I think there's some form of correlation between the decrease in our attention span and the increase in distractions or sensory inputs that our mind is exposed to.
The explosion of information in our modern age has more or less initiated a gradual rewiring of our brains.
From a more structured linear consumption of information - think books, newspapers, and scheduled TV programs - to a less structured but more abstracted pattern of constant, simultaneous inputs.
Continuing this line of evolution, I think there will come a time when it will be structured again, but on different principles. Perhaps, a fluid structure like water, that can also be solid or gas, depending on the environment.
"Hits of Pleasure"
"Cheap dopamine" is when we opt for quick, easy stimulation over meaningful engagement.
For the most part, I think it happens almost subconsciously and it's basically the difference between scrolling social media for an hour versus spending that hour in deep conversation or focused creation.
Unfortunately, readily available hits of pleasure have generally become our default mode of engagement, and the main cost is a gradual erosion of our capacity for delayed gratification.
The dopamine discussion is in itself fairly new in terms of getting mainstream adoption.
But I presume it's a good start towards getting informed on how our reward systems shape our behavior, which by extension, shapes our lives.
The relationship between attention and dopamine reveals something with regards to our digital age.
There's a self-reinforcing cycle where our brain's reward system has been calibrated to prefer shorter, more frequent bursts of engagement over sustained focus.
Over time, it just turns into a form of cognitive addiction or a new baseline for human consciousness. Newer generations will be less capable of sticking to one train of thought for a sufficient amount of time.
But the irony is in how this adaptation works.
Increased capability of "handling information abundance" simultaneously diminishes our capacity for deep exploration of this same information abundance.
Is it really beneficial that I can walk on water without ever knowing its depth, its currents, or the life teeming beneath its surface??
Grasping this neurological shift can explain why simply removing distractions, which is logical in theory, proves insufficient in practice.
At a glance, you could say a way to remedy this situation is simply to decrease the distractions we're exposed to, because this may increase our attention span, as an effect.
Tinkering With Objects
I've tried this direction already. And it works to a certain extent.
Experientially, it's similar to moving from an untidy room into a tidy room. The untidy room hasn't disappeared, you just don't live there anymore.
But when you need to go there, you'll find that nothing has changed, everything about that untidy room is still the same.
In practice, what I'm trying to say is that a conventional solution like avoiding distractions or attempting to return to old patterns of thinking may not be the best way to adapt to our new reality. Some changes can't be reversed.
Instead, we need to develop new cognitive frameworks that acknowledge both our evolved capabilities and our fundamental need for depth.
The latter can be solved with the conventional solutions mentioned above, but it's the former that's uncharted territory, more or less.
In a way, developing new cognitive frameworks is like building a muscle from scratch(if that's a thing) or turning an involuntary muscle into a voluntary muscle(yes, that's a thing). But on the mental/emotional layer.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.