Hocus Focus

We’re being bamboozled by technology.

All the seductive beeps, bells, whistles, vibrations, and digital promises, emanating from our electronic devices aren’t helping us any. Instead, they’re interrupting our ability to concentrate and to achieve, according to psychologist Larry D. Rosen.

In a new book called, iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us , Rosen claims that students in a recent experiment he conducted were only able to stay focused on the task they were given for an average of three minutes at a time, because of all the distractions coming from the laptops, iPads and iPhones around them.

Wait, I’m confused. Isn’t technology supposed to help you accomplish more? Apparently not. Most people feel completely helpless to resist the devices’ siren call – especially if they’re young. And if they aren’t responding to sensory cues, they’re constantly wondering whether they’ve gotten a new “like” or comment or text or email.

Rosen considers all of this lack of ability to focus to be a detriment, obviously. But I wonder…as I’ve previously written, what if we’re simply witnessing the initial phases of a new evolutionary phenomenon? This whole separation anxiety thing could just be some sort of growing pang as our consciousness starts to meld with our devices.

Technology and human beings are now inexorably intertwined. And it’s only going to exponentially intensify. Maybe we’ll eventually become some sort of hybrid organism. A real version of Siri. Although it’s a pretty scary notion, in a way, there’s also a certain magic to it.