of a book into an hour long movie. You're still experiencing the same story (or the same story with the fluff and text descriptors removed) and do so in significantly less time. This opens up the opportunity to experience more things. And the more film/shows you watch, and ACTIVELY ANALYZE the better you get at watching things. I now watch content at 1.5x speed (with the exception of some works that have genuinely good baseline pacing, I watch those at normal speed), not because of an attention issue, but bc nothing is happening, and I value my time. If I can watch something faster, experience it faster, why would I not do that. Books have been around forever, we look at a few select educated individuals in history and go "they were super smart bc they read more". They weren't that smart, if you place those same people on a gradient and compare them to the people today who have the opportunities to pursue multiple fields over a single one, to cross-coordinate with others and fact check findings; list goes on. Ppl just want an excuse to feel better about themselves bc they like hearing the sound of moving paper -_-.
The bits of information about how Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg didn't/don't like their kids using smartphones or screens in general really hit me... as you said, these are people that really know the intention and effects of our modern technologies. I used to think that I didn't have a problem with screens, because I do enjoy a bit of reading and some good movies, and don't really care for Tik Tok or Instagram, but I realized that my "drug" is TH-cam... I'm working on it, but it's pretty hard.
Oh yeah there’s a marked difference in children that spend a lot of time with screens and children who don’t. I transitioned to listening to videos I was interested in before I had my daughter. So she wouldn’t internalize the idea of wanting to have her face buried in a screen. My mother in law and sister in law keep giving her their phones and it’s exhausting. I can see the vestiges of addiction in the way she freaks out when I take the phone back from her. I’ve had to take breaks from Grandma and her aunt because of this. Luckily and unluckily she got sick this week so she won’t be going back over until she’s well again.
Same for me guys. Specially getting constantly waken up at the same time, 2, 3 am, and my brain is ready for that dose of screen. The left out feeling is always getting to me. And i am tired of it.
I guess, we allow stealing when it's tempting. The internet steals our attention. I can't read more than ten pages because I get tired. I can scroll, though, for hours.
@@fayedunaway8 Do we really "allow" it though? As Fads said, social media corps hired a small army of top paid psychology experts... I don't think "allow" is the right word. I personally never allowed anyone to do it to me. I just do it, scrolling mindlessly on my phone avoiding what I need to do, only half living. I hate it. I hate myself for doing it. I would never knowingly "allow" anyone to do it to me. They knew about serotonin rush and brain chemistry years before I knew about it. They knew what they were doing. I never allowed it. Yet I'm here and the bathroom needs cleaning. If I had full control over my actions, I would be scrubbing instead of joylessly typing these words.
I’m a teacher and one of the major issues in the teaching world these days is behaviour (which has declined significantly in the 13 years I’ve been teaching - especially the last 7 years, note that is pre-covid). I am certain that children’s lack of attention span is the root cause. Kids cannot stay focused for long enough and are used to getting their dopamine hits from online sources so when that’s taken away and they’re asked to sit quietly for even 10-15 minutes they struggle significantly. It’s a worrying prospect for the future. How do we help them? Saying removing devices is all well and good but unless it’s done on mass you’re then creating an environment for their bullying because they’re ousted and weird. It’s such a tricky situation.
To counteract phone addiction in kids they need to be engaged in actual real life hobbies and activities. They need to do things that require their attention without using their phones. And then added to that phone usage should be restricted. Because simply restricting the phone usage is not very effective since it will only make than want it more/ think about it more. They need to realize there is more to life than just social media.
When I was 8 I got collared for something I didn’t do and had to spend lunchtime stood in the corner of a room. I was bored and realised I had nothing to think about - so I started learning everything I could so I would never be bored again! This worked from 1977 up until a few years ago when I discovered I was watching 70 hours a week of TH-cam. Admittedly this was mostly ‘How to’ videos but that stopped me doing anything as I was seeing it done! I’m going to avoid my phone today.
I can't even enjoy video games anymore because of Instagram and youtube. I work full time with loads of overtime. I dont smoke or drink. My only real way to unwind was video games. Now, when i have time to play a game, I sit with it on in the background and scroll through my phone. I used to be an avid reader, but now I have a stack of "to read books" that have years of dust on them. All my friends and family are phone addicts, cant get them to sit through a movie or conversation without them being glued to their phones. Im really starting to hate cell phones and social media.
I totally understand specially the friends and family part. I wish I can meet people who I can do this with where we do nice activities and engage in convo or even sit together doing nothing and encourage each other to live in the real world. But it is getting harder and harder and more complicated.
That thing you said about how we've become so used to having our attention *stolen* that our brains have lost the ability to *give* our attention makes me wonder if this could be one of the factors in the loneliness epidemic. Intimacy requires time, focus, and effort. A mutual giving of attention.
This video makes me miss the old internet. I'm talking early 2000s. When you had to go into a room in your home to use the computer for a while to look up something you had to do or were interested in. Back then we were truly in control of how we engaged with computers and the internet. It was truly the golden age to pursue your interests and interact with others online.
I agree. I have ADHD and I had a period of about 4 months when I could focus without any issues and I couldn’t figure out why. After watching this video it clicked. It was the time when I was watching very little TV, I limited my phone time to 1h a day and I read before bed every night for 2 hours. This is so true! I’m starting again from tomorrow. Wish me luck because there will be some withdrawal symptoms 🤷♀️
@@paulcrisafi4415 I'm currently reading 'Story Genius' by Lisa Cron! I am a storyboard artist who wants to be better at writing and it's frankly a very insightful book. Highly recommend.
@@blueskyalldayeveryday Good luck dude! I also have ADHD and I've found that finding different things to focus on that isn't the phone has really helped me.
I am 68 years old and feel my life is slipping through my fingers for all the reasons you mention. I am naturally intellectually curious, which is exacerbated by ADHD, and TH-cam has become my personal attention-seeking garden of Eden. I used to be a voracious reader but with the advent of computers - and I was an early adopter - I have slowly gotten to the point where I read only 3-4 books a year, all easy fiction. I have subscribed to your channel and hope to come to grips with what I have begun to understand is my Achilles’ heel. Thank you for this video.
I'm in my 60's too. I have to disagree with the video. I'm one of those people that thinks books are not efficient. If you want to learn something in great depth you probably will read books. But if you just have a casual interest in a great many things because you have a raging curiosity then TH-cam is more efficient. I feel like I spent a great part of my life waiting for the internet to be created. I think of all the time I wasted reading long dusty tomes that in the end only touched on what I was interested in. I think it's more a matter of having the discipline to click on videos about your interests and not be pulled in by hours of cat videos or celebrities.
"TH-cam has become my personal attention-seeking garden of Eden" kind of describes life haha. I spend so much time on here being entertained and sometimes educated. I have learned many practical things on here but a lot of the time I'm just running away from the fact I'm alone. I think this video is a needed wake up call for me to have a more balanced relationship with technology. Including the internet so I can save what few braincells I have left. 😂
Have you tried Audio books? I have ADD too and it makes reading almost impossible as I can read 10 pages and remember none of it, only if the book drags me in very quickly like 1984 did do I get to the end. audiobooks I get through around 40 a year
@@deephlatt8845 I'm 21 years old. It's certainly not just about watching videos about your interests. Almost if not everything I watch on this platform (and on the entire internet, for that matter) are long form videos about topics ranging from psychology, to science, history, etc. I'm also knowledge hungry and been for the duration of my short life, and it is also exacerbated by my very severe ADHD. I spend hours watching and learning about my favorite topics. I find I cannot bring myself to do chores like I used to when I didn't have unlimited access to devices. While I like to tell myself I'm better than people my age since I don't use TikTok or any other social media and actually try to learn useful things, I've found myself being an active consumer of other media instead of focusing on other things is taking a toll on me. The design of TH-cam is genius in the sense that I literally cannot push it away, I just keep going, even right now at almost 5 am. This is addiction. I hate doing my chores and assignments more than ever before and I struggle immensely to start even a single one. And of course all of this just gets much worse with my ADHD and insomnia. I want so desperately to get out of this never ending cycle and take my life back. I've been trying for years. I need so much help.
I used to go to bed reading - sometimes for 15 minutes, other times for as long as 3 hours. However, that does not happen anymore. Now, I watch utube shorts, often the same ones repeatedly. When I do want to fall asleep, I find it hard to relax and often feel overwhelmed by an emotion about something I need to process from the day or a thought that lingers in my mind. Its usually not serious, but in that moment, I get annoyed that I can’t fall asleep. So, I grab my phone again. I hate it.
you could try to write about your daily emotions and lingering thoughts in a journal or a random notebook! it might help with processing them so you won't keep thinking about them when you have to go to sleep :)
ban screens from bedroom. Kindle or paperback only. The first few days when you try and return to reading in bed it will be hellish, you may toss and turn when you try to sleep, but after that, you'll return to how you once were.
Try and set limits on apps you use the most or delete those apps and make using whatever that platform is for desktop/laptop only. Leave phone in a different room or at least somewhere else in the bedroom that isn’t right next to your bed. You’re in charge, nothing beats a fail like a try. It’ll be well worth breaking these habits! I did this with TV over this whole year. I removed the television from my bedroom and my sleep got SO much better. And how often I got headaches drastically decreased after removing the tv. I would literally always have it playing something and I’d use the noise to get to bed?? I was so used to it but I made the change and haven’t looked back. Good luck!
Watching this actually made me feel grateful, grateful that as a 19 year old who grew up on the internet, I read more than I use the social internet (I say "social" because I am often reading e-books online but I digress), I am able to go about my day without looking at social media, and I can watch things and not sit on my phone just to stand a video that's longer than 10 minutes. But what this video doesn't take into account is how our world today is built so wholly around our phones. I am unable to leave my building without my phone because I need it to get back in. My work scheduling and important info is delivered via my phone with no way to shift this to my laptop. I need my phone to log into my university course work due to two step authentication that I cannot change. Our phones demand our attention and our societies and infrastructure are catering to that.
I'm firmly Gen X, I know the world when it worked without internet or smartphones. While this has brought us so many great possibilities, being so absolutely dependent on it is also a dystopian nightmare.
I’m so glad u brought up the 2-step authentication bullcrap lolll. I recently broke my phone this past September and decided that I’m no longer going to own a smartphone (something I’ve been contemplating for 2 years now as I’m a 21 year old and all my friends/colleagues have smartphones and social media). I ordered the Light Phone instead (which they call themselves a dumb phone) but it still hasn’t been delivered to me even tho I was expecting it in late October. Anyway, I was without a phone (completely) for about a month until I finally bought a flip phone in November but with a different phone number just for emergencies cuz I do go out a lot to concerts at night or walks/long runs. The dilemma is that all the accounts I have (such as banks, emails, school related stuff, work related stuff) are all connected to my old phone number and it has been a bear to access the stuff I need. It’s such bullshit and not something I even thought of when contemplating to switch to a non-smartphone. It’s insane that there’s this push to integrate tech into real life. Even some events I go to on campus are like “please scan this QR code to enter” like what lol??
That's true. One thing that might help, is switching to a phone that can do everything you mentioned, but doesn't feel inviting doing so. Unfortunately there are not a lot of phones that fall into this category, but they are out there. My girlfriend started using a Cat S22 Flip for that reason. It runs Android, so it can do pretty much anything you want. But it doesn't have a big, high resolution screen and such. She also hasn't installed any social media apps on it, except for Whatsapp, which can be used on multiple phones on the same account at the same time. She still has a regular smartphone for when she does want to use it, but that phone stays at home and only gets very limited use. When she's out, she takes her flip phone with her. She told me she feels more connected to the real world and more aware of her surroundings. I'm considering doing the same.
Yes this, and the way it means disabled people can now participate in the world! If I go for a walk and slip and fall (highly likely with my disability), I need to have a phone to call for help. If someone needs to monitor vital signs like blood sugar, feeding tubes, heart rate etc, it is so much more accessible for them to have those tools connected to phones, rather than having to pay for and carry around separate medical tools. People who can't leave their home because of illnesses etc can still talk to friends and be a part of communities thanks to having phones in our pockets. So it's a difficult balance of constantly overstimulated vs staying connected!
Thank you, so much, for explaining how we can return from being so distracted. I am 71 and for the past 20 years, I have found it difficult to sit down a read a book. I thought it was aging, but it is distraction. Once I discovered the Internet in 1998, I have slowly become more scattered and less focused.
I'm the same at age 55 I thought it was maybe ADHD or middle-age since I like you used to have focus but now it's ruined. I recall in the past when very young learning to tell time on a clock with hands in school. I had a eureka moment and got it only to look and the entire class had left I was so focused I never noticed. As a teen I'd draw and paint only to look up and a few hours had passed. Now it feels impossible to do any of that. Programming for me has always been hard due to focus issues. Phones, social media, even my work in IT I have to literally have at least three conversations going simultaneously; chats in Teams, emails, voice calls over headset and that's expected as normal not even though of as weird.
I'm the same. I used to have a formidable attention span. When I bought a book that I enjoyed I'd read it in one or two sittings. And I'd read every word. In my early 30s I wrote a novel; not a particularly accomplished one, admittedly, but the point is I had focus. I wrote 5 hours a day, in addition to my regular job, every day, including weekends, without missing a single one, for 20 months straight. Now I can rarely manage a diary entry.
The internet feels like a casino: its built like a maze designed to trap you in; full of bright, loud machines designed to get your attention; it tricks you into thinking you're having fun but in reality you're just slowly ruining your life.
Internet can be super useful; if used correctly, in my opinion. But yes, it is very easy to procrastinate; get caught up with drama. Or stuck watching too many ads. Or losing focus like this video talks about; like the notifications and our attention spans being drained. My screen time definitely has affected my sleep numerous times.
@@blakefuechtmann Yeah, I agree, but to get to the useful bit you have to navigate through the casino. And even if you manage to do it without distractions, you then have to force yourself to ignore all the noise coming from it. It is remarkably hard. But yeah! The internet is pretty great. It gives us acess to all the information our hearts desire, it puts art and music right on the tip of our fingers, it can help you learn new skills you wouldn't even know existed without the internet, it can help you conect with likeminded people from all over the world! It is great! But it is also become increasingly dangerous in the past years. At this point in my life I am honestly starting to wonder if it isn't doing more damage than good. It doesn't help that we do not have a historic reference to turn to. This problems are absolutely new and unprecedented in human history, unique to our generation. At least for me, it makes navigating the modern world a little bit more uncertain (and slightly terrifying).
5:05 Reminded me of a person who recently told me about his AI product, which would 'replace books' by letting you spend time with an AI version of the author. I told him that's NOT the reason we read books.
@@GorgieClarissa I know the feeling - it got me into writing novels. As for AI, we can already find interviews with authors, so I don't need a simulation of myself chatting with them.
I’ve wanted to focus on recording and releasing music for years. I found it hard to complete projects. I recently started reading more, and spending limited time on the internet. As a result I have been finishing songs and recording them, I’ve recently released two singles and have two more set to be released in the next few weeks. I couldn’t be happier. Once I decided to focus on what I what’s important to me I started making progress, regardless of whether I am great at it or my music is commercially viable. Cool video, thanks for sharing it.
I doubt it's some one-to-one case of you reading more leading to getting more done versus just you deciding to do several things to fix the problem at once.
@@john_smith_john Sure thing, that makes sense to me John. I believe what I said was that I started reading more, and spending less time on the internet, as a result I have been finishing more songs. The books I have been reading are mostly about songwriting and music production. The time spent on the internet that I cut out was mostly entertainment. As a result of spending more time reading books related to my goal of making more music, and spending less time consuming entertainment on the internet, I have found that I am able to focus more of my time and energy towards music. So I agree that there are likely multiple reasons why I may be able to finish more music recently, one of which is reading more books.
Thank you for this critical message - I'm a college professor and I see the lack of focus in my students on a daily basis. It's only getting worse - we really need to get this message out.
Respect to your work. As a lifelong devils advocate perspective holder, I’d have to argue that the students may have a lot of focus, just maybe not on what you’re trying to accomplish. For example, I work with this one 21 year old kid that’s extremely aware and open of his “addiction for adrenaline/dopamine” , it’s so crazy sometimes I think cmon man can you focus for 15 minutes? But then I realize he technically is focused, just focused on scratching a different itch
You have no way to tell TH-cam when your content will come up in my feed but I am grateful this one showed up when it did. Thank you for taking the time to create your content. ❤
Thanks for making this. I read The Shallows a couple of years ago and did a great job of refocusing my life and deprioritizing mindless consumption, but I've found myself mired in the shallows again. God damn the internet.
7:53 "this medium teaches you that information is easy and disposable. if you're even a little bit bored you can move on, in fact you should move on. that's implicitly what these platforms are telling you." fantastic video overall, thank you. the internet is the new high fructose \ sugar
I'm 54 and there are times when I think back to the 70's and 80's and all I had were bikes, comics, friends, model building and other non tech activities to amuse myself. TV was only when the family were watching so that was limited. If someone said to me would I swap those old school activities for the tech of today and social media I would choose the old way. I feel sorry for kids today - sensory overload. My level of focus these day is terrible these days and I admit it. Thanks for the video, so pertinent.
I find it very strange that I can hardly remember what the world was like before ubiquitous internet. I don't even have a cell phone. I don't even like people to bring them into my home. I still can't remember the world before instant access to any kind of entertainment and/or information you could want. We used to DO things. Honestly, I really do still do things. Just not as much as I used to. Certainly not as much as I should. Part of the problem is the incredibly easy access to information. There is no subject that I'm not interested in from machining to meta-physics and everything in between. It's hard to restrict myself. There is just so much to LEARN! But if you spend all your time 'learning' new things you're not _doing_ those things and you probably haven't really _learned_ anything. I expect that I'm preaching to the choir here. The really weird part is that I can hardly remember the world before this. I certainly spent a LOT of my time reading, though.
To help me increase my attention when watching TV and movies, I began watching foreign ones in the native language with subtitles so that I HAVE to pay attention to know what’s going on. That helped me enjoy doing those things again while also being mindful and learning about other cultures and also picking up bits of other languages
lets be real. This is just your way of justifying your addiction. Until you can enjoy looking at a wall and find peace within your emotions you still got work to do. Focus essentially dials down to primarily dopamine. Movies are going to lower your dopamine over time. Focus will diminish nevertheless
tbh a lot of anime fans watch shows and movies with subtitles all the time. I don't think their focus is any better for it. They'll tell you that themselves.
@@entrophyalligned I mean personally for me, I don't think it is an addiction if I only watch 3 hours a week of TV or movies and can comfortably sit and live in silence as well for a lot of my waking hours. Others may use it to justify it but that's where intention comes in to why you are doing something
This is so spot on with exactly what I've been thinking lately. It is frankly, spooky that the things you outlined here match up so well with my newly forming opinions. I ditched Facebook about 3 years ago, and I refuse to use other social media. That is, except for reddit. I find my mind wandering at work within a few minutes of starting to code. There's almost a pressure that builds to check my phone on the off chance someone upvoted a comment or responded. In just the last few days, I've taken to tossing my phone into another room, on DND. Just this weekend I reconnected with Heidegger's concept of profound boredom. I have actively avoided boredom and those little dopamine hits did the dastardly deed and destroyed my ability to focus for hours on end as I work through a difficult coding task. This video was spooky. I'm now subscribed. Thank you.
When my phone kicked the bucket, I got back into reading physical books that I had been meaning to read. It was so much more enjoyable than mindless scrolling. Addictions aren't necessarily enjoyable, but they rob us of enjoyment.
I had the same experience a couple of years ago, but I eventually had to relent and buy a new phone. There are just too many things in day-to-day life (banking, email, public transit) that rely on multi-factor authentication or some mobile app. How do we learn to live with these devices without letting them take over our lives? I'm slowly making progress.... slowly.
The best description of the internet I have heard yet: "Can I interest you in everything, all of the time? A little bit of everything, all of the time? Apathy's a tragedy and boredom is a crime! Anything and everything, all of the time" - Bo Burnam
Good advice. It’s encouraging to know that brains are adaptable to different situations and that we can return to being focused again. I have ADHD and am so easily distracted. So, I got myself a little timer to measure a time for doing a particular activity. It’s starting to work. Thanks.
My favorite reason to give people to read is that you get to see how people organize information. Reading is both a cognitive and metacognitive exercise. Learning how to connect ideas is more important than having ideas to connect. When you become proficient at connecting ideas, you have the power to innovate.
When I got into reading back in 2015 (at the age of 26) I started with a chapter a day, in books I had wanted to read for years. It takes dedicated effort, but it's so worth it. ♥
unfortunately most will not fully watch this or understand the video. Thank you for shedding light on this, i was trying to write in my journal my thoughts and realized how difficult it was to write just a single paragraph, too much youtube just takes my time away. This video helped me realize why my brain feels like its turning to mush.
Thanks Jared, I am purposely following now the people like you and start my day with "read more, be creative, go to museum" mantra. As much as I love those activities without anybody's encouragement, my phone became a comforting salesman, who keeps reassuring me that life can wait. Thank you for being a voice of reason and help.
Yep. 100% agree. When I was a kid my parents deliberately didn't have a TV in the house. I still consider that one of the greatest gifts they gave me. I was an introvert, so what did I do? Read. I read. I read a lot. And I did jigsaw puzzles. My Mum describes me being a very young child spending hours working on a puzzle. Then I grew up. Now I have to have two things going. I can't even knit four rows anymore without listening to a book at the same time - and even then I get bored and hop onto colouring for a bit before doing more knitting. I miss the quiet mind of my youth. Edit: Hey! That's a great book you've got there.
