Unintended Consequences and Continuous Partial Attention

Our state legislature here in California, in their infinite wisdom, recently enacted a law that makes it a crime to talk on a cell phone if you hold the phone in your hand, but not if you use some kind of hands-free device, like a bluetooth headset. This despite the fact that virtually every study on the subject came to the conclusion that it doesn't make you any safer to drive hands-free on the phone compared to holding the phone to your ear.

Politicians are never ones to let silly things like facts get in the way of passing legislation that attempts to modify the behavior of millions of people, so we are now dealing with the unintended consequences of their action. The first of which I noticed while in line at the Home Depot the other day. I was just about the only customer in the three lines around me that did not have a bluetooth device sticking out of his/her ear. Obviously people either forget that it's in there, or it's too inconvenient to remove and replace it every time you get in your car. I used to see this every once in a while, but now just about everyone I see looks like an extra from the latest Star Trek movie, blue light pulsing mysteriously in their ear as they communicate with their Romulan Overlord.

I am going to perform a public service right here on the virtual pages of Digital Edu for those of you who do not have a loved one who cares enough about you to tell you the unvarnished truth about your appearance. Ready? Here it is. If you walk around with one of those thingees sticking out of your ear, you look stupid. Really, really stupid. And it doesn't change that fact just because everyone around you has one also. The Borg may be taking over, but it can't make you look cool. Another more pleasant unintended consequence is that since I refuse to wear one, for the first time in my life, I'm the least geeky looking guy in the room. No small feat, that.

It also makes me wonder - when did we get to the point when we feel like we must be in constant communication with everyone else, at all times, and under any circumstances? When did it become a travesty to allow a phone call to go to voicemail? At work I rarely pick up my phone if I'm in the middle of something because I don't think the person calling me gets to decide what my highest priority is at that particular second. I can always call them back (or not). My family knows that if it's an emergency just immediately call back and I'll be sure and pick up.

One of the unintended consequences of this wonderful mobile communication technology is that we rarely have time any more when we are not plugged in to the ever increasing (and demanding) communication grid. At what point does the technology stop serving us and start ruling us? If we have a Pavlovian response to a ringing noise and stop whatever we are doing to answer the call, or return the text message, or reply to an IM, or pick up that email, do we really control our time? If we don't control our time, do we control ourselves?

I joke about it, but it is actually a serious problem that is starting to receive attention. Some are calling it "Continuous Partial Attention" or CPA. It describes that state we are in when we are continously interrupted to respond to an incoming message that demands our immediate attention. A recent study estimates it costs the US economy $650 billion dollars a year. An article in New Scientist magazine stated that overexposure to information lowers a person's IQ score in a manner similar to smoking marijuana.

So what do we do about it? Simple - unplug every once in a while. The world will continue to rotate on its axis if you don't answer that email right away. The person calling you to chat will still be your friend if you don't pick up. The text messages can wait. Unplug, relax and maybe even spend some time thinking and reflecting rather than constantly being on the hunt for new information.

Oh yeah, and also take that thing out of your ear. You look stupid.