Courtesy of Google Images

In our first week’s class, we were given an extract by Katherine Hayles on Hyper & Deep Attention to read over and discuss.
It resonated with me as it’s been a ongoing discussion that I’ve engaged with and instigated many times among friends and colleagues.
Working in media and marketing, I’m constantly trying to read the ebbs and flows of the ever-changing market, increase engagement with interesting content and to post at peak times.
Having to be hyper-aware of the habits of other hyper aware individuals is a huge task in and of its itself and it came as no surprise that
a study undertaken by the Microsoft Corporation found that our attention spans had decreased from 12 seconds to 8 in less than a decade.

As an individual running on hyper attentiveness, I’ve found, like most, that I can only slip into a deep focus state if my interest is triggered.
The girl next to me in class, Alice, mentioned that she would turn on a bad film or tv show to turn her brain off, not necessarily sitting there and absorbing the content but disconnecting from the exterior stimuli.

Another guy in the lectorial mentioned that while he may also choose to watch something numbing to switch off, he is still aware of the notifications, texts and calls that are coming through on his phone.

I find myself turning my phone on ‘do not disturb’ of an evening and sometimes ‘airplane mode’ so that I’m not disturbed by the vibration of the incoming texts as I try and disconnect and recharge my own batteries.

It seems we’re all having to actively turn ourselves on and off, that or we all know what our triggers are and we’re having to heighten our awareness by staying on top of these personal cues.

As for the above image, I found it funny but also took comfort in seeing a picture from the 1950’s that showcased an equally demanding lifestyle, albeit largely different to ours these days but nonetheless taxing.