Your experience reminds me what I did for my daughter. We did not have a TV in the house at all. And she did not get a phone until 17. She read and draw spending hours on her own. She is now an accomplished manga artist and studying for software engineering at a very good university. I am very pleased that you had a similar experience. I also used to daydream when I was young and living in a small village. There was nothing else to do except staring at the floating clouds in the sky and dream about what might be happening beyond those clouds!
@@dr.gaosclassroom If your family lives in India, China, or South Korea, then your daughter may actually get a job. Otherwise, if you people live in America, with all its STEM education, then your daughter will be a very highly educated bistro professional after she accomplishes her degree goals.
@@DaveOmego Thank you for your comment on my comment. Videos like this one are not that bad as a guide to fine the right kind of information, especially those of book reviews. I find quite a few books after watching some book reviews.
Wonderful video. I would only disagree with one minor point-The New York Times does in fact NOT want you to stay on their platform, because as anyone who has tried to read a NYT article will know, within seconds of trying to read an article they will ask for your money, your email, your social media login….
This is so true. The amount of times I've just left websites because they bombarded me with ads and permanent pop ups to accept their cookies inorder to continue reading.
I’m very aware of the addiction and work on it daily. Thank goodness I still read, play music, and socialize but I still watch my minutes on my phone. Thank you for reminding us!
THE most important book I’ve ever read is Amusing Ourselves to Death!! I nearly jumped when I saw the title of this video. So happy. It’s such an under-appreciated book. My cat is named Postman! His theory is absolutely essential to understanding why our discourse has reduced to sludge and also why we need to get off social media. “The Medium is the Metaphor” is mantra in the attention economy. A simple strategy for less screen time that’s worked for me is having a beat-up paperback on me at all times. I’m working to replace the urge to scroll with opening a book.
There's a beautiful and sad irony in realizing that all the little interjectory clips in this video are there to keep our attention on the video and the commentary rather than for the sake of the actual content. Because most of us would never sit through a 12 minute commentary on attention spans voluntarily. Your message is very important, and I'm so glad you're spreading the word and showing us authors on the subject. I've been slowly trying to claw back my focus and have found reading and journaling to be extremely helpful, but also way way harder to do than they were in my childhood...
I couldn't deal with all the interjectory visual clips so I am just listening to this video. I'm more than happy to have a video just with him talking 😅 (I am however also scrolling comments whilst listening which... kinda feels... ironic too? 😂)
Reading that book as an undergrad introduced me to Marshall McCluhan. Changed my life. When you understand that the medium of our discourse consumption shapes the architecture of our minds is the greatest sociological insight of the last 100 years.
If someone asked me if there is a video everyone in the world should see, I would tell them this one. "You give your attention to books, the Internet steals your attention" This is the best video I have seen on the internet !!
Uh-oh. I clicked on this from a side bar. I was tempted to click on the little kitten reel that was showing to the right instead of watching the whole thing. 12:44? A long time....but I am going to challenge myself and watch the whole thing!
I agree with everything you said. For years and years now I have noticed how people cannot follow along with the written word. Everyone wants "the bottom line," and they lose thread of the conversation or the argument very easily. They show no patience whatsoever.
I made it to your whole video uninterrupted! This has made a lot of sense. I have a wonderful attachment to bookshops old and new and buy lots of books I know I'll never read. I'm A self confessed health anxiety sufferer and I continue to search and look up just about every symptom I have through the internet. That causes me more anxiety for sure. I decided to wean myself off and actually read my books!! I can't even meditate and I feel like a scatter brain all the time. I loved your soothing voice and I will follow this advice. My mind is mine to give not anyone's to take ❤
I really enjoy this channel. I gave up TV about 8 years ago and spend at least 1 hr per day reading. Started reading Finance, Philosophy and history. You are absolutely right. We're all being dumbed down with over-stimulation.
More truth here than in the next billion videos online. Thank you. You are a true credit to humanity. Few of us really think about problems for long periods of time anymore. We are denying ourselves normal thought processes that people have used since the beginning.
One thing I do every day, leave the phone on the desk and go for a one hour walk round my town before I get ready for work. No phone and hardly anyone about, I just let my brain wander while I walk in a giant circle round town. I find it's so refreshing, gives me time to mull things to do, work projects or just see what has changed from day to day, who got a new car, who cut the trees back, have the local council fixed that bit of road yet!
While watching this video I got a notification on my phone... And it was harder than I thought to take a step back and actively ignore it and continue watching the video. Something has gotta change, and I think this video has provided the impetus to kickstart the process. Thanks for making it!
My overuse of internet media is a problem I’ve known about for years, but have kept quiet in my mind. It’s been particularly simple to do so for the reasons you mentioned. I used to love books and I sincerely want to fall back in love with them.
I read more books faster and better during my graduate degree courses than I could ever have imagined before. I became habituated to sustained , complicated cognation. Grad school is often prohibitively expensive and time-pressured, but a person can learn as much or more with a reading list, library card, and the will to use them. Thanks for this video.
Absolutely agree, all these people trying to claim that reading is too slow and inefficient. It is absolutely pure cope for subpar attention spans and reading skills.
I read the (terrible) transcripts on youtube because I can read them much faster than listening. So is that good (reading) or bad (shorter length of time)?
@@tamarlindsay8382 this is the same reason I can't stand listening to audiobooks, I can read much faster than people speak. To me this proves that reading isn't "inefficient" like people claim.
@@Ane-nz6wd reading doesn't have to take all your time. This is the cope that the video is referring to, we all have busy lives and the same hours in the day to get it all done. People either make reading a habit and priority, or they don't.
This is one of the most important videos of the times we’re in! We’re so used to being stimulated that we don’t even think any more. Thank you for putting this together in such a well planned and digestible way.
it's actually a good sign. It shows your brain is working as it should and can only get better. Have you ever sat through a movie or a TH-cam video and wondered why you wasted your time? Your brain does not like that and it'll rather seek out more infomation that is worthwhile than potentially "waste" time focusing on something that is crap. There is so much to learn and while some things require time to learn, others can be done in a faster and more efficient way. Your brain is trying to be the most effective for your survival. Do not despise it.
Very convincing reasoning and thesis in this video. I'm a Millenial bridging the pre-internet era with the smartphone-a-day times. I remember the times before desktop PC allowed you to have internet, then you had flimsy dial-up connections that downloaded 1 image for 15 minutes. I used to read a lot. Now I can't really take a book in hand and start reading. I have a pile of books that I started, put away and haven't gone back to in a year or more. And I am interested in reading them, I bought them myself. It's not like they are mandatory for me to read to classes or anything, and it's a chore. Just the internet is calling more than even the most interesting book that I wanted to read. And I probably already typed a comment longer, than anyone with todays attention span will read.
wow i used to read all the time as a child i read an entire illustrated encyclopedia, it was my favorite "book" and you made me realize that I have not read a book since 2021 i went from always reading to never reading and i feel like a crackhead
But you read comments from online forums, video comment sections, and social media posts; and some of these have newer information compared to the encyclopedia on your shelf. You. are. still. reading! and consuming more per time at that
There’s been so many times during this video that I tapped on my phone screen to exit and head to the comments section. But I caught myself every time and managed to sit through all 12 minutes and 44 seconds of this video. Thank you for this. I’m planning on actually reading some books I checked out now
Thank you for the video, Jared. You are a strong force here on TH-cam for the return of a sense of culture to the world. Reading has done wonders for my understanding of the world, argumentation abilities, and ability to connect with others through the disparate information I read. Oftentimes I get caught up in the more short-form mediums of entertainment, but you are always a great encouragement to return to what makes me a sharp, concentrated, and calm human being.
5:28 Yes! And not only are you focusing, you are visualizing. You are training many parts of your brain to see and feel and hear concepts and experiences without that audio/visual stimulation.
Jaron Lanier agrees completely and adds nine other reasons to delete your SMS apps right now in his 2018 book. As an educator and writer, it is obvious how smartphones have devastated education. Thank you for this Jared, and more could be said about what this impatience does to civil society, discourse, and intercourse.
This video just made me rethink my current relation with my phone and how it's impacting my life in general, especially that I'm currently a university student. It made me realize how attached I am to it, and how much I'm missing out on life.
This is really good. I love this. My sole point on the matter is social media is quite intrusive on thinking. The algorithm is a key factor in thinking. In books, you gain a wide range of topics. You explore what the author has to say. On the internet, they like to keep the same engaged thought through multiple videos and will feed you the same take. As you said, by design, they are designed for the next click.
Same with music. Buying a cd or vinyl album, it came with the opinions of the artist and publisher about what should go with what. Some songs would not grab you right away but grow over time.
This was a very well thought out video, and I did make it to the end. As a 39 year old, I remember when I wasn't always giving my attention away to short form content. Though, I was partially raised by TV and eventually AOL, so I am not immune to attention theft. I have found that having an e-reader has helped me consume more books, including "Amusing Ourselves to Death," which was an enjoyable read. It's scary to think about the future of humanity's attention when you look at the relatively short history of media.
Neil Postman is a criminally underrated thinker - way ahead of his time. I would also recommend his book Technopoly for an incredible critique of our technology obsessed culture.
Sir, you got my atention from the thumbnail, while im watching in my insomnia, but still, your words are getting me, and now you have my full attention. Specially with kids overestimulated, we need to leave room for boredom, for outdoors experiences. Thank you! Will try to make a change.
As a UX-designer I got into philosophy because I realised that UX-design is shaping our minds and decision making. There is so much things to keep people addicted and engaged so where is the free will of people. I made a conscious choice to only make designs that use none of those tricks but give people the ability to choose if they want to stay engaged or not..
NDAs keep people from just talking and sharing information and ideas on basic things in daily life. . . A restriction of free speech and subsequently free thought
I tend to use social media and TH-cam as a form of self medication for ADHD. I’m on actual meds now and my life has improved, but I’m still online way more than I’d like to be. I still can’t sit and try and do my other hobbies like I used to unless they give LOTS of stimulation (like video games). I really wish I just hadn’t come into adulthood in the time of constant online access and an overwhelming amount of stimuli everywhere you look.
Gym, walks and dates without a phone is what most people are missing in their life. Get used to life’s uncomfortable moments and you’re already ahead of almost everyone around you. We’re constantly comparing, searching and confusing ourselves with information. It’s time to change this through pure free will. If not, a chained and heavy life is to follow.
A strategy that worked for me: I always keep a book at my side. If I find myself getting bored or unfocused on whatever I should be doing, I read a chapter (or a few pages if applicable), then jump back into what I was originally doing.
yes. the way i do it is that i put a 10 min timer to force myself to read, either physical or digital books...it works wonders when the bar is set so low that you motivate yourself to read more.
This is why I rarely look at my phone and have all but text message notifications turned off. I do watch too much youtube, but I can actually feel my attention and my ability to focus waning after a while, and that's when I get up to do something around the house or work on my writing. And you're absolutely right: reading changes how you think. I definitely don't read as much as I should, but that point you made reminded me to get back to reading more.
