Let me describe a situation that is probably all too familiar for many of you. When I was asked by Zario to write an article on digital distraction and some of the techniques that we can use to manage our technology use, I just couldn't do it.

Now, with nearly a decade of research experience in this area this is something that should come relatively easy to me. I’ve given countless interviews and presentations, and written dozens of articles and a PhD thesis on this topic.

But, every time that I would sit down at my laptop to write this article, I’d open up my word processor and, next thing I’d know, I’d find myself on Twitter reading about the latest Elon Musk drama, browsing LinkedIn to catch up on job updates from my students, switching tabs to Instagram to see what’s happening with my friends before jumping over to my inbox to wade through the 50+ emails that come through each day. All of this is besides the stream of messages coming in from colleagues via Slack and MS Teams and the occasional family update via WhatsApp.

I am sure that I am not alone in this experience.

Digital technologies as a source of distraction

The very device that I needed to use to get my work done also enabled me access to pretty-much anything else I could put my mind to and, making matters worse, through notifications and pop-ups my devices would actively reach out and seek to attract my attention to some other task or message

For many people, digital technologies can pose major distractions that can impact our productivity and our ability to get our work done, to complete assignments, to study for exams, whatever it is that we need to do.

This phenomenon has come to be termed “digital distraction” and it has received extensive attention over the last few years [1-3]. Researchers have studied the factors that drive digital distraction, the short- and long-term effects of digital distraction and media multitasking [4 -6], and the ways in which we can regulate our behavior and manage the interferences posed by digital technologies [2, 7, 8].

I needed to do something different to write this article.

I needed something that would effectively help me to manage the goal-conflict that I was experiencing. Goal-conflict refers to a situation wherein two competing goals vie for our attention, which is only available in a limited capacity [9]. In this case, my goal was to write the article. However, I also have other ongoing background goals. For example, I want to stay up to date with current affairs and news, to keep up with my friends and family, to respond to important incoming messages, and to learn about new developments in my field. These desires are hard to resist, especially when digital media can so easily gratify these needs at the tap of a button.

In the light of our diverse competing desires, and the ease with which digital technologies can gratify these needs, willpower is not enough.

Define and limit your future choices

I needed to do something that would allow me to stick to my goals and, at least temporarily, remove the temptation and distraction posed by my digital media.

In Economics this is known as a “commitment device”. A commitment device is a technique through which someone makes it easier for themselves to avoid akrasia (i.e., acting against one’s better judgment). A commitment device tends to have two key features.

1. It is voluntary.
2. It links consequences to follow-through failures.

Commitment devices are more widely known as a “Ulysses Pacts” – voluntary decisions to define and limit your future choices so that you can achieve your goals.

The term “Ulysses Pact” draws on Homer’s Odyssey in which Odysseus (Ulysses) resists the bewitching allure of the Siren’s song by tying himself to his ship’s mast so that he couldn’t be lured ashore to his death. Here, with prior knowledge of the potential consequences of certain actions, the protagonist put in place a plan whilst “in a cold state” that would protect himself against impulsive decisions made in subsequent “hot states” in the face of overwhelming stimuli.

We can do the same with digital media to help us manage the distractions that they can pose.

We need to put in place steps when we are thinking clearly that will lock us into achieving a goal that we would otherwise abandon when we’re not, when we’re confronted with the allure of distracting digital media.

‍Pro-active plans to manage digital distractions

Self-control is not about willpower [10]. If it was, we would always lose out to distractions. Self-control needs to involve active decision-making and pro-active plans to regulate and manage digital distractions.

Over the years researchers have investigated a wide variety of approaches that one can use to manage digital distractions. Some strategies, for instance, involve the introduction of friction to shift automatic or habitual behavior to a more goal-oriented mode. Such strategies might involve placing a distracting device in a different room or turning it off. Friction can also be achieved through the use of various digital self-control tools—mobile applications, browser plugins, or desktop programs that support self-regulation in various ways. Other approaches involve disabling access to features considered to be distracting. A recent innovative solution incorporated into the latest version of Zario on Android introduces a “Circuit Breaker” that helps users to stick to their goals and break-out of mindless smartphone habits like automatically opening social media apps and scrolling without intention. This feature uses friction to remind users of their goals and blocks access to irrelevant apps to keep them on target.

The specific strategies will differ from person to person and from situation to situation but, in almost all cases, it is unlikely that willpower alone will prove sufficient to mitigate digital distraction. We need to take proactive steps to align our behavior with our goals and a Ulysses pact is an effective strategy to achieve goal-alignment in the face of alluring digital distractions.

The specific strategies will differ from person to person and from situation to situation but, in almost all cases, it is unlikely that willpower alone will prove sufficient to mitigate digital distraction. We need to take proactive steps to align our behavior with our goals and a Ulysses pact is an effective strategy to achieve goal-alignment in the face of alluring digital distractions.

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References:

1. Flanigan, A. E., Babchuk, W. A., & Kim, J. H. (2022). Understanding and Reacting to the Digital Distraction Phenomenon in College Classrooms. In Digital Distractions in the College Classroom (pp. 1-21). IGI Global.
2. le Roux, D. B., & Parry, D. A. (2022). The Role of Self-Regulation in Experiences of Digital Distraction in College Classrooms. In Digital Distractions in the College Classroom (pp. 92-119). IGI Global.
3. Chen, L., Nath, R., & Tang, Z. (2020). Understanding the determinants of digital distraction: An automatic thinking behavior perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 104, 106195.
4. Wiradhany, W., & Koerts, J. (2021). Everyday functioning-related cognitive correlates of media multitasking: A mini meta-analysis. Media psychology, 24(2), 276-303.
5. Van Der Schuur, W. A., Baumgartner, S. E., Sumter, S. R., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2015). The consequences of media multitasking for youth: A review. Computers in Human Behavior, 53, 204-215.
6. Parry, D. A., & le Roux, D. B. (2021). “Cognitive control in media multitaskers” ten years on: A meta-analysis. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 15(2).
7. Jarrahi, M. H., Blyth, D. L., & Goray, C. (2023). Mindful work and mindful technology: Redressing digital distraction in knowledge work. Digital Business, 3(1), 100051.
8. Wang, C. H., Salisbury-Glennon, J. D., Dai, Y., Lee, S., & Dong, J. (2022). Empowering College Students to Decrease Digital Distraction Through the Use of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies. Contemporary Educational Technology, 14(4), ep388.
9. Xu, S., Wang, Z., & David, P. (2022). Social media multitasking (SMM) and well-being: Existing evidence and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 101345.
10. Duckworth, A. L., Milkman, K. L., & Laibson, D. (2018). Beyond willpower: Strategies for reducing failures of self-control. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(3), 102-129.

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About the Author:

Dr Douglas A. Parry is a senior lecturer in Socio-Informatics at the Department of Information Science at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. With a PhD in Socio Informatics his research is interdisciplinary and focuses on a broad spectrum of media uses and effects and generally concerns the interplay between digital technologies, human behavior, and mental health and well-being. His research primarily concerns the influences of new media on attention and goal pursuit in various personal, academic, and organizational contexts.