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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มี.ค. 2020
- Don’t blame tech for your distracted brain. Take control.
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Technology and devices aren't inherently distracting, says behavioral design expert Nir Eyal. Distraction comes from internal triggers of discomfort.
So, the answer to avoiding distraction isn't a total digital detox, but instead developing healthy ways of identifying and coping with these internal triggers.
Eyal points to three main strategies: reimagining the trigger as a sensation of curiosity, reimagining the task itself, and avoiding self-limiting beliefs regarding your temperament.
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NIR EYAL:
A graduate and instructor in Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Nir Eyal has studied and taught behavioral design to industry-leading experts and scientists. He writes about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business at NirAndFar.com and his writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Time, Inc., and Psychology Today.
Check Nir Eyal's latest book Indistractible: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life at www.amazon.com/dp/194883653X?...
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TRANSCRIPT:
NIR EYAL: I took the advice of every other expert and book out there about managing distraction and focus and I got rid of all my technology. I did a digital detox. I got myself a flip phone and I bought myself a word processor off eBay from the 1990s. And I thought getting rid of all the technology would solve the problem. But, of course, it didn't. I'd sit down at my desk and I'd start working away on that word processor and realize oh, you know, there's that book I've been meaning to read or let me just tidy up my desk real quick. Or the trash should be taken out right now. And I kept getting distracted because I hadn't learned tactics and techniques to cope with my internal triggers in a healthier manner.
So what we can do to deal with these internal triggers is to learn strategies to cope with discomfort. And there are three main strategies for coping with these internal triggers and dealing with them in a more healthful manner.
The first is to reimagine the trigger itself. If we can change our perception of that uncomfortable emotional state and explore that sensation with curiosity rather than contempt that has been shown to be a much healthier way to move us toward traction as opposed to distraction.
The second technique is to reimagine the task itself. It turns out that people find ways to enjoy all sorts of tasks that other people find horribly boring and unfun. Well, it turns out that researchers tell us that we can actually learn to ""play anything."" That if we change how we imagine the task itself we can actually find that there can be fun in the task. Now this isn't in the Mary Poppins way of putting a spoonful of sugar. It turns out that that actually doesn't work. In fact, what we want to do instead is to focus more intently on the task while looking for the variability within it.
Finally, the last thing we can do is to reimagine our temperament. One of the most prevalent bits of folk psychology is this idea that willpower is depletable. That you run out of it like gas in a gas tank. And there actually was some research a few years ago that found that this did occur. But when other researchers wanted to replicate these studies they found that for the vast majority of people they did not experience what's called ego depletion, this idea that willpower runs out. Except for one group of people. According to Carol Dweck at Stanford University, ego depletion was found only in people who believed in the phenomenon. So if you are the kind of person who believed that your willpower runs out, that you're spent at the end of the day - and if you are anything like I used to be I'd sit down on the couch and I'd say ah, how can I possibly resist any more temptations and I'd watch Netflix and have a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream to reward myself because I had spent all my willpower.
Well it turns out that was a self-limiting belief that I had told myself about my temperament. So what we need to do is to reimagine our temperament, particularly this pernicious belief that technology is addicting all of us, that it's hijacking our brains. That is scientific rubbish. It is not true. And, in fact, when we tell people this myth that it's addicting everyone, it's hijacking our brains that there's nothing we can do about it, guess what? It becomes true. This is called learned helplessness. When...
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I really liked that guy, thanks for having him.
I'm wondering if you know anyone who has something interesting to say about freeing oneself of the lasting after effects of toxic people. I don't know if that has a name or if it fits with your channel but it's something I've wondered about.
With all the negative stuff that happens, I rather liked Steven Pinker showing that, even if media exposure can distort it, the world is getting better overall. More along those lines, not necessarily from Pinker, would be welcome by me and perhaps others.
this lacks ALL insight , because it isn't ADDRESSING the big question that MUST be addressed with HOW technology is hijacking your brain. and yes , YES it is. television did this. NIR is saying your belief in not watching television is what stops you from 'plopping down' on the couch and then he forgets to tell you that HOW you decide to use the internet is the vital missing ingredient from resisting CLICKBAIT, for example, facebook is designed specifically to stop you from using it in an efficient manner that works without wasting your time. if it wasnt' designed this way, it would NOT be an effective platform for advertsing. so i have to give this talk a HUGE THUMBS DOWN> as a 5 minute click bait piece of unrefined garbage that is misleading. I will say that i give nir the benefit of the doubt and say he was in too much of a hurry to make a 5 minute video that was clickbait, rather than assuming he works for facebook and is actually part of a giant deception. rather--he is more likely the victim of it, and this video perpetuates that victimhood.
what i would like to know is the name of the employee at the big think who allowed this past the filter.