This video came at the right time. I recently downgraded my phone to the barebones. No apps on it other than the essentials like Uber, maps, text and calls. I carry a notebook to write my thoughts out. It feels freeing to be detached from tech. I need to see if I can go a month without it and at limited times.
It is my belief that major changes began after we stopped "watching the radio". A shared, focused effort. A bit of collective effort. Since the addition of motion pictures, all the thinking and imagining is done for us. Completing a form of enablement.
this is a really good point. our imaginations work much harder in reading too in order to paint the scene being described to us. I tend to be hyper critical and analytical by nature, so when I watch movies or shows I do tend to try to be more of an active watcher, constantly trying to figure out why this scene was shot this way, what the filmmaker is trying to say... I'm not sure if many folks do that unfortunately :(
Absolutely the medium always has inherent biases and radio kept our attention AND imagination wrapt. I don’t think it’s a 1:1 change to say, TV to internet given algorithms and social media. I think in a more ideal world, movies should be okay. Maybe not TV news though. I LOVE that you brought up the collective effort part. Part of experiencing the medium of social media is fragmenting us into separate viewing bubbles.
Another excellent book on this topic is "Endangered Minds: Why Our Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It," by Dr. Jane Healy (a pediatric neuropsychologist). This book made me change the way I parented my kids (now in their 20's and 30's). One of the big things about reading is that the brain has to "create" the pictures of the content. It engages so much more of the brain than having the pictures provided (ie. TV, video games, social media). It is the same with handwriting vs. keyboarding. Having to form letters kinetically engages memory and thought more than tapping a button.
I work with my phone, and must be available for most part of the day. The fact that I have been interrupted by messages three times while watching this video it's something that makes me think a lot. Thank you for your content!
At 7:24 when you said "... the idea here is to always give something to click on next..." I immediately thought "yes and TikTok took it even further - you don't even need to click/touch anything, it will automatically switch to the next video for you once the current one ends"
TikTok doesn’t do that. It loops. BUT you don’t have to waste time choosing the next video, it chooses a new one every time you scroll, and there’s no end.
Learn an instrument! I have been playing music for a long time, but I just started playing bass and it has opened up a whole new world. My fingertips hurt right now, it's a wonderful pain. They hurt because they've been making the coolest sounds I've ever made in my life. It's so much fun, part of it is finding the right instrument though. I recommend everyone at least try it once even if you don't think you're a music person
Can relate, learning keyboard even though I have small hands, but it's worth the pain for sure (just make sure you take care of your hands, stretch them, pay attention to correct posture, etc)
Even if you just pick up to practice you'll feel a lot more focused, it seems like the world disappears. Trying to learn violin here, and it's almost magical how I completely forget about the internet when I pick it up, practicing for an entire hour. Or should I say, making horrendous noises for an hour haha
@@suspensionrailway7094 Keep going! Also, as one violinist to another, it really is worth the time to focus on a beautiful tone, even just on an open string. It will make that "horrendous noise" problem so much less!
I stumbled upon the book by Neil Postman in my university library early this year, searching for some literature to get into sociology. It was a stroke of luck I found it as it increased my awareness to problems Postman discovered some forty years ago. It is an interesting topic, and transfering his toughts into our time is incredibly interesting. Thank you for exploring this.
What a delight to find your channel, and this video in particular. I first read Postman’s book about fifteen years ago, and have cracked it open more than once since. It is the only book that I repeatedly gift to others as I believe its message is vitally relevant for our present day. I meet with a lot of young adults in my profession, and am glad to learn that many are leaving social media in droves. They are purposefully disconnecting from the matrix. It’s beautiful and gives me hope for our collective future.
it is such a great book for learning how to attract money. It's easy to understand and follow. If you’re looking to improve your mindset and start seeing results, this is definitely worth a read!
Brilliant! I hope people will listen and start to be aware of what they are doing to their brains! It’s frightening to think about the possible effects in 20 years. The nursing homes will be overrun with dementia patients. Thank you!!
The fact that I'm unable to watch this without simultaneously reading through the comments is not a good sign
Such a good point
This a bad habit that I need to break!
...got me
This called me out 😭
first step to deal with a problem is to be aware of it, the next step is to make a decision.
I really enjoyed the first 45 seconds of the video.
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Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
🤣
LOL
😂 not even 3 minutes?
Video about what?
I was trained as an occupational therapist and worked for a time in brain injury recovery. One of the methods I used to train limited attention spans in individuals was to get them to read aloud. I want to suggest this method if you are trying to break away from devices that promote the limitation of your attention span. Get a book that you've wanted to read, perhaps a novel with interesting characters and a sharp plot and read off a chapter out loud. You may be surprised at how this will entrain you back into reading and eventually increase your stamina. Any book you're interested in may do. I suggest one with a plot that will capture your attention. From there, you can move on to technical books, papers, etc if you like. Thank you for your efforts!
Any other tips you may share with us?
Nice! Do you have other tips?
Many thanks I am going to try this!!
I actually started reading out loud because it calms my dog down and you’re right, it’s much easier to stay focused and feel engaged when reading, even if it feels a little weird lol
For years now I have always read books aloud (even whispering when reading aloud isn't really an option).
I also use it as a kind of creative exercise in the case of novels, as I pick different voices/accents for different characters and try to act them out to the best of my abilities, which is quite fun :)
Additionally, I study foreign languages, so reading aloud is a good way for me to practice reading, pronunciation and intonation!
Minus is that I think it takes me a bit longer to get through texts, but for me it's definitely worth it.
A small tip from a person who also is batteling that same issue. I unsubscribed from data on my phone. Now im forced to only use the internet is there is a wifi connection. Otherwise people need to call me or send me an SMS to reach me.
It really helps my friends and it also saves you some money.
A few questions i get asked from my friends , Yes i can still receive a call without data. Yes , I can receive a regular SMS message without data. Your google maps will work without data if you saved an offline map of the area or you turned the route on while you were still connected to WiFi
This video had a profound impact on my habits. I watched it four days ago. Since then I've almost entirely dropped watching TH-cam videos. I got my mechanical wristwatch repaired and have been using it instead of my phone to check the time. I've picked up paper books or gone for a walk when I wanted stimulation. I hadn't noticed how much idle screen time had sucked me in. I'm intentionally coming here to make a note saying: thank you. You've made a difference in my life.
I'm curious how that will impact your mental health in the long term. I've done that too, for long periods of time, but I never saw a "return". Unless you have kids or other people to take care of, there is literally no point in not entertaining yourself constantly.
@@mcdoj2763 entertainment and diversion is for those without a purpose. Find a purpose and you will find less need for entertainment.
@@mcdoj2763 At the very least limiting or getting rid of cell phone time will help the attention span so you can concentrate on other tasks more efficiently. If you want to spend your life entertaining yourself then I also see nothing wrong with it. But many people have dreams and aspirations and they put them off because they waste so much time online and eventually they will run out of time and be filled with regret.
@@mcdoj2763 While I haven't been able to sustain actually quitting, I find getting off the internet provides mental clarity and calm. I'm able to do tasks without NEEDING background noise. I have a greater sense of self because I'm not ALWAYS listening to what other people do/think/want. I'm able to watch a TV show again for the full 60-30 minutes without missing something (and as a result, I'm able to watch better media. Sometime complex rather than something I'm mean to only be 1/2 way paying attention to). I'm bringing more room into my life for other things (other hobbies, rest, talking with friends, literally anything else).
I guess it depends on the person but I'd argue that most of us are addicted to the internet. Or at least have a very high tolerance. The benefit isn't physical like breaking a smoking addiction or lowering a sugar tolerance, but rather mental and time based. Getting to a point where you don't WANT to spend 8 hours scrolling frees up 8 hours of your life. Valuing other forms of entertainment can add variety and richness to your life.
@@mcdoj2763 Not speaking for the Original Commenter of course, but for me, the return is being more creative, like coming up with lyrics or poems in my head, drawing or writing stories; as well as thinking more about life and whatever is happening around me at the moment.
Ultimately, it comes down to the question if you're happy if you just entertain yourself constantly, or if you want to improve, create and/or learn using the time that you have. And if that is the answer for you, then no other people are needed, your own fulfillment is the point.
Aldous Huxley pointed this out in Brave New World in 1931 - never ever let anyone get bored. Because if they are bored, they start to think, and if they start to think, they start to long for something else, and longing is the base of Not Being Satisfied (as per the philosophy in the book). It's very accurate today.
почему эта фраза такая точная?
I was looking for someone to talk about Brave New World. Entertaining and pleasuring ourselves to our individual and societal doom is the whole warning of that book, and it gets scarier and scarier as time goes on.
Holy God, how frighteningly true. And I'd like to add, make them so busy and so frightened and so overworked that in their spare time all they can do is consume entertainment. They don't have the energy, physical, mental, or emotional do more than that. Then also ruin their education system where they should be learning to think, then it's all over. Even if they had the time to think, if they don't know how, they still won't; they can't. Hence our clowns running the circus for the next four years. Plus, if a person also has mental illness they are royally screwed.
The book is borderline disturbing in it's accuracy for predicting the future.
It’s actually mentioned at the beginning of the book
As a mental health therapist, I can’t emphasize enough how important everything you just said is. Also, The fact that there are brilliant people coming together to strategize on how to steal our attention for profit is, in my opinion, the definition of evil.
Do you have any tips on how to deal with loneliness in regard to the topics discussed in this video? 2020 really shook up my life and I have been at most times very lonely since then. However, having something on in the background (such as commentary videos or music) has been one of the only things to help quell the lonely feeling.
Would it actually be a good idea for me to become more alone with just my thoughts by having more silence? I can’t tell if this practice I have is actually something bad for me, or if it’s therapeutic while I work on improving my life in the meantime. I’m really curious. I don’t know who to trust with my health anymore, which definitely includes mental health. Thanks if you’re seeing this
Have you made an effort to join a community group where you do things in person? It's hard to start, but so satisfying.
@@bluedash24I too have become more alone since the controllers lockdown, lies and restrictions.
It is healthier to be in a group for 36 to 140 people. Do you like birdwatching, or a religion?
I became friends with Nature, the birds, squirrels, the environment.
Almost every human are very brainwashed. I refuse to go along with the controlled narratives. There need to be tribunals to those whom perpetrated all this against us.
"mental health therapist" lol
attention is the most sought after capital today. Competition for attention is everywhere ! ! I can't even pump my gas ! There's a TV screen on the gas pump competing for my attention !
Creating items, be it via painting, sculpting, crafting, knitting, crocheting or whatever medium you prefer, requires focus and attention to detail.
When I am crocheting an item, my focus is on the work in my hands. It calms me & is good for my brain too. My manual dexterity also increases for other activities.
I was a bookworm as a kid, and then didn’t read for 10 years. I love that I’m falling back in love with reading ❤
Same here 😄
The same I read A LOT and as I I’d I also spent a lot of time writing stories. Now I find it hard to focus read and my writing confidence is shocking. I’m going to
Start reading and cut out digital media and turn of notifications
I need to do that.
