Tolerance Clocks
The world wide web and life in general is about instant gratification. Ever look at the length of an article or even a friend's post, skim through it and move on...or not even read it because it was too long?
I believe an individual's computer behavior (especially web 2.0 tools) has a tolerance clock. Yes, we've all been down the internet hole that starts somewhere on Facebook with a click-bait article and then we keep clicking to move on to new websites to look at related (sometimes not related :) ) content and then a few hours later wonder where the time has gone. But in truthfulness, how many of us, unless mandated by necessity make it through a whole piece of content? I've found myself not even being able to sit through a whole tiktok unless I'm really interested in the creators. The longest they can be is 60 seconds!! Where did my attention span go? It's like flipping through tv channels without a guide, watching for a few seconds and then moving on.
I think Web 2.0 has played a huge part in this tolerance time clock. It allows us to keep 'flipping' channels at such a fast rate through so much information, that we lose meaning in anything we are skimming or even fully reading. This can cause serious problems though. In a study involving measuring mobile technology habits and how it affects impulse control and reward sensitivity, researchers concluded:
Developing a better understanding of the impacts of smartphone and mobile technology usage on cognitive and affective outcomes is critical in understanding the potential problems of overusing this technology. Given the correlational nature of the present data, we should remain cautious before drawing any causal inferences. Still, the findings provide important insights regarding the individual difference factors that relate to technology engagement and are consistent with the common conception that frequent smartphone use goes hand in hand with impatience and impulsivity. (Wilmer and Chein 2016)
Even while reading this study, I got distracted and looked at the side bar and saw 3 more articles to read. At this point, I saved them to a folder because my tolerance time clock is low right now 😀
References:
Wilmer, H.H., Chein, J.M. Mobile technology habits: patterns of association among device usage, intertemporal preference, impulse control, and reward sensitivity. Psychon Bull Rev 23, 1607–1614 (2016). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-016-1011-z
I wonder if it's like a curve. First we see the shiny new thing and flit around with our attention. Later (if we stick around) we find ways to manage or even ignore the shiny things. Hmmm. Have to think about this more.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful description of me this week! Every time I sat down to get work done, I would notice or remember another thing to do and flit over to that thing and then not really be super into that thing and flit back over to another thing... Anyway, it has been exhausting because I'm spending so much time but not actually getting anything done. I was just commenting on Beth's blog the other day that I do so much better when I have a list written out in front of me of what I am planning to spend my time on. Even right now, I was going to write a blog for today and then right after I opened it I decided I wanted to look at what everyone else had going on, then I got a notification from twitter, and now I'm here commenting. Hah!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do when you find yourself flying through different things and not focusing? Do you take a break or just force yourself to stay in one zone? Change your location?
Hi Abby,
DeleteI find myself taking a break because like you mentioned, it becomes exhausting even though not much is getting accomplished. I'll get up, maybe some coffee or a cold iced tea, play with the dogs etc and try again.