DEAR big think< if you follow in TED's footsteps you will learn that quality over quantity is even more vital for the 2nd comers. TED can get away with trashy messaging like this. you won't be able to do. you'll lose your whole audience.
HOW ABOUT you tackle the problem of the internet and of HOW to use your attention and avoid clickbait.
Lol, he sounds like a shill for Facebook.
Okay, I'm not mad at youtube taking all of my time, instead I really appreciate that it helps making tasks like washing the dishes and going to the bathroom a lot more enjoyable.
This is great advice on an individual level, but should not be taken as gospel on a societal level.
It is obviously true that technology is incredibly addicting, but it can be overcome by discipline.
Nico Bruin yes, big bad tech still does need to be more regulated. They are doing their very best to take advantage of people, and attempt to distract them as much as possible. But it’s true, we can still attempt to chnage our reaction to this technology.
You really think kids and teens a long time ago were productive lmao
@@hwago123 Why is it big tech's fault ? and why do we have to regulate everything ? Facebook and TH-cam are not life essentials, and its not their fault that they know psychology and behavior. We don't ask to regulate Chick-Fil-A or KFC because their chicken tastes too good or because they use MSG.
If something is "incredibly addicting" then it follows that it would take an extreme amount of discipline to overcome it (because how addicting something is reflects how much discipline is required to overcome it). Since most people are not extremely disciplined it further follows that most people do not have the discipline to overcome it. So, a corollary of the statement "technology is incredibly addicting, but it can be overcome by discipline" is "most people wont be able to overcome technology."
If the idea of ego/willpower depletion were false, everyone could approach the gym or other uncomfortable activity every day like it was their first time. I know at the end of a day with a lot of stressors, I really do feel depleted. I think the concept is valid
I would tend to agree - willpower alone cannot be factored.
In the gym case, it's connected to physical exhaustion
In the work case, it's connected to mental exhaustion from doing a repetitive set of tasks that you brain needs a break from, I believe.
Valid for some, not others. Let's go!!
In the military they also don't believe in physical depletion, you only fail when your mind tells you that you can't continue. And they have proven in the military that some people can indeed keep going as long as they believe they can
will power is one thing, physical and mental capacity are another
Your will is based mostly on mood, so while you may be exhausted physically or mentally, it doesn’t mean your will is gone, it’s just that you choose to relax instead of push through it. I’m sure there have been times you’ve been exhausted but you were doing something you wanted to do and kept going farther than you thought you could. Didn’t mean you weren’t still tired. That’s will.
It’s separate from the physical and mental exhaustion, and you can train it with discipline.
Tech should work for people, not the other way around.
Learned helplessness... that's kinda new.
Thank you!!! I love this so much!!
I’m distracted now
Coping with internal triggers:
1. reimagine the trigger itself
2. reimagine the task itself
3. reimagine your temperament
Circumcision and genital cutting causes ego depletion
Absolute gold, this man's words.
He's the man his two books were awesome reads
I've followed Nir for a long time. It's unescapable how he turned from someone who was giving advice on how to get people hooked to an almost anti-tech and now into "oh, my advice in hooked doesn't work, it's you who is the problem".
Honestly, it feels like he is being paid off by the social media giant. People are wasting more and more time, getting more and more depressed. It's epidemic. It's not their own problem, it's the whole environment and part of that environment are Nir's former employers as well as the speak persons big tech hires.
Never seen the guy before. Nevertheless, what he offers is legit, the basic idea that we have the ultimate decision over our actions, bottom line. Sure, social media is designed to hook us, and it does (as you present examples) but only the most vulnerable, which happens to be a lot of people. When he says re-imagine this or that, it is a call for consciousness and taking ownership
@@gc8972b We are all vulnerable, believe me! Even the most experienced meditation teacher... Social media is basically a social comparison tool. The social media giants are judged by growth and user retention, they make all in their power to keep people hooked. And that power is gigantic - huge teams working on AI powered algorithms. You can not fight alone against thousands with the most high tech AI.
If you keep believing you're vulnerable, guess what, YOU ARE! The environment is indeed a strong force, but you're not helpless in the end if you know how the system works and if you know yourself. Honestly, the victim mindset it only makes things worse. Social media is like advertising, It dies if you don't pay attention to it.
@@n.a.3690 You're telling that to someone who isn't using social media. You don't go into a losing fight.
Believe me, if you start tracking your time on social media, you'll almost never have productive time. It's preset to distract you.
@@n.a.3690 please stop, the amount of conscious processing vs unconscious is incredibly miniscule and conditioning works way more and in way more subtle ways than you could ever figure out, even if you spent all your time trying to figure out all that influenced you in your environment you would still not get 100%. Even things as small as the colors affect you in profound ways that you never even think to make decisions on, and if you did, you would be powerless to its effects due to associative thinking and conditioning. You can look at every behavioral science study, every neurology study, every psychology study, you will never find this fabled decisionmaking power, you will never find free will, it is a construct of the ego. Even now that you're processing these words associated thoughts pop into your mind involuntarily and ultimately decide whether you reply, how you reply etc, this input determines your output. I can give you the craziest studies showing how even word choice decides people's political opinions. You can go out today and experiment with your body posture and language and see how deterministic it is with how people react to you.
I'm sure this was a great video but I was too busy scrolling through the comment section to know for sure.
I got a bit distracted by your comment and missed the first strategy.
It is intended by design. So you probably do what tech want.
in this case, perhaps the feeling of connection with other humans (comments) was a bigger priority than learning something. funny
This guy is like the people who tell those with depression "just don't be depressed", as if that's the one nugget of wisdom they've been waiting for to snap them out of it. It's circular rhetorical bullshit that does nothing to address the underlying issues, it just makes the person doling out that 'wisdom' feel smug.
Sometimes it’s good to get distracted. Get up, walk out, get some fresh air. Often times trying to focus for too long can make us stare at something until we go blind and only a mild brain reset can make you progress again.
I think I just watched the whole video and missed the 3 tactics he was going to talk about. Was I distracted ?
In other words,If were going to be distracted , we might as well do it while being monitored by our tech.
mmmmmnnnnnn- I feel like examples would've been helpful, like how and where to apply these techniques.
Also? sometimes, I find that things I keep stop myself from doing, I can't actually do yet, and require something else to be done first! So the best thing I can do is ask myself why I'm finding it difficult to continue and complete the task.
Technology is the biggest problem nowadays. I didn’t believe I would see it in my lifetime. I would be happy living with 3 wives in an island haha. No technology
Sorry, I didn't catch that, I was on my phone. o.o
Hmm... So the guy who got us hooked on addictive technology then writes a follow-up book about how "it's only in our head".
This same person Nir Eyal written a book in 2013 called hooked how to build habit forming products where he explained how tech companies like facebook , instagram design their apps to make them addictive , now he is saying completely opposite that technology is not addictive , thinking that it is addictive is scientific rubbish ....LOL😂😂😂😂....
✨R e i m a g i n e✨
take two worlds, one with tech and technocrats knowing exactly how to trigger your reward system for addiction, and one without, which one will have more people who "take control"? This naivety and stock in free will is unproductive, you know the answer to my question and the people in power need to be responsible for the addiction they inevitably create
just imagine if all the technological resources we have would be used to incentivize people to take control instead of consume? for example instead of having an AI build an identity around a consumer only to recommend fast food to obese people, imagine if they advertised methodological habit change?
we have the tech for a society 10 times better than the one we have now but there is only monetary incentive, l*beral
@@lil10dot agreed
That's right
👊 Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habit. My top entrepreneur @evenkingsfall (his insta) always says you have to THINK BIG to WIN BIG! Always keep that energy! Keep up the good content ❤️
I skipped 6 times through the video. Can't relate to the subject.
just another puppet with a scipt not even written by himself LOL
This guy is a snake oil salesman. Seriously he's trying to play you. He actively promoted companies to hack your psychology to destroy your attention span and get you looking at ads. And now he has the temerity to sell himself as a self help guru
Another Jew. Thanks anyways.
Another Racist. Thanks anyways.
Also the Irony of you using Spocks picture while simultaneously spreading your hated is absurd.
@@tron-8140 ✓ Triggered ✓ 😁
@@somastic69 I am sure that you feel accomplished in making someone else angry. What a scumbag. Your parents failed you.
@@tron-8140 really Triggered 😁 ✓
They same things were said about books when the printing press made them readily available to the masses. Nothing new to see here, move along.