Same lol. Used to read several books a week now it's hard for me to finish even one.
I will die on the hill that watching shows/movies/youtube/etc. Is more conducive and productive than reading. I've prolly watched over 30k hours of content at this point since my childhood (15 years). We shorten sentences by adding lingo and generational slang, we compress the contents of a book into an hour long movie. You're still experiencing the same story (or the same story with the fluff and text descriptors removed) and do so in significantly less time. This opens up the opportunity to experience more things. And the more film/shows you watch, and ACTIVELY ANALYZE the better you get at watching things. I now watch content at 1.5x speed (with the exception of some works that have genuinely good baseline pacing, I watch those at normal speed), not because of an attention issue, but bc nothing is happening, and I value my time. If I can watch something faster, experience it faster, why would I not do that. Books have been around forever, we look at a few select educated individuals in history and go "they were super smart bc they read more". They weren't that smart, if you place those same people on a gradient and compare them to the people today who have the opportunities to pursue multiple fields over a single one, to cross-coordinate with others and fact check findings; list goes on. Ppl just want an excuse to feel better about themselves bc they like hearing the sound of moving paper -_-.
The bits of information about how Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg didn't/don't like their kids using smartphones or screens in general really hit me... as you said, these are people that really know the intention and effects of our modern technologies.
I used to think that I didn't have a problem with screens, because I do enjoy a bit of reading and some good movies, and don't really care for Tik Tok or Instagram, but I realized that my "drug" is TH-cam... I'm working on it, but it's pretty hard.
Oh yeah there’s a marked difference in children that spend a lot of time with screens and children who don’t. I transitioned to listening to videos I was interested in before I had my daughter. So she wouldn’t internalize the idea of wanting to have her face buried in a screen. My mother in law and sister in law keep giving her their phones and it’s exhausting. I can see the vestiges of addiction in the way she freaks out when I take the phone back from her.
I’ve had to take breaks from Grandma and her aunt because of this. Luckily and unluckily she got sick this week so she won’t be going back over until she’s well again.
Same for me guys. Specially getting constantly waken up at the same time, 2, 3 am, and my brain is ready for that dose of screen. The left out feeling is always getting to me. And i am tired of it.
@@AlexLopez-xq4ikbefore we had real life communities. Now we gather more and more online
Me too! I love to read but can get lost in TH-cam.
Phones are like straight men: they shouldn't exist, but women love 'em.
Thanks for this video. Great quotable line: "You *give* your attention to books, the Internet *steals* your attention"
Yeah great quote, I also wrote it down but in my notes
I guess, we allow stealing when it's tempting. The internet steals our attention. I can't read more than ten pages because I get tired. I can scroll, though, for hours.
I often say paying attention in the literal sense, you are paying the currency or resource of your attention.
I wager your cat could steal my attention. But that is a cat's job.
@@fayedunaway8 Do we really "allow" it though? As Fads said, social media corps hired a small army of top paid psychology experts... I don't think "allow" is the right word. I personally never allowed anyone to do it to me. I just do it, scrolling mindlessly on my phone avoiding what I need to do, only half living. I hate it. I hate myself for doing it. I would never knowingly "allow" anyone to do it to me. They knew about serotonin rush and brain chemistry years before I knew about it. They knew what they were doing. I never allowed it. Yet I'm here and the bathroom needs cleaning. If I had full control over my actions, I would be scrubbing instead of joylessly typing these words.
I’m a teacher and one of the major issues in the teaching world these days is behaviour (which has declined significantly in the 13 years I’ve been teaching - especially the last 7 years, note that is pre-covid). I am certain that children’s lack of attention span is the root cause. Kids cannot stay focused for long enough and are used to getting their dopamine hits from online sources so when that’s taken away and they’re asked to sit quietly for even 10-15 minutes they struggle significantly. It’s a worrying prospect for the future. How do we help them? Saying removing devices is all well and good but unless it’s done on mass you’re then creating an environment for their bullying because they’re ousted and weird. It’s such a tricky situation.
If enough teachers and parents support those kids who are not engaging with tech as much, I'm sure they could reframe this weirdness into courage.
To counteract phone addiction in kids they need to be engaged in actual real life hobbies and activities. They need to do things that require their attention without using their phones. And then added to that phone usage should be restricted.
Because simply restricting the phone usage is not very effective since it will only make than want it more/ think about it more.
They need to realize there is more to life than just social media.
When I was 8 I got collared for something I didn’t do and had to spend lunchtime stood in the corner of a room. I was bored and realised I had nothing to think about - so I started learning everything I could so I would never be bored again! This worked from 1977 up until a few years ago when I discovered I was watching 70 hours a week of TH-cam. Admittedly this was mostly ‘How to’ videos but that stopped me doing anything as I was seeing it done! I’m going to avoid my phone today.
It doesn't have to be done on a wide scale, but it does need to happen at home to be effective.
I can't even enjoy video games anymore because of Instagram and youtube. I work full time with loads of overtime. I dont smoke or drink. My only real way to unwind was video games. Now, when i have time to play a game, I sit with it on in the background and scroll through my phone. I used to be an avid reader, but now I have a stack of "to read books" that have years of dust on them. All my friends and family are phone addicts, cant get them to sit through a movie or conversation without them being glued to their phones. Im really starting to hate cell phones and social media.
y'all should learn how to use the internet for fucks sake!
Put your phone in a safe and do one thing at a time you will notice you will act like a crack addict when you can't get your fix
I try to practice putting the phone in another room and sitting with a book for at least 30 min
I totally understand specially the friends and family part. I wish I can meet people who I can do this with where we do nice activities and engage in convo or even sit together doing nothing and encourage each other to live in the real world. But it is getting harder and harder and more complicated.
video games are not a good way to unwind. they overstimulate your brain and especially after a stressful day they'll only worsen the existing stress.
And "brain rot" was the Oxford Word of the Year for 2024!
Those are two words.
Skibidi
@@thetower8553 It's an example of compounding in language. Much like "hot dog" or "living room".
Becoming obvious isn't it.
Well let's not forget that people of varying intelligences stratify. 🤷
That thing you said about how we've become so used to having our attention *stolen* that our brains have lost the ability to *give* our attention makes me wonder if this could be one of the factors in the loneliness epidemic. Intimacy requires time, focus, and effort. A mutual giving of attention.
it is
bingo
absolutely
Wow, great observation and yep, I think you nailed it.
on the nose
I literally had to listen to this while also scrolling through facebook and checking emails at the same time. I need to start undoing this addiction.
This video makes me miss the old internet. I'm talking early 2000s. When you had to go into a room in your home to use the computer for a while to look up something you had to do or were interested in. Back then we were truly in control of how we engaged with computers and the internet. It was truly the golden age to pursue your interests and interact with others online.
It was kinda like the internet didn't care, what gained your attention. More like a library and less like a shopping mall.
It didn't follow us around constantly. The smartphone, in my worthless opinion, is the single most harmful invention in human history.
A golden age, yes! So much changed with the advent of smart phones and social media. We've become coarsened as a people.
Exactly, search engines seem worthless now. There aren't really engaging sites of blogs like there once was.
@@aaron___6014yes, Google just show you sites that pay them to be shown like Reddit
I just started reading before bed instead of checking my phone. It’s been really great and honestly sobering.
What cha reading, big man?
I agree. I have ADHD and I had a period of about 4 months when I could focus without any issues and I couldn’t figure out why. After watching this video it clicked. It was the time when I was watching very little TV, I limited my phone time to 1h a day and I read before bed every night for 2 hours. This is so true! I’m starting again from tomorrow. Wish me luck because there will be some withdrawal symptoms 🤷♀️
@@paulcrisafi4415 I'm currently reading 'Story Genius' by Lisa Cron! I am a storyboard artist who wants to be better at writing and it's frankly a very insightful book. Highly recommend.
@@blueskyalldayeveryday Good luck dude! I also have ADHD and I've found that finding different things to focus on that isn't the phone has really helped me.
It's frankly horrifying that 27% admitted to using their phones while driving. It should be 0, jesus christ.
I am 68 years old and feel my life is slipping through my fingers for all the reasons you mention. I am naturally intellectually curious, which is exacerbated by ADHD, and TH-cam has become my personal attention-seeking garden of Eden. I used to be a voracious reader but with the advent of computers - and I was an early adopter - I have slowly gotten to the point where I read only 3-4 books a year, all easy fiction. I have subscribed to your channel and hope to come to grips with what I have begun to understand is my Achilles’ heel. Thank you for this video.
I'm in my 60's too. I have to disagree with the video. I'm one of those people that thinks books are not efficient. If you want to learn something in great depth you probably will read books. But if you just have a casual interest in a great many things because you have a raging curiosity then TH-cam is more efficient. I feel like I spent a great part of my life waiting for the internet to be created. I think of all the time I wasted reading long dusty tomes that in the end only touched on what I was interested in. I think it's more a matter of having the discipline to click on videos about your interests and not be pulled in by hours of cat videos or celebrities.
"TH-cam has become my personal attention-seeking garden of Eden" kind of describes life haha. I spend so much time on here being entertained and sometimes educated. I have learned many practical things on here but a lot of the time I'm just running away from the fact I'm alone. I think this video is a needed wake up call for me to have a more balanced relationship with technology. Including the internet so I can save what few braincells I have left. 😂
Have you tried Audio books? I have ADD too and it makes reading almost impossible as I can read 10 pages and remember none of it, only if the book drags me in very quickly like 1984 did do I get to the end. audiobooks I get through around 40 a year
@@deephlatt8845 I'm 21 years old. It's certainly not just about watching videos about your interests. Almost if not everything I watch on this platform (and on the entire internet, for that matter) are long form videos about topics ranging from psychology, to science, history, etc. I'm also knowledge hungry and been for the duration of my short life, and it is also exacerbated by my very severe ADHD. I spend hours watching and learning about my favorite topics. I find I cannot bring myself to do chores like I used to when I didn't have unlimited access to devices. While I like to tell myself I'm better than people my age since I don't use TikTok or any other social media and actually try to learn useful things, I've found myself being an active consumer of other media instead of focusing on other things is taking a toll on me. The design of TH-cam is genius in the sense that I literally cannot push it away, I just keep going, even right now at almost 5 am. This is addiction. I hate doing my chores and assignments more than ever before and I struggle immensely to start even a single one. And of course all of this just gets much worse with my ADHD and insomnia. I want so desperately to get out of this never ending cycle and take my life back. I've been trying for years. I need so much help.
I relate; I always begin with a question or activity I want help with but soon enough am away on a dopamine ride.
I used to go to bed reading - sometimes for 15 minutes, other times for as long as 3 hours. However, that does not happen anymore. Now, I watch utube shorts, often the same ones repeatedly. When I do want to fall asleep, I find it hard to relax and often feel overwhelmed by an emotion about something I need to process from the day or a thought that lingers in my mind. Its usually not serious, but in that moment, I get annoyed that I can’t fall asleep. So, I grab my phone again. I hate it.
