Mia Krysa

As soon as I picked up Stolen Focus, I resonated with almost everything that the author, Johann Hari, had pointed out. Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again, is a book about how as humans, we’ve lost the ability to focus.

I thought about my life, and how much of it I’d spent behind a screen. I must admit — I’m guilty of taking pictures of everything… because what if I forget? I want to remember the first meal I had on a summer night in Italy, my favorite pieces at the Louvre, and special moments at home with my dogs, boyfriend, and family.

I too, was lucky enough to spend time in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where everyone is accepted for who they are and every waking minute is spent in celebration or relaxing by the ocean. I went every summer from age 8 to age 21. As a kid on the long drives to Provincetown, I’d bring books or a portable DVD player just in case I wanted to watch a movie. By the time I could sit in the passenger seat, I’d scroll Youtube videos, Twitter, and get excited about what photos I could post on Instagram during my trip. Then, I started driving myself to Provincetown. Because I couldn’t scroll while driving, I’d have a “debrief” with my phone once I’d arrived at the hotel. I was curious about all the content I’d missed in the last few hours. And I did this everywhere. I still do.

I wake up, I scroll. I have some downtime before bed, I scroll. I’m eating dinner by myself, I scroll.

Is this what’s important?

The Dopamine Detox We Might Need

I’ve thought about doing a detox of all social media for a little while… a dopamine detox, if you will?

Ironically, I saw the idea on TikTok. It’s the practice of getting rid of everything that increases dopamine levels — social media, video games, caffeine, etcetera. As a society, we’re so used to getting immediate satisfaction out of everything. Comