Brian Fitzgerald is a junior at Lafayette college studying economics and psychology. Most of his work for his classes is handed out on paper, but if there was an assignment on the computer he would prefer to read it online than to print it out. When asked about his perfect work environment, Brian described a quiet and simplified place with no distractions. He prefers to work alone so there isn’t anyone to talk to or distract him, and often with ambient noise, such as rain. Brian said that this type of environment is most easily found in his room when his roommate isn’t there, but if he is, Brian would just put on headphones and listen to music. Some people can have problems listening to music with lyrics while working and others can find that it helps them stay focused.
I asked Brian if this type of multitasking was easy for him, and in response he called himself a multitasker in the best way. He believes that he is very capable of switching from one task to another. Like he said before, he can be listening to music while doing his homework or doodling while listening to his professors talk in class. Brian phrased his ability and desire to do this type of multitasking as the idea that “sometimes focusing attention elsewhere allows me to open my mind and absorb information more effortlessly.” After describing this habit of his, he admitted that he knows it was “formed to cope with fact that we as people have become more and more distracted” by the things that surround us the most. I believe that technology has shorted and damaged our ability to focus and be attentive, so we find outlets or ways to keep ourselves on track. Brian believes that he has found a way to use multitasking, like his doodling in class, to his advantage.
This idea of multitasking makes me interested in the idea that this was always something Brian did. He began to tell me about what his days in high school used to look like. After six hours of school everyday he had to go straight to crew practice, then by the time he got home it would be seven at night, leaving him with time to shower, eat, and do all his homework. Brian told me that before college he didn’t have time or the opportunities for distractions like he does now. At college, Brian is done with classes earlier in the day, so he has more time to do work. He is also not rowing anymore and doesn’t have to leave campus, so he has more time to do other things too. Brian said that this can be good sometimes because it allows room for more flexibility, but other times it can be detrimental because it can lead to procrastination. He told me that “sometimes I think, I have more time so I can put off my work but then sometimes it’s too late and I have to cram and rush to finish my work.”
College allows for a lot more social interactions and popularity of using social media platforms. Brian described a typical day of coming home from the gym and before showering he would lay on his bed scrolling through Instagram. He called it “falling down the rabbit hole” when he ends up spending forty-five minutes on his phone looking at things that are unimportant to him before even showering. The loss of time that we don’t even feel going by can affect our social schedules later on. Since later that day Brian would still have to do homework, he said that he would have to change or move plans because his procrastination earlier that day. I see this trend very often at Lafayette that people show up to the library to do their homework, but before they even pull out their laptops or notebooks they take out their phone. Social media has dived head first into our society and it is a way to stay connected and in the loop of what is happening in people’s lives. This can be blinding because while you are focused on other people’s opinions and adventures, you miss things that are going on in your own life.
After this interview I was still in the same room as Brian when I was doing this write up. I knew that he had homework but when we were done, before anything else, he pulled out his phone to check his groupme messages. Not until I looked up and asked his what he was doing did he put his phone away to start working. It is so interesting to see how people are unaware of how technology sucks our attention without us even realizing it. I noticed that throughout the conversation, Brian was slowing realizing and admitting to things that I’m not sure he noticed before. Maybe we just need an idea to be brought to our attention, or are our attention spans already corrupt from the technology in our society? It seems as if most people don’t think about why they end up spending hours plugged in because they often don’t care. It is satisfying to watch videos, like pictures, and scroll your feed, so satisfying it could be addicting.