This is spot on - I have a very similar experience
you could try to write about your daily emotions and lingering thoughts in a journal or a random notebook! it might help with processing them so you won't keep thinking about them when you have to go to sleep :)
ban screens from bedroom. Kindle or paperback only. The first few days when you try and return to reading in bed it will be hellish, you may toss and turn when you try to sleep, but after that, you'll return to how you once were.
Try and set limits on apps you use the most or delete those apps and make using whatever that platform is for desktop/laptop only. Leave phone in a different room or at least somewhere else in the bedroom that isn’t right next to your bed. You’re in charge, nothing beats a fail like a try. It’ll be well worth breaking these habits!
I did this with TV over this whole year. I removed the television from my bedroom and my sleep got SO much better. And how often I got headaches drastically decreased after removing the tv. I would literally always have it playing something and I’d use the noise to get to bed?? I was so used to it but I made the change and haven’t looked back.
Good luck!
Hundreds Likes prove you are not the only one. 😂
Watching this actually made me feel grateful, grateful that as a 19 year old who grew up on the internet, I read more than I use the social internet (I say "social" because I am often reading e-books online but I digress), I am able to go about my day without looking at social media, and I can watch things and not sit on my phone just to stand a video that's longer than 10 minutes. But what this video doesn't take into account is how our world today is built so wholly around our phones. I am unable to leave my building without my phone because I need it to get back in. My work scheduling and important info is delivered via my phone with no way to shift this to my laptop. I need my phone to log into my university course work due to two step authentication that I cannot change. Our phones demand our attention and our societies and infrastructure are catering to that.
I'm firmly Gen X, I know the world when it worked without internet or smartphones. While this has brought us so many great possibilities, being so absolutely dependent on it is also a dystopian nightmare.
I’m so glad u brought up the 2-step authentication bullcrap lolll. I recently broke my phone this past September and decided that I’m no longer going to own a smartphone (something I’ve been contemplating for 2 years now as I’m a 21 year old and all my friends/colleagues have smartphones and social media). I ordered the Light Phone instead (which they call themselves a dumb phone) but it still hasn’t been delivered to me even tho I was expecting it in late October. Anyway, I was without a phone (completely) for about a month until I finally bought a flip phone in November but with a different phone number just for emergencies cuz I do go out a lot to concerts at night or walks/long runs. The dilemma is that all the accounts I have (such as banks, emails, school related stuff, work related stuff) are all connected to my old phone number and it has been a bear to access the stuff I need. It’s such bullshit and not something I even thought of when contemplating to switch to a non-smartphone. It’s insane that there’s this push to integrate tech into real life. Even some events I go to on campus are like “please scan this QR code to enter” like what lol??
That's true. One thing that might help, is switching to a phone that can do everything you mentioned, but doesn't feel inviting doing so. Unfortunately there are not a lot of phones that fall into this category, but they are out there. My girlfriend started using a Cat S22 Flip for that reason. It runs Android, so it can do pretty much anything you want. But it doesn't have a big, high resolution screen and such. She also hasn't installed any social media apps on it, except for Whatsapp, which can be used on multiple phones on the same account at the same time. She still has a regular smartphone for when she does want to use it, but that phone stays at home and only gets very limited use. When she's out, she takes her flip phone with her. She told me she feels more connected to the real world and more aware of her surroundings. I'm considering doing the same.
Yes this, and the way it means disabled people can now participate in the world! If I go for a walk and slip and fall (highly likely with my disability), I need to have a phone to call for help. If someone needs to monitor vital signs like blood sugar, feeding tubes, heart rate etc, it is so much more accessible for them to have those tools connected to phones, rather than having to pay for and carry around separate medical tools. People who can't leave their home because of illnesses etc can still talk to friends and be a part of communities thanks to having phones in our pockets. So it's a difficult balance of constantly overstimulated vs staying connected!
I can't log into my work computer for the day without taking out my phone. It feels like I'm sabotaging myself from the get go
Thank you, so much, for explaining how we can return from being so distracted. I am 71 and for the past 20 years, I have found it difficult to sit down a read a book. I thought it was aging, but it is distraction. Once I discovered the Internet in 1998, I have slowly become more scattered and less focused.
I'm the same at age 55 I thought it was maybe ADHD or middle-age since I like you used to have focus but now it's ruined. I recall in the past when very young learning to tell time on a clock with hands in school. I had a eureka moment and got it only to look and the entire class had left I was so focused I never noticed. As a teen I'd draw and paint only to look up and a few hours had passed. Now it feels impossible to do any of that. Programming for me has always been hard due to focus issues. Phones, social media, even my work in IT I have to literally have at least three conversations going simultaneously; chats in Teams, emails, voice calls over headset and that's expected as normal not even though of as weird.
I'm the same. I used to have a formidable attention span. When I bought a book that I enjoyed I'd read it in one or two sittings. And I'd read every word. In my early 30s I wrote a novel; not a particularly accomplished one, admittedly, but the point is I had focus. I wrote 5 hours a day, in addition to my regular job, every day, including weekends, without missing a single one, for 20 months straight. Now I can rarely manage a diary entry.
Scattered is a really good descriptive word for this
you can read a book on the internet
The internet feels like a casino: its built like a maze designed to trap you in; full of bright, loud machines designed to get your attention; it tricks you into thinking you're having fun but in reality you're just slowly ruining your life.
I’m going to frame this as a quote my kids can see.
nah, it's both fun and ruining your life
Internet can be super useful; if used correctly, in my opinion. But yes, it is very easy to procrastinate; get caught up with drama. Or stuck watching too many ads. Or losing focus like this video talks about; like the notifications and our attention spans being drained.
My screen time definitely has affected my sleep numerous times.
@@blakefuechtmann Yeah, I agree, but to get to the useful bit you have to navigate through the casino. And even if you manage to do it without distractions, you then have to force yourself to ignore all the noise coming from it. It is remarkably hard. But yeah! The internet is pretty great. It gives us acess to all the information our hearts desire, it puts art and music right on the tip of our fingers, it can help you learn new skills you wouldn't even know existed without the internet, it can help you conect with likeminded people from all over the world! It is great! But it is also become increasingly dangerous in the past years. At this point in my life I am honestly starting to wonder if it isn't doing more damage than good. It doesn't help that we do not have a historic reference to turn to. This problems are absolutely new and unprecedented in human history, unique to our generation. At least for me, it makes navigating the modern world a little bit more uncertain (and slightly terrifying).
Internet is only good if used correctly
Jesus loves you!❤✝️Repent
5:05 Reminded me of a person who recently told me about his AI product, which would 'replace books' by letting you spend time with an AI version of the author. I told him that's NOT the reason we read books.
That's really cool though 😂
@@cindyo6298 Tech bros don't understand authors. How will they instruct an AI to mimic one?
ugh for real... some books I finish and I just have to sit there and hug the book for awhile.... wtf am i going to do with an AI version of an author?
@@GorgieClarissa I know the feeling - it got me into writing novels. As for AI, we can already find interviews with authors, so I don't need a simulation of myself chatting with them.
This makes me feel so gross
I’ve wanted to focus on recording and releasing music for years. I found it hard to complete projects. I recently started reading more, and spending limited time on the internet. As a result I have been finishing songs and recording them, I’ve recently released two singles and have two more set to be released in the next few weeks. I couldn’t be happier. Once I decided to focus on what I what’s important to me I started making progress, regardless of whether I am great at it or my music is commercially viable. Cool video, thanks for sharing it.
It's great to see. I wish you the best of luck, friend
I doubt it's some one-to-one case of you reading more leading to getting more done versus just you deciding to do several things to fix the problem at once.
@@john_smith_john Sure thing, that makes sense to me John. I believe what I said was that I started reading more, and spending less time on the internet, as a result I have been finishing more songs.
The books I have been reading are mostly about songwriting and music production. The time spent on the internet that I cut out was mostly entertainment. As a result of spending more time reading books related to my goal of making more music, and spending less time consuming entertainment on the internet, I have found that I am able to focus more of my time and energy towards music. So I agree that there are likely multiple reasons why I may be able to finish more music recently, one of which is reading more books.
That's great. I wish you the best.
Brilliant… I resonate with your post, thank you @timberserpent ! 🙌
Thank you for this critical message - I'm a college professor and I see the lack of focus in my students on a daily basis. It's only getting worse - we really need to get this message out.
Respect to your work. As a lifelong devils advocate perspective holder, I’d have to argue that the students may have a lot of focus, just maybe not on what you’re trying to accomplish. For example, I work with this one 21 year old kid that’s extremely aware and open of his “addiction for adrenaline/dopamine” , it’s so crazy sometimes I think cmon man can you focus for 15 minutes? But then I realize he technically is focused, just focused on scratching a different itch
The algorithm knew i needed this baaaaaad. 😭 get me off my phone, please, someone, help.
How can I help?
@gerdine9258 i need a career that doesn't require i have my smartphone welded to my hand, for one. 😕
What could be a first step to get another career?
I'll pray for you
Also read some books about a topic you're interested in
Jesus loves you!❤✝️Repent
😂
You have no way to tell TH-cam when your content will come up in my feed but I am grateful this one showed up when it did. Thank you for taking the time to create your content. ❤
Thanks for making this. I read The Shallows a couple of years ago and did a great job of refocusing my life and deprioritizing mindless consumption, but I've found myself mired in the shallows again. God damn the internet.
7:53 "this medium teaches you that information is easy and disposable. if you're even a little bit bored you can move on, in fact you should move on. that's implicitly what these platforms are telling you." fantastic video overall, thank you. the internet is the new high fructose \ sugar
Beautifully put
I'm 54 and there are times when I think back to the 70's and 80's and all I had were bikes, comics, friends, model building and other non tech activities to amuse myself. TV was only when the family were watching so that was limited. If someone said to me would I swap those old school activities for the tech of today and social media I would choose the old way. I feel sorry for kids today - sensory overload. My level of focus these day is terrible these days and I admit it. Thanks for the video, so pertinent.
Pretty similar to my situation.
I find it very strange that I can hardly remember what the world was like before ubiquitous internet. I don't even have a cell phone. I don't even like people to bring them into my home. I still can't remember the world before instant access to any kind of entertainment and/or information you could want. We used to DO things.
Honestly, I really do still do things. Just not as much as I used to. Certainly not as much as I should. Part of the problem is the incredibly easy access to information. There is no subject that I'm not interested in from machining to meta-physics and everything in between. It's hard to restrict myself. There is just so much to LEARN!
But if you spend all your time 'learning' new things you're not _doing_ those things and you probably haven't really _learned_ anything.
I expect that I'm preaching to the choir here.
The really weird part is that I can hardly remember the world before this. I certainly spent a LOT of my time reading, though.
I'm the same age.
I hate what the world has become.
I hate having
To help me increase my attention when watching TV and movies, I began watching foreign ones in the native language with subtitles so that I HAVE to pay attention to know what’s going on. That helped me enjoy doing those things again while also being mindful and learning about other cultures and also picking up bits of other languages
I've done this as well! Choosing foreign shows with subtitles forces me to put down my phone and just watch one screen.
lets be real. This is just your way of justifying your addiction. Until you can enjoy looking at a wall and find peace within your emotions you still got work to do. Focus essentially dials down to primarily dopamine. Movies are going to lower your dopamine over time. Focus will diminish nevertheless
tbh a lot of anime fans watch shows and movies with subtitles all the time. I don't think their focus is any better for it. They'll tell you that themselves.
@@entrophyalligned I mean personally for me, I don't think it is an addiction if I only watch 3 hours a week of TV or movies and can comfortably sit and live in silence as well for a lot of my waking hours. Others may use it to justify it but that's where intention comes in to why you are doing something
@@sashahowells2633 if you truly only watch one maybe two a week youre totally fine
This is so spot on with exactly what I've been thinking lately. It is frankly, spooky that the things you outlined here match up so well with my newly forming opinions. I ditched Facebook about 3 years ago, and I refuse to use other social media. That is, except for reddit. I find my mind wandering at work within a few minutes of starting to code. There's almost a pressure that builds to check my phone on the off chance someone upvoted a comment or responded. In just the last few days, I've taken to tossing my phone into another room, on DND. Just this weekend I reconnected with Heidegger's concept of profound boredom. I have actively avoided boredom and those little dopamine hits did the dastardly deed and destroyed my ability to focus for hours on end as I work through a difficult coding task. This video was spooky. I'm now subscribed. Thank you.
When my phone kicked the bucket, I got back into reading physical books that I had been meaning to read. It was so much more enjoyable than mindless scrolling. Addictions aren't necessarily enjoyable, but they rob us of enjoyment.
I had the same experience a couple of years ago, but I eventually had to relent and buy a new phone. There are just too many things in day-to-day life (banking, email, public transit) that rely on multi-factor authentication or some mobile app. How do we learn to live with these devices without letting them take over our lives? I'm slowly making progress.... slowly.
I have OCD. Since therapy, it’s obvious that tech is compulsive-temporary satisfaction, long term harm.
The best description of the internet I have heard yet: "Can I interest you in everything, all of the time? A little bit of everything, all of the time? Apathy's a tragedy and boredom is a crime! Anything and everything, all of the time" - Bo Burnam
After a long search, I believe I have found an honest TH-camr.
Good advice. It’s encouraging to know that brains are adaptable to different situations and that we can return to being focused again. I have ADHD and am so easily distracted. So, I got myself a little timer to measure a time for doing a particular activity. It’s starting to work. Thanks.
My favorite reason to give people to read is that you get to see how people organize information. Reading is both a cognitive and metacognitive exercise. Learning how to connect ideas is more important than having ideas to connect. When you become proficient at connecting ideas, you have the power to innovate.
When I got into reading back in 2015 (at the age of 26) I started with a chapter a day, in books I had wanted to read for years. It takes dedicated effort, but it's so worth it. ♥
I’m glad you did that! Welcome back, fellow reader ❤
Hows reading journey goinng?
@@CrazyHuMein Great! I'm much better at reading now than I used to be. Have read many awesome books. Love reading now :)
I started with a page a day/week, then 2 a day/week etc
🎉🎉🎉 yeeeeeei, i am happy for you
Don't apologize for sounding old. You're right on point.
unfortunately most will not fully watch this or understand the video. Thank you for shedding light on this, i was trying to write in my journal my thoughts and realized how difficult it was to write just a single paragraph, too much youtube just takes my time away. This video helped me realize why my brain feels like its turning to mush.
Thanks Jared, I am purposely following now the people like you and start my day with "read more, be creative, go to museum" mantra. As much as I love those activities without anybody's encouragement, my phone became a comforting salesman, who keeps reassuring me that life can wait. Thank you for being a voice of reason and help.
Yep. 100% agree.
When I was a kid my parents deliberately didn't have a TV in the house. I still consider that one of the greatest gifts they gave me. I was an introvert, so what did I do? Read. I read. I read a lot. And I did jigsaw puzzles. My Mum describes me being a very young child spending hours working on a puzzle.
Then I grew up. Now I have to have two things going. I can't even knit four rows anymore without listening to a book at the same time - and even then I get bored and hop onto colouring for a bit before doing more knitting.
I miss the quiet mind of my youth.
Edit: Hey! That's a great book you've got there.
Your experience reminds me what I did for my daughter. We did not have a TV in the house at all. And she did not get a phone until 17. She read and draw spending hours on her own. She is now an accomplished manga artist and studying for software engineering at a very good university. I am very pleased that you had a similar experience. I also used to daydream when I was young and living in a small village. There was nothing else to do except staring at the floating clouds in the sky and dream about what might be happening beyond those clouds!
It's your choice to watch crap like TH-cam videos, unless you believe people like yourself have no free will.
@@dr.gaosclassroom If your family lives in India, China, or South Korea, then your daughter may actually get a job. Otherwise, if you people live in America, with all its STEM education, then your daughter will be a very highly educated bistro professional after she accomplishes her degree goals.
@@DaveOmego Thank you for your comment on my comment. Videos like this one are not that bad as a guide to fine the right kind of information, especially those of book reviews. I find quite a few books after watching some book reviews.
@@DaveOmego weird comment on someones well educated daughter
Wonderful video. I would only disagree with one minor point-The New York Times does in fact NOT want you to stay on their platform, because as anyone who has tried to read a NYT article will know, within seconds of trying to read an article they will ask for your money, your email, your social media login….
This is so true. The amount of times I've just left websites because they bombarded me with ads and permanent pop ups to accept their cookies inorder to continue reading.
Thank goodness for ad blockers!
I’m very aware of the addiction and work on it daily. Thank goodness I still read, play music, and socialize but I still watch my minutes on my phone. Thank you for reminding us!
THE most important book I’ve ever read is Amusing Ourselves to Death!! I nearly jumped when I saw the title of this video. So happy. It’s such an under-appreciated book. My cat is named Postman!
His theory is absolutely essential to understanding why our discourse has reduced to sludge and also why we need to get off social media.
“The Medium is the Metaphor” is mantra in the attention economy.
A simple strategy for less screen time that’s worked for me is having a beat-up paperback on me at all times. I’m working to replace the urge to scroll with opening a book.
I’ve been wanting to read Amusing Ourselves to Death for years lol… grateful for this view.
There's a beautiful and sad irony in realizing that all the little interjectory clips in this video are there to keep our attention on the video and the commentary rather than for the sake of the actual content. Because most of us would never sit through a 12 minute commentary on attention spans voluntarily.
Your message is very important, and I'm so glad you're spreading the word and showing us authors on the subject. I've been slowly trying to claw back my focus and have found reading and journaling to be extremely helpful, but also way way harder to do than they were in my childhood...
I couldn't deal with all the interjectory visual clips so I am just listening to this video. I'm more than happy to have a video just with him talking 😅 (I am however also scrolling comments whilst listening which... kinda feels... ironic too? 😂)
Reading that book as an undergrad introduced me to Marshall McCluhan. Changed my life. When you understand that the medium of our discourse consumption shapes the architecture of our minds is the greatest sociological insight of the last 100 years.
If someone asked me if there is a video everyone in the world should see, I would tell them this one. "You give your attention to books, the Internet steals your attention" This is the best video I have seen on the internet !!
That line is absolute gold. It's one thing to willingly give. It's another thing to allow someone/something to steal.
Uh-oh. I clicked on this from a side bar. I was tempted to click on the little kitten reel that was showing to the right instead of watching the whole thing. 12:44? A long time....but I am going to challenge myself and watch the whole thing!
I agree with everything you said. For years and years now I have noticed how people cannot follow along with the written word. Everyone wants "the bottom line," and they lose thread of the conversation or the argument very easily. They show no patience whatsoever.
I made it to your whole video uninterrupted! This has made a lot of sense. I have a wonderful attachment to bookshops old and new and buy lots of books I know I'll never read. I'm A self confessed health anxiety sufferer and I continue to search and look up just about every symptom I have through the internet. That causes me more anxiety for sure. I decided to wean myself off and actually read my books!! I can't even meditate and I feel like a scatter brain all the time. I loved your soothing voice and I will follow this advice. My mind is mine to give not anyone's to take ❤
I really enjoy this channel. I gave up TV about 8 years ago and spend at least 1 hr per day reading. Started reading Finance, Philosophy and history. You are absolutely right. We're all being dumbed down with over-stimulation.
It’s so true first time i opened TikTok I had a massive headache. Second time. All gone
More truth here than in the next billion videos online. Thank you. You are a true credit to humanity. Few of us really think about problems for long periods of time anymore. We are denying ourselves normal thought processes that people have used since the beginning.
One of the most beautiful and insightful videos on the topic of FOCUS and our declining ability for it.
One thing I do every day, leave the phone on the desk and go for a one hour walk round my town before I get ready for work. No phone and hardly anyone about, I just let my brain wander while I walk in a giant circle round town. I find it's so refreshing, gives me time to mull things to do, work projects or just see what has changed from day to day, who got a new car, who cut the trees back, have the local council fixed that bit of road yet!
While watching this video I got a notification on my phone... And it was harder than I thought to take a step back and actively ignore it and continue watching the video.
Something has gotta change, and I think this video has provided the impetus to kickstart the process. Thanks for making it!
My overuse of internet media is a problem I’ve known about for years, but have kept quiet in my mind. It’s been particularly simple to do so for the reasons you mentioned. I used to love books and I sincerely want to fall back in love with them.
This is definitely the most interesting out of all the 79 videos I have open.
I read more books faster and better during my graduate degree courses than I could ever have imagined before. I became habituated to sustained , complicated cognation. Grad school is often prohibitively expensive and time-pressured, but a person can learn as much or more with a reading list, library card, and the will to use them. Thanks for this video.
Absolutely agree, all these people trying to claim that reading is too slow and inefficient. It is absolutely pure cope for subpar attention spans and reading skills.
I read the (terrible) transcripts on youtube because I can read them much faster than listening. So is that good (reading) or bad (shorter length of time)?
Or they have to work and take care of their kids all day and just can't afford having hobbies that take too much time such as reading all the time...
@@Ane-nz6wd how is reading an expensive hobby..?
@@tamarlindsay8382 this is the same reason I can't stand listening to audiobooks, I can read much faster than people speak. To me this proves that reading isn't "inefficient" like people claim.
@@Ane-nz6wd reading doesn't have to take all your time. This is the cope that the video is referring to, we all have busy lives and the same hours in the day to get it all done. People either make reading a habit and priority, or they don't.
This is one of the most important videos of the times we’re in! We’re so used to being stimulated that we don’t even think any more. Thank you for putting this together in such a well planned and digestible way.
Phenomenally insightful and eloquent. People need this particular breed of guidance. Thank you.
At 7:00 he literally describes how I got to this video.
Lmaoo
I zoned out exactly at 1:30 I realised that 2 minutes later. I'm cooked
it's actually a good sign. It shows your brain is working as it should and can only get better.
