Distractedness

by Nicholas Carr

Optimizing for divided attention means sub-optimizing for concentrated attention. Recent studies back up this point. They paint a darker picture of the consequences of heavy video-gaming, particularly when it comes to attentiveness. Far from making us smarter, heavy gaming seems to be associated with attention disorders in the young and, more generally, with a greater tendency toward distractedness and a reduced aptitude for maintaining one's focus and concentration. Playing lots of video games, these studies suggest, do not improve a players capacity for sustained attention, as many argue.  It weakens it.

6S

Nicholas Carr has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Wired. His six sentences are excerpted from Utopia Is Creepy: And Other Provocations.