“Most people I know have problems with Internet addiction” Paul Graham, writing in 2010.
Paul Graham wrote an essay on “Addiction” back in 2010. It is even more relevant today, 14 years later.
“Progress”
Everything that is good… has been developed by humans and technology to get steadily better… at capturing and holding our attention. Food that was “good” in the paleolithic… fruits… has become insanely “good” today – chocolate, sweets, sugar. Television of 1960’s (3 channels) has become Netflix, Virtual Reality, interactive immersive video games of today. Everything that you can just about manage today will get more addictive, more sweet, more engaging. The evolution of our brain to stay focussed when surrounded with enticing distraction will not happen as fast as the increase in addictiveness.
Willpower alone will not ever be enough. We need to take active control of what stimuli get our attention.
Have a read of Paul Graham’s essay on Addiction.
Procrastination
I found footnote 4 really powerful…
“People commonly use the word ‘procrastination’ to describe what they do on the Internet. It seems to me too mild to describe what’s happening as merely not-doing-work. We don’t call it procrastination when someone gets drunk instead of working.”
Paul Graham
Somehow it is forgivable and understandable for someone to get distracted by the internet when they have a project to complete or a task they have committed to complete in a certain time.
Getting drunk and driving is not called “distraction” or “silly him… he’s always struggled a little with his drink”… it is called “criminal negligence”.
Having a task that you have committed to complete and allowing yourself to be distracted by the internet… we call it “procrastination”. Maybe it should also be changed to something that really captures what is happening. He is being
- unprofessional
- amateur
- naive
- wasteful
- immature
Maybe these words would cause people to sit up and realise that they don’t have a problem with “procrastination”. They have a problem with life.
If you liked this post, you will also like 3 Lessons on Focus from Dandapani and I Can’t Focus. How to Learn to Focus.