Maslow’s hierarchy of needs begins with physiological needs – sleeping, eating, breathing et cetera. Then comes physical safety, and then social belonging. How do these things relate to us today? Don’t we have all we need now? In his book A Deadly Wandering, Matt Richtel researches the effects of technology on our attention span, and whether the progression of technology can turn our instincts against us.
The full subtitle of A Deadly Wandering is A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention. It’s a story, in the sense that there are characters and conflict. However, it is also an informative piece of literature. The book is divided into chapters, each chapter title appropriately denoting the contents of the chapter. There are chapters that propel the plot of the story forward – following a young man who was texting while driving and the repercussions of his actions – and then there are chapters that focus on neuroscientists discussing the effects of technology.
While the story was compelling and appealed to pathos, the science behind the story was fascinating, at least to me.
Initially, Richtel begins his journey by attempting to define attention. What is attention and how does attention work in humans? His research brings him to a network of scientists who explain the cocktail effect – the ability we have to filter, out of an entire room, one single conversation. According to the doctors that Richtel talked to, there are two aspects of attention: bottom up, and top down. Top down attention is focusing on our objectives and attempting to complete goals. Bottom up attention is involuntary, the capture of attention by an external stimulus. Richtel explains that attention is a combination of both top up and bottom down. Top up allows us to complete a set of tasks while bottom down alerts us of any potential danger.
Then, Richtel reveals two laws fundamental in the bridge between understanding technology and attention: Moore’s law and Metcalfe’s law. The former explains that computer processing power doubles every two years, allowing for an exponential amount of growth in computer power as the years progress. The latter explains that the more people are involved in a network – say, Facebook for example – the more valuable the network becomes. Interestingly enough, the two laws combined predict the allure of technology – as time progresses, technology becomes more and more advanced. More and more people become involved and it becomes more and more valuable.
Furthermore, as the value of social media increases with the progression of technology, our attention spans begin to shrink. Each text, every alert disrupts our focus in the form of bottom up attention. Our top down system is drawn to the allure of technology as well, the promise of maintaining relationships and communication.
In a surprisingly apt metaphor, technology is compared to food. Food is the very base of the hierarchy of needs. After the industrialization of food, it’s no longer necessary to go to extreme lengths to find the calories needed to survive, but our bodies are still driven to crave the salty and fatty foods that humanoids needed before industrialization. In a sense, our most primal instincts are turned against us; it is easy to become obese when food comes so readily and when our DNA has not changed significantly from when food was scarce.
Social media is a form of social belonging. It forges connections, revives old friendships and forges new ones. Social acceptance is the third tier of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is a primal need. Richtel writes, “In the same way we crave food, we crave connection. Not just for its own sake but because connection is essential survival. It helps us form networks, understand sources of opportunity or threat, create alliances, fight enemies. It is primal.”
And then, Richtel digs into the biological response to using technology. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with rewards. It’s commonly released with rewarding stimuli like food and sex. However, research shows that dopamine is released when you receive a text, or even anticipate a text. With the amount of texting and use of technology, younger people are filled with dopamine constantly, and when they don’t have it, they crave it, not dissimilar to substance abuse. This is how the attention span of our generation grows shorter and shorter as Metcalfe and Moore’s laws are pushed into motion.
Initially, A Deadly Wandering seemed like a cautionary tale about the dangers of distracted driving. However, after delving into the first few chapters, I soon realized that Richtel was capable of simultaneously weaving a decent story and incorporating new scientific data into his novel. With a little less than half of the book left to read, I find myself anticipating a much broader question: how will the progression of technology come to affect our lives and our minds in the very near future? And most importantly, if it is proved to be detrimental, how do we stop something that is hardwired into our DNA?
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