The Disruption of Technology

WE’RE ALL LIVING THE SAME STORY

We all know the story: it’s a day off, and you’re finally ready to tackle that do-do list. You go to your favorite coffee shop to finally get to the things you’ve been putting off. That project or presentation, quality spiritual formation reading or writing, the course or certification you need; they’ve been waiting for you at the back of your mind occasionally giving you a ping that rings of the sound of guilt. You’ve placed your order, found your ideal spot, set up the laptop or opened up the notebook with your favorite pen, and now you wait for your name to be called so you can grab your hot (or cold, but never in January) drink and get to work. The energy is palpable and you are motivated. The minutes seem like years because of your decayed attention span and you pick up your phone. Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. The finger swipes in all directions and suddenly time doesn’t feel so sluggish. Your name is called in what seems like five seconds. You get up, snag your drink, and sit down. Finally, time to get to work. Or is it?

You begin whatever it is that has found itself at the top of your priorities. However, you quickly hit a block. Your eyes keep leaving the page. Words are not being put on paper. Ideas are few, rather, ideas are non-existent. What do you do? Day dreaming is the ideal option. But that’s too fantastical and airy for your task driven mind. No, let’s be productive with our pause. Get your phone: text this person, check your email, google how old Brad Pitt is, reload your feed (for the third time), open app, close app, open another app, close that one. It feels like being in the clutches of a fierce, aggressive alligator doing a death roll. BAM. Someone drops their bottle in front of you, saving you from certain death. You realize you’ve diverted from the original goal. Put the phone down get back on track. Yet, the cycle happens again. You look at the time, time to go. What do you have to show for that time you spent there?

On the surface, this feels like a classic case of lacking the discipline of focus. Maybe it’s our culture. Captions, reels, and tweets all lead to a type of attention deficit. But maybe this is more than psychological. How does the presence of technology disrupt our physiology?

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF FOCUS

It’s always important to remember that we are physical beings. The foundation’s of our base functions are not merely spiritual, emotional or psychological, but physical. As such, something as abstract as focus and attention are rooted in a deeper physiological process. This process has long been viewed as revolving around the cerebral cortex of the brain, the mainframe of cognition and consciousness. The cerebral cortex is defined as the outer grey matter layer of the cerebral hemispheres (left and right brain). The cortex itself is divided into six different lobes: the frontal (reason and logic), parietal (sensation and perception), temporal (information processing and emotional regulation), and occipital (visual processing and interpretation). Traditionally, we would look to the frontal lobe of the brain for executive function and decision making, specifically, the prefrontal cortex is viewed as being responsible for maintaining a state of attention by sifting and filtering through distractions and guiding specific, goal-oriented behavior. However, in understanding the physiological foundation of our ability to focus, we must look to more involuntary mechanisms of information processing. Specifically, we want to understand the function of the thalamus and its role in focus and attention. The thalamus acts as your body’s air traffic controller. It processes all incoming and outgoing signals, except for smell, and directs them to the cerebral cortex. This is important because recently the thalamus has been evidentially shown to filter visual information prior to it arriving at the cerebral cortex. The thalamus does not just process visual information, however, but auditory as well. Why does this matter? Because our attention and focus is greatly influenced by our body’s natural, passive, unconscious information processing systems.

A LESSON ON FREQUENCY

These passive processing systems are not limited to what we can consciously see, hear, taste, and touch. As human beings, we’ve been designed to be a sort of biological antenna. We send and receive messages that are invisible to the eye and deaf to the ear. These messages are that of frequencies. A frequency is defined as the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Measured in hertz (Hz), frequencies form the basis of our understanding of the function of vibrations in nature. Think of a frequency in the context of a Newton’s Cradle. Lift one of the outer most balls and release, the collision of the first and second balls is a transfer of energy and motion throughout the rest of the balls. This in turn makes the last ball swing, making the process repeat itself. Energy is passed in an oscillating fashion through the system creating waves or cycles. Put a stopwatch on it and measure the oscillations in a minute and you will have a frequency (note: frequencies are measured in terms of f = 1/T where T is the time it takes to complete one cycle measured in seconds, whereas in wavelength frequency is defined as f = v/lambda where v is the wave speed measured in m/s).

Alright, why does this matter in our discussion on focus, attention, and our natural inclination towards distractedness? Remember, we are biological antennas. This means that we both transmit and receive signals in the form of frequencies. This is a wonderful natural phenomena that leads to a balanced life in that differing frequencies emitted from the brain equate to different states of wakefulness or consciousness. The frequencies that the brain transmits are referred to as brain waves and are largely dictated by the location of the brain being most utilized at any given time. Brain waves represent different states of activity, from deep relaxation to intense focus. There are five types of brain waves Delta Waves (.5-4hz), associated to states of deep sleep and restorative processes. Theta Waves (4-8 Hz) associated with creativity, intuition, and relaxation. Alpha Waves (8-12 Hz) which are present during a relaxed yet highly aware state (most often seen during meditation practices). Beta Waves (13-30 Hz) associated with active thinking, problem-solving, and heightened alertness. And lastly (but certainly not least), Gamma Waves (30-100Hz) which are associated with information processing and higher cognition. These frequencies are derived from the biochemical, bioelectrical activity occurring within the brain in its functioning.

