Guidepost Four: The Power of Focus and Attention (Aka Episode 47)
A Whackadoodle discussion with my student in which we tackle Internet addiction, and the games designed to addict us, followed by her second attempt to embarrass me.
“I think that we should spend this week’s guidepost discussing distractions and addictions,” I offered as soon as she sat down.
“But guidepost Four is about Focus and Attention,” she protested.
“And what is the opposite of focus?”
She shrugged, and threw out an answered, “Lack of focus?”
“Which I believe is another phrase for easily distracted,” I concluded. “Being able to notice and eliminate distractions is another important part of maintaining focus.”
“I prefer talking about how important focus is,” she complained. “How our focus determines our mood, our choices, our intelligence, our ability to get things done. It sends a much more positive message than talking about addictions and distractions.”
“Maybe,” I conceded, “but in order to maintain our focus, we need to be able to notice and control our distractions, so they don’t pull away our attention. Especially in a world designed to get us addicted.”
“What do you mean?”
“I enjoy Internet games, but if I am not careful, I can become addicted to them. Especially when the game designers put in addicted incentives like contests, or challenges. You start comparing your ranking in the race with others, and you are winning, and you have to keep winning. You are going to come in first, but you have got to keep going. Nothing can stop you from being number one. Suddenly, you’ve spent an entire weekend doing nothing that improved the quality of your life. Suddenly your online life seems as important as the world outside.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Has my mother been talking to you?”
“Possibly,” I sent her a half grin. “She might have mentioned that you came home this weekend to do your laundry and spent the entire time with your nose in your iPad, playing something she called Elvenar.”
“It wasn’t Elvenar; it was Klondike,” she grumbled.
“And you got quite upset when you couldn’t find your iPad charger,” I reminded her. “I believe you went around the house yelling, ‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’ All the while trying to find a compatible recharger. Evidentially, you left a lot of incompatible cords strewn about the house.”
“I was just trying to get my mind off stuff and relax,” she retorted.
“Sounds very relaxing, running around your parent’s house yelling swear words.”
“What do you know about it?”
“I’ve been there. I know how it works. The game hooks you in the first few hours. They give you all kind of cool things that must be maintained, or the game stops. It’s a never ending game designed to keep you playing endlessly because there is no end. You must keep planting crops, collecting resources, feeing your animals. If you stop playing, you will loose everything you’ve gained. But what have you really gained? A digital world that has increasingly become as important as the real world. And what have you lost? A weekend to hang out and bond with your mother. Perhaps play a board game with her, pull out some real cards to play rummy, get one of your old puzzles out of the closet. That would have also gotten your mind off stuff and helped you relax. And once a board game is done, it’s done. Someone has won. It has an end.”
“Is that what makes it addictive? That the game never ends?”
“Endless feeds, endless games, endless challenges, each more challenging than the next. Endless pop ups offering one thousand energy point for ninety-nine cents. If you agree to watch this ad, you will receive a bonus reward. The only way to lose the game is by not maintaining your profile, and there is never any way to actually win the game because the game is designed to never end.”
“So how did you break the addiction?”
“I got disgusted with myself and deleted the app. I regretted it a few minutes later because I was in first place, hundreds of points ahead. I knew that I could have won that last race if I had just spent the next two days ignoring the world and simply playing until the end of the contest, at which point there would have been a new contest in which I was made to feel a winner, and so the cycle would have continued. I swear that for weeks after I deleted it, I dreamt about that stupid game. Every time I ran out of energy, it would offer me another thousand energy points for ninety-nine cents. That’s not a game. That’s a million dollar business, and it just shows how addictive these games can be.”
“You delete the app,” she repeated as though it were the end if the world.
“It’s like any addiction or distraction,” I nodded. “Admit it’s a problem, and resolve to remove it. Then find something more positive to focus your attention on. Relacing the negative action with a more positive action is extremely important because the addiction is not going to let you do nothing.”
“Is that why you hate Facebook?” she asked suddenly. “Because it’s addictive?”
“First, I do not hate Facebook, and that is why I have not deleted the app. I have however changed my relationship with Facebook.”
“How do you change a relationship with a computer program?”
“By changing how I think about it. These days I think about the Internet and Facebook as tools, not friends. They may help me make a few friends. They may help me to stay in touch with my dearest friends. They may help me promote my ideas and research facts, but the Internet and Facebook are not my friends. They are tools. And as with any tools, they can be used for good, or ill. A buzz saw can as easily help me repair my home as it is likely to cut off my fingers. All tools must be used with caution. The Internet contains as many lies at it contains truths. One must always tread carefully.”
“Fine, I will delete the app,” she said at last, but I didn’t believe her. “Can we just get back to focus? I was thinking we could post the fourth video you produced on Guidepost Four. I watched it last night, and I already know that you have three quotes you want to correct.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because I looked them up like you taught me.” She reached into her backpack to bring out her notes. “The third quote you attributed to William James, who you said wrote, ‘The greatest revolution in my generation was the discovery that human beings by changing their inner attitudes of mind can alter the outer aspects of their lives.’ But he died before the quote became popular and there is no evidence in his writing that he actually wrote it. Although there is evidence that on May 1895, he delivered a speech on the theme Is Life Worth Living?, which he later published in the ‘International Journal of Ethics. ‘These, then, are my last words to you: Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.’” She looked up from her notes to continue. “So guess he kind of believed the same thing.”
“Nice,” I smiled, “And what are my other two misquotes?”
“Both are misattributed to Emerson. In one you wrote that Emerson said, ‘The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up,’ But several website attribute that quote to John C. Maxwell in his book Developing the Leader Within You. And then there is your first quote, where you say that Emerson said, ‘You are what you think about most of the time.’ But there is no evidence in Emerson’s writing that he wrote it. It is in fact attributed by Bing to some radio dude and writer named Earl Nightingale.”
“And why do you think I made those mistakes?” I felt myself asking.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “You tell me.”
“Because I believed what I had read in a best selling book recommended by a teacher without bothering to check the author’s sources. One must always check ones sources. Some things that we are taught to believe are not exactly true.”
“So do you want to retract guidepost four?”
“Heck no,” I replied immediately. “I may have misattributed the quotes, but that doesn’t negate their truths. The Power of Focus is very real. It affects our moods, our choices, our ability to communicate, strategize and persuade.
“So I can post the old video, even thought it has misquotes and old contact information?”
“You gonna update the contact information?”
“Anyone who wants to contact you directly, just needs to leave a comment.”
“Okay, but…” I looked her in the eye, “Will you actually delete that game you’re addicted to?”
She stared back at me for a while, her brain ticking away, then took her iPhone out and let me watch as she went to her settings, opened her apps file, found the game, and hit uninstall. She looked back into my eyes. “We good?”
“We’re good,” I nodded. “What are you gonna relace it with?”
“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I might give Wordle a try. At least that game has an ending.”
I laughed. “Might be okay, so long as you don’t start playing endless games in a row. I recommend the New York Times Wordle. They only post one puzzle a day. Stay away from the cites that offer any unlimited game or endless feeds; they are the ones designed to addict.”
“Whatever,” she shrugged.
I could tell she was already regretting her decision, so I added, “And whether you win your Wordle or not, always do something kind for yourself. Something that rewards your more positive choice. That’s an important part of the process too.”
She was no longer listening. She was busy posting my 2013 YouTube video about the Power of Focus.