Week 1- Attention to detail(s)

Media 1- Lectorial 2nd March 2015

Hyper Attention and Deep Attention are new terms to me however the concept behind them both is all too familiar. These two terms featured in passages of an essay we read in our first lectorial on Tuesday afternoon.

I learnt that there is a specific term used to describe the state I was in when I read To Kill A Mockingbird on a loud, bustling train in Italy. I was completely unaware of my surroundings and fully and completely focused on the world of Scout, Jem and Dill. It is this undying Deep Attention to one particular source of stimuli that is slowly becoming a rarity within today’s boredom-terrified generation.

Hyper Attention and its effects on ones ability to regain a level of consistent concentration, leaves me feeling depressed and conflicted. It occurs when the television is on and i’ve got my laptop sitting on my lap with music playing whilst I have multiple conversations going and four different tabs open ready for me to click to the next social network or online shop or blog. It is the scrolling, tapping, skipping and fast forwarding that is inflicting on our ability to commit to one single task. Life in 2015 is fast, if your not plugged in you may just miss the fact that I see white and gold yet you see blue and black?

The essay posed many questions, such as what is the fate for the attention spans of my children? It’s scary and at times embarrassing how much time we spend electronically jumping from this to that, however I do have faith. The publics reaction to the intriguing case of Harper Lee’s rejected 1957 manuscript that is now being published and my own anticipation to sit down and read it demonstrates hope. Deep Attention hasn’t been entirely lost, but Apple is still persisting…

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