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Electronic devices
“I think I have attention deficit disorder,” Larry told me.
Years ago, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was ascribed almost exclusively to children and teens, but we soon recognized this malady does not discriminate based on age. Current estimates place the lifetime prevalence of ADHD in adults at just over eight percent. However, an increasing number of people self-diagnose with this condition. Why? They feel distractible, impulsive, hurry sick and agitated.
“I don’t doubt you feel symptoms commonly assigned to ADHD,” I told Larry. “However, you may be one of a growing number of people with IT brain.”
I’ve consulted with scores of folks complaining about trouble concentrating, persistent disquiet, hurry sickness and distractibility who claim they suffer from ADHD. Many psychiatrists believe this condition stems from a genetic predisposition and brain chemistry gone awry. In contrast, IT brain arises from persistent exposure to electronic devices and the avalanche of hyper-stimulation pouring out of them. Like many folks with this malady, Larry does not have a childhood or adolescent history of ADHD.
“Larry, it’s possible your brain is just having a normal reaction to an abnormal situation,” I suggested.
“What abnormal situation?” he asked.
“IT overload,” I replied.
Restless, Rapid Bombardment
The human brain has evolved over millennia under very different conditions than those we face today. As a species, we are not neurologically equipped to cope with the relentless and rapid bombardment of incoming sensory stimuli that typifies our modern, IT saturated world. Increasingly, activities like multi-tasking (actually, multi-distracting), mindless online surfing, social networking, and media immersion (extensive use of TV, web, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, video games, etc.) are altering our brains and, consequently, our behavior. We know the brain is malleable, meaning the kind of sensory environment we expose it to exerts powerful impacts on its wiring and functioning.
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“Are you suggesting my symptoms are caused by my lifestyle?” Larry asked.
“There’s only one way to find out, and that’s run the experiment,” I replied.
In this case, that experiment consisted of Larry unplugging from his usual e-laden lifestyle long enough to determine if doing so would reduce his ADHD-like symptoms. With a vacation on the horizon, he pledged to do what previously seemed unthinkable—leaving his laptop, iPhone and other devices behind.
“The first couple of days were tough,” he reported.
But he stuck to it, and, within a week, his symptoms began to decrease enough to be noticeable. Granted, a few days of abstinence does not generate major changes in this regard, but it provides a hint of what might be possible. When I go on week-long wilderness treks devoid of devices, I experience this “easing back” effect.
“I noticed I could concentrate better, relax more and truly slow down,” he explained.
Like the body, the brain responds to what we put in and around it. And while some of us take ownership for our physical health by exercising, eating well and getting sufficient rest, many fail to apply an organized strategy for maintaining their brain health. Just as being a couch potato messes with one’s body, being chronically plugged-in and hyper-stimulated messes with the mind.
Intertwined as our work and personal lives are with information technology, total abstinence is not viable for most, but it is possible to assert control over our degree of exposure. Ask yourself. Who is in charge of your moment-to-moment experience, you or your smartphone? I know folks who will drop virtually anything they are doing to respond to an electronic notification, and who spend far more time interacting with their devices than with other persons in real time. The antidote? Less screen time, more IT fasts, daily notification blackouts and frequent doses of nature.
Larry’s brief IT abstinence proved he could be the master of his devices rather than their servant. A lesson many of us would do well to learn.
For more, visit philipchard.com.
