[Book Review] Attention Disappears, Only Stimulation Remains

Chris Hayes 'Siren's Call'
The Biggest Problem with Smartphones: Declining Attention Span
Modern People Unable to Endure Boredom, A Society Addicted to Stimulation
Limiting Smartphone Use: Possible Through a 'Shift in Common Sense'

Throughout human history, every time a new technology or medium has emerged, concerns about its negative effects have never ceased. Magazines and comics were no exception. In 1907, in the United States, there were worries that magazines disrupted traditional family interactions, with people saying, "Everyone sits quietly around the campfire, each with their head buried in their favorite magazine." Comics faced similar criticism. In the 1950s, the United States even held high-level hearings amid a moral panic over comics. These concerns echo the current debates over the harmful effects of smartphones.

The author, a news anchor for MSNBC in the United States and a bestselling writer, points out that the harms of smartphones are far more severe than those of previous media.

[Book Review] Attention Disappears, Only Stimulation Remains

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The most significant problem is "declining attention span." The author defines attention as "the act of choosing one among many possible objects or streams of thought, which can occur simultaneously, and holding it clearly and vividly in the mind (...) Attention means stepping back from something in order to respond more effectively to something else." The key feature of attention is the ability to block out interest in anything other than the chosen focus. The author warns that a decline in attention can lead to a serious breakdown in interaction with others and society. When television first appeared, families in the neighborhood would gather in the house that had a TV to watch together. In contrast, the advent of smartphones has severed even personal relationships.

Another problem caused by smartphones is that they have lowered the "threshold for boredom." In Ayngae, the language of the Cof?n people living in the northeastern Amazon jungle of Ecuador, there is no word for "boredom." Since language reflects awareness of emotions or situations, it appears that they did not find it difficult to do nothing. Their concept of "doing nothing" means sitting on the floor or a chair, or lying in a hammock and idly passing the time.

Modern people, on the other hand, find it hard to endure boredom. In fact, there is a tendency to prefer negative stimulation over tolerating boredom. In 2014, a psychology research team at the University of Virginia in the United States conducted an experiment where participants were left alone in a room for 15 minutes and then asked, "Would you like to experience an electric shock?" As a result, 12 out of 18 participants (67%) chose to shock themselves, and one participant administered shocks to themselves as many as 190 times.

The advent of smartphones has made it possible to access desired content anytime and anywhere, further weakening our ability to maintain attention. Traditional media such as TV, radio, and billboards could only be accessed at specific times and places, but smartphones have virtually no spatiotemporal constraints. As a result, "since the emergence of smartphones, those seeking to mine and sell our attention have constantly worked to increase the supply of products," and while the range of attention has broadened, its quality has declined.

Tech companies are identified as the main agents of this erosion of attention. Apple invested about $20 billion to launch the Vision Pro headset. By adding immersive technology to smartphones, the company aims to concentrate even more of users' attention on its services. The development of such technology even disrupts our biological rhythms. "Anyone who has ever lain in bed late at night, scrolling through their smartphone and unable to sleep, knows all too well how successfully attention miners have stolen our sleep."

Excessive competition for attention also leads to social problems, because false information can attract attention more easily than the truth. The author cites the example of the 1835 report by the American newspaper The Sun, which told stories of "bat-human hybrids, unicorns, and beaver-like animals living on the moon," as an early case of fake news capturing public attention.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump are also mentioned as negative examples of people seeking to capture attention. Musk acquired X (formerly Twitter) for $44 billion, incurring a loss of about $30 billion, just to attract the world's attention. He commented, "I will say what I want, and if that means losing money, so be it." He has often been at the center of controversy for posting racist or unethical content. The author describes Trump as "someone who, like running naked through the neighborhood, simultaneously provokes disgust and powerfully grabs attention."

There have always been movements resisting such trends. When Sony released the Walkman in 1979, critics argued that "the Walkman creates an isolated field of attention between the user and the outside world." An executive at CBS Records warned, "The era of meeting people is over. This is like a drug. When you wear a Walkman, the world disappears." In fact, a law banning the use of Walkmans was enacted in New Jersey and remained in effect until 2016. In today's era, where smartphones are ubiquitous, resistance continues in the form of sticking to paper books, limiting children's screen time, or using so-called "dumb phones" that provide only basic functions.

The author finds clues to a solution in the past. Banning child labor and limiting total working hours in the 19th century were once considered difficult to enforce, but eventually became common sense through social consensus and regulation. Although it may be difficult to enforce due to its connection to freedom of expression, the author argues that limiting smartphone usage time can also become a "shift in common sense" through such consensus. Even if it seems unrealistic now, the seriousness of attention deficit caused by smartphones makes raising these issues possible, revealing that this is a grave crisis facing today's society.