Have you ever sat through a movie or a TH-cam video and wondered why you wasted your time? Your brain does not like that and it'll rather seek out more infomation that is worthwhile than potentially "waste" time focusing on something that is crap.
There is so much to learn and while some things require time to learn, others can be done in a faster and more efficient way. Your brain is trying to be the most effective for your survival. Do not despise it.
Hey, me too...I read your comment at exactly 1:30😅
Very convincing reasoning and thesis in this video. I'm a Millenial bridging the pre-internet era with the smartphone-a-day times. I remember the times before desktop PC allowed you to have internet, then you had flimsy dial-up connections that downloaded 1 image for 15 minutes. I used to read a lot. Now I can't really take a book in hand and start reading. I have a pile of books that I started, put away and haven't gone back to in a year or more. And I am interested in reading them, I bought them myself. It's not like they are mandatory for me to read to classes or anything, and it's a chore. Just the internet is calling more than even the most interesting book that I wanted to read. And I probably already typed a comment longer, than anyone with todays attention span will read.
Millennial here too. I read it all & feel exactly the same
@@nah6730 thank you :)
wow
i used to read all
the time
as a child i read an entire illustrated encyclopedia, it was my favorite "book"
and you made me realize that I have not read a book since
2021
i went from always reading
to never reading
and i feel
like
a crackhead
But you read comments from online forums, video comment sections, and social media posts; and some of these have newer information compared to the encyclopedia on your shelf. You. are. still. reading! and consuming more per time at that
There’s been so many times during this video that I tapped on my phone screen to exit and head to the comments section. But I caught myself every time and managed to sit through all 12 minutes and 44 seconds of this video. Thank you for this. I’m planning on actually reading some books I checked out now
I only made it 12 minutes and 43 seconds 😛
I don't know what you mean....😂
Thank you for the video, Jared. You are a strong force here on TH-cam for the return of a sense of culture to the world. Reading has done wonders for my understanding of the world, argumentation abilities, and ability to connect with others through the disparate information I read. Oftentimes I get caught up in the more short-form mediums of entertainment, but you are always a great encouragement to return to what makes me a sharp, concentrated, and calm human being.
5:28 Yes! And not only are you focusing, you are visualizing. You are training many parts of your brain to see and feel and hear concepts and experiences without that audio/visual stimulation.
Jaron Lanier agrees completely and adds nine other reasons to delete your SMS apps right now in his 2018 book. As an educator and writer, it is obvious how smartphones have devastated education. Thank you for this Jared, and more could be said about what this impatience does to civil society, discourse, and intercourse.
This video just made me rethink my current relation with my phone and how it's impacting my life in general, especially that I'm currently a university student. It made me realize how attached I am to it, and how much I'm missing out on life.
1 content like this is like a reward for 3 hours scrolling on youtube. Somehow it feels like perseverance on gambling. Thank you for the reward
This is really good. I love this. My sole point on the matter is social media is quite intrusive on thinking. The algorithm is a key factor in thinking. In books, you gain a wide range of topics. You explore what the author has to say. On the internet, they like to keep the same engaged thought through multiple videos and will feed you the same take. As you said, by design, they are designed for the next click.
Same with music. Buying a cd or vinyl album, it came with the opinions of the artist and publisher about what should go with what. Some songs would not grab you right away but grow over time.
I agree.
It’s the promise that’s never delivered.
The bug is the feature.
Disappointment drives the next click.
Thank you for promoting these ideas!
I’m gonna say it-you are looking good dude!
Whatever you’re doing, it works!
This was a very well thought out video, and I did make it to the end. As a 39 year old, I remember when I wasn't always giving my attention away to short form content. Though, I was partially raised by TV and eventually AOL, so I am not immune to attention theft. I have found that having an e-reader has helped me consume more books, including "Amusing Ourselves to Death," which was an enjoyable read. It's scary to think about the future of humanity's attention when you look at the relatively short history of media.
Neil Postman is a criminally underrated thinker - way ahead of his time. I would also recommend his book Technopoly for an incredible critique of our technology obsessed culture.
Is this a bot?
Sir, you got my atention from the thumbnail, while im watching in my insomnia, but still, your words are getting me, and now you have my full attention. Specially with kids overestimulated, we need to leave room for boredom, for outdoors experiences. Thank you! Will try to make a change.
As a UX-designer I got into philosophy because I realised that UX-design is shaping our minds and decision making. There is so much things to keep people addicted and engaged so where is the free will of people. I made a conscious choice to only make designs that use none of those tricks but give people the ability to choose if they want to stay engaged or not..
I really like this approach. Is there a publicly-available site or app you’ve worked on that you can share a link to?
@@Lii44 Sadly no, all my projects are under NDA because of sensitive data :(
NDAs keep people from just talking and sharing information and ideas on basic things in daily life. . . A restriction of free speech and subsequently free thought
I tend to use social media and TH-cam as a form of self medication for ADHD. I’m on actual meds now and my life has improved, but I’m still online way more than I’d like to be. I still can’t sit and try and do my other hobbies like I used to unless they give LOTS of stimulation (like video games). I really wish I just hadn’t come into adulthood in the time of constant online access and an overwhelming amount of stimuli everywhere you look.
It changed my outlook to see the internet, thank you ❤
Thanks!
Gym, walks and dates without a phone is what most people are missing in their life.
Get used to life’s uncomfortable moments and you’re already ahead of almost everyone around you.
We’re constantly comparing, searching and confusing ourselves with information. It’s time to change this through pure free will. If not, a chained and heavy life is to follow.
3 things that worked for me:
1. I blocked out all distractions.
2. I read books on Nixorus.
3. I stayed consistent no matter what.
ty for share i will check!
what's nixorus?
@@dewodewu3544 an advertisement scam, it's a bot comment.
@@dewodewu3544 looks very scammy
I like to read books on updog
A strategy that worked for me: I always keep a book at my side. If I find myself getting bored or unfocused on whatever I should be doing, I read a chapter (or a few pages if applicable), then jump back into what I was originally doing.
yes. the way i do it is that i put a 10 min timer to force myself to read, either physical or digital books...it works wonders when the bar is set so low that you motivate yourself to read more.
Reading requires a relatively quiet environment, but sometimes it is really difficult to do.
This is why I rarely look at my phone and have all but text message notifications turned off. I do watch too much youtube, but I can actually feel my attention and my ability to focus waning after a while, and that's when I get up to do something around the house or work on my writing. And you're absolutely right: reading changes how you think. I definitely don't read as much as I should, but that point you made reminded me to get back to reading more.
This video came at the right time. I recently downgraded my phone to the barebones. No apps on it other than the essentials like Uber, maps, text and calls. I carry a notebook to write my thoughts out.
It feels freeing to be detached from tech. I need to see if I can go a month without it and at limited times.
I am going to do that right now.
It is my belief that major changes began after we stopped "watching the radio". A shared, focused effort.
A bit of collective effort. Since the addition of motion pictures, all the thinking and imagining is done for us. Completing a form of enablement.
this is a really good point. our imaginations work much harder in reading too in order to paint the scene being described to us. I tend to be hyper critical and analytical by nature, so when I watch movies or shows I do tend to try to be more of an active watcher, constantly trying to figure out why this scene was shot this way, what the filmmaker is trying to say... I'm not sure if many folks do that unfortunately :(
Absolutely the medium always has inherent biases and radio kept our attention AND imagination wrapt. I don’t think it’s a 1:1 change to say, TV to internet given algorithms and social media. I think in a more ideal world, movies should be okay. Maybe not TV news though. I LOVE that you brought up the collective effort part. Part of experiencing the medium of social media is fragmenting us into separate viewing bubbles.
Another excellent book on this topic is "Endangered Minds: Why Our Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It," by Dr. Jane Healy (a pediatric neuropsychologist). This book made me change the way I parented my kids (now in their 20's and 30's). One of the big things about reading is that the brain has to "create" the pictures of the content. It engages so much more of the brain than having the pictures provided (ie. TV, video games, social media). It is the same with handwriting vs. keyboarding. Having to form letters kinetically engages memory and thought more than tapping a button.
I work with my phone, and must be available for most part of the day. The fact that I have been interrupted by messages three times while watching this video it's something that makes me think a lot.
Thank you for your content!
At 7:24 when you said "... the idea here is to always give something to click on next..." I immediately thought "yes and TikTok took it even further - you don't even need to click/touch anything, it will automatically switch to the next video for you once the current one ends"
I mean TH-cam has had auto play for a while.
TikTok doesn’t do that. It loops. BUT you don’t have to waste time choosing the next video, it chooses a new one every time you scroll, and there’s no end.
Learn an instrument! I have been playing music for a long time, but I just started playing bass and it has opened up a whole new world. My fingertips hurt right now, it's a wonderful pain. They hurt because they've been making the coolest sounds I've ever made in my life. It's so much fun, part of it is finding the right instrument though. I recommend everyone at least try it once even if you don't think you're a music person
Can relate, learning keyboard even though I have small hands, but it's worth the pain for sure (just make sure you take care of your hands, stretch them, pay attention to correct posture, etc)
Even if you just pick up to practice you'll feel a lot more focused, it seems like the world disappears. Trying to learn violin here, and it's almost magical how I completely forget about the internet when I pick it up, practicing for an entire hour. Or should I say, making horrendous noises for an hour haha
@@suspensionrailway7094 Keep going! Also, as one violinist to another, it really is worth the time to focus on a beautiful tone, even just on an open string. It will make that "horrendous noise" problem so much less!
I stumbled upon the book by Neil Postman in my university library early this year, searching for some literature to get into sociology. It was a stroke of luck I found it as it increased my awareness to problems Postman discovered some forty years ago. It is an interesting topic, and transfering his toughts into our time is incredibly interesting. Thank you for exploring this.
Check out The Plug In Drug by Marie Winn.
What a delight to find your channel, and this video in particular. I first read Postman’s book about fifteen years ago, and have cracked it open more than once since. It is the only book that I repeatedly gift to others as I believe its message is vitally relevant for our present day. I meet with a lot of young adults in my profession, and am glad to learn that many are leaving social media in droves. They are purposefully disconnecting from the matrix. It’s beautiful and gives me hope for our collective future.
11:03 *shuts off phone and walks away🚶🏻♂️* okay will do
3 things that worked for me:
1. I blocked out all distractions.
2. I read book called Hidden Laws Of The Game
3. I stayed consistent no matter what.
Actual bot.
Who's the *author* of the book 'Hidden Laws of the Game'?
it is such a great book for learning how to attract money. It's easy to understand and follow. If you’re looking to improve your mindset and start seeing results, this is definitely worth a read!
@@urielOrnstein You are an ungrateful bot !
@@liloleist5133 Eric Cook is the author
Brilliant! I hope people will listen and start to be aware of what they are doing to their brains! It’s frightening to think about the possible effects in 20 years. The nursing homes will be overrun with dementia patients. Thank you!!