The measurement of the type of wave itself is not of primary concern. The frequency is not the mechanism of focus but rather the expression of focus. This matters tremendously when we consider that frequencies are relational in that they interact with each other. Take the earth for example, the earth has a naturally occurring frequency known as the Schumann Resonance. This is a phenomenon that results as a product of storm cells producing high voltage currents of electricity (aka lightening) that strike resulting in a vibration (or frequency) launched into space that interacts with the spherical barrier that surrounds the earth known as the ionosphere. The space between the atmosphere of the earth and the ionosphere is the three middle balls of Newton’s Cradle and the transfer of energy between those two objects is the expression of the earth’s natural frequency (a very low frequency, averaging somewhere in the 8.5Hz range). This frequency is quite complementary to the natural frequencies of the body. Even aiding in restoration, creativity, and meditation (think of the brain waves and how the frequencies align). Now, whereas the earth produces a frequency that elicits resonance (agreement) with the body, there are many things that do the opposite. Most of these are man made objects, digital technology, mostly, like radios, computers, phones, etc. The average frequency emitted by cellular communications providers is between 700 and 2100 MHz (that is MEGAhertz, a measurement that is one million times the size). With newer 5G technology emitting signals in the GHz (GIGAhertz, one thousand times the size of Megahertz) range. All this is to say, that these signals do not align with that of the body’s naturally occurring frequencies, meaning that this frequencies can interrupt the functional operations of the electrical activity of the brain and body.

are our brains fried?

This is not to say that our technology has made us lower functioning beings by modulating the states of our consciousness through electrical frying (I don’t think our brains are being fried, no fear mongering). We are far too early into this world of high ranging, high volume frequencies to know the lasting impact on the brain and body. So, don’t fall into a state of hopelessness. Rather, understand that there are other implications to your distracted nature than merely your lack of discipline. The reason for bringing up technology is to look at the physiological implications it has on our focus. That does not only take the shape of frequency interactions, but external information processing. I would say that the combination of the two are what result in our perpetual fight against distractedness. That is, it is the constant input of information, both at the visual and audible level as well the invisible and inaudible, that leads to our distractedness.

What I mean by that is that it is both the presence of our phones frequencies and the frequency of our phones presence that makes us lack focus. Think of this, every time your phone lights up, your brain is (whether you like it or not) processing that information via the thalamus. Based on the feedback loops you cultivate (like picking up your phone every time you get a notification) you are training your brain to reprioritize its functioning. This kind of habit has also been shown to decay the grey matter of the brain (the substance the cerebral cortex is made of), meaning that the more we give into Pavlov’s expanded experiment, the more we actually change the structure of our brain. And as a principle of anatomy, structure dictates function.

On top of that, there is a reality that we should at the very least be aware of in that there are consequences to digital and technological advancement. Our electronics are not the only electrical components of our existence. The more we expose ourselves to high degrees of radio frequencies, the more we (to some unknown degree) change our biology. At the very least, we should understand the way our brain expresses its state of functioning and that the waves and frequencies of life are subject to each other.

COMBATTING FREQUENT FLYER DISORDER

So we all find ourselves in the frequent flyer club. Not that we’re all doing a lot of air travel, but instead we find ourselves flying from one task to the next without allowing ourselves the opportunity to get to a destination and be there until the task is done. What then can we do about our frequent flyer disorder?

Here’s a few helpful tips:

  • Do not disturb is Apple’s best invention, use at any point you need to be focused to prevent unnecessary notifications from coming through
  • Airplane mode is even better if you are able to detach from the world for a time
  • Wireless headphones are a gift from God for activities that are encumbered by a wire, but wired headphones emit no fields derived by bluetooth – enjoy the frequency of the sound only
  • Limit keeping your phone on your body, if you are able to stay within a confined space (eg. an office space) leave it on your desk and use it there only.
  • Keep track of not only screen time, but pick ups, as pick ups play a greater role in determining the brains ability to stay focused on one task at a time
  • Challenge yourself to not turn to your phone or computer when you come to a stoppage of work, let your mind drift, day dreaming is a necessary frequency that allows the brain to reset and restore itself

At the end of the day, your journey of focus and attention is specific to your situation. Not everyone has the same luxuries living in a digital age. Do your best and become mindful of how your technology is changing you!