Thesis: At first, as hunters and gatherers, our minds were scattered and easily distracted as a means of survival. Our minds were easily distracted at that time because it was a method of survival and allowed to us to easily pick up the slightest movements that hinted at prey or possible danger. However, as society developed and literacy expanded, our minds changed from being reactive stimuli orientated (easily distracted) to being more top-down focus oriented (deep attention). This has changed in recent years with the rise of the Internet and increased connectivity through mediums such as social networking and texting. This social media has returned us to a more distracted state of mind but because it is no longer a necessary survival method, this state of mind is not advantageous now that society has become more top-down focus oriented. We still need top-down focus to concentrate in school, the workplace, and life itself so becoming more reactive stimuli focused and more distracted is only hindering us.
Supporting Claims:
1) Anthony Wagner has supported the idea that social media has changed us by almost rewiring our brains. He argues that “each time we get a new message or notification,our dopamine reward circuits probably get activated, since the desire for social connection is so wired into us.” Therefore, the notification system that keeps us constantly connected has led to a rewiring of our brains so that now, we are easily distracted by notifications.
2) Nicholas Carr talks about social media and how it easily distracts us on pages 133-138 of his book The Shallows. He asserts that, depending on how many social mediums we use and how often we check them, each notification is a distraction. This is because they are “an intrusion on our thoughts” and “another bit of information that takes up precious space in our working memory”. Distractions like these interrupt the natural and deep thought process that was once advocated so highly and often makes us “tense and anxious”, a trait that might have once been useful for the ancient hunter who was constantly wary of danger, but one that only hurts the casual Internet user.
3) Cate Kennedy writes how during a writers conference on weekend, when there was no wireless internet, the assembled writers freaked out and began to become frantic. The writers could not survive without their Twitters, FaceBooks, or emails and seemed to be having withdrawal symptoms. Writing requires top-down focus to concentrate and develop an idea fully so this example shows how even writers nowadays have trouble functioning without social media and its distractions.