In my first ever lectorial, the class was given a thesis written by Katherine Hayles titled “Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes”. Our lecturer gave us five to ten minutes to read the 5 page long excerpt. Ms Hayles discusses the differences and benefits of both hyper and deep attention. Deep attention means concentrating on a single object for long periods, which is therefore “superb for solving complex problems” yet at the price of flexibility of response. Hyper attention means switching focus rapidly, seeking a high level of stimulation at the price of impatience. Hayles discusses how there is a huge difference between generations who were grounded in deep attentions style learning, to those learning in the 21st century, where becoming distracted is far too easy. A case can be made for hyper attention (and sadly i identify more as being hyper attentive) yet i think that deep attention is far more effective in almost every way. Deep attention encourages structure, hard work and growth. I know I am at risk of sounding about a thousand years old there, but intrinsically i believe that those things are what human beings should value, and they cannot be achieved without deep attention. It is even proven in Hayles’ thesis: “studies also indicate that efficienct declines significantly with multitasking that it is more time-efficientto do several tasks sequentially than attempt to do them simultaneously”. In a world that is constantly about go, go, go, I am eager to ground myself in deep attention thinking. At the end of the ten minutes the lecturer asked who actually read the entire excerpt and I could proudly say that i truly read it all, and i didn’t have to make a conscious effort to pay attention like i usually do, so maybe I’m getting there. I am passionate about this because i grow frustrated with myself, constantly wasting time on social media and gaining nothing from it other than self gratification. Hyper attention is almost like a black hole, you get sucked in and you cant get back unless you really try (Matthew McConaughey style).
We cannot slow down the exponential growth in technology throughout the world, it connects us in ways we couldnt have even dreamed of decades ago. By the same token, let us not forget the importance of deep attention and the heart that comes with it.
Pro deep attention, but grew up in a hyper attentive world… *sigh*.
