Orlando, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Dinner delivered to your door. GPS for every turn. AI for every question. Modern life is built to make things faster, easier, and more convenient. But some experts say all that comfort may come with a cost, less patience, less focus, and less tolerance for discomfort, boredom, or effort.
Need dinner? Tap an app. Need directions? Follow the blue line. Can’t remember a fact, a name, or how to spell a word? Ask your phone.
Life has never been more convenient. And that’s exactly why some experts say we may be losing practice doing the things that help build focus, patience, memory, and problem-solving.
“Everything’s made so safe, so comfortable, we don’t have to do certain things anymore,” said Kathleen McHugh, Licensed Psychologist.
Like remembering phone numbers. A survey found about one in 10 people can’t even remember their own number. And 17 percent don’t have their partners’ number memorized.
“People become anxious about doing things that they no longer have to do very much,” said McHugh.
One way to help is what experts call friction maxing. The idea is to perform tasks that involve a level of difficulty or patience instead of instant comfort. For example, if you’re watching a show and can’t place the actor, don’t immediately look at your phone. Instead let your mind do the work.
“Start to think about it and then maybe you check late,” explained McHugh.
Other small ways to add a little friction? Call a friend for advice instead of asking Chat GPT. Leave your phone in another room while you read or eat dinner. Try one errand without GPS. Or take a walk without headphones, just to get used to quiet again. The goal isn’t to make life harder for no reason. It’s to stop letting convenience do all the thinking, deciding, and coping for us.
“Maybe I actually have skills that I didn’t realize I had,” said McHugh.
If you need another reason to put the phone down, researchers at the University of Texas found just having a smartphone nearby can drain attention. People performed better on memory and thinking tasks when their phones were in another room, compared with having them on a desk or even tucked away in a bag.
Contributors to this news report include: Julie Marks, Producer; Bob Walko, Editor.
Sources:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/07/13/memorizing-numbers-smartphone-iphone/10036000002/
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260227-can-friction-maxxing-fix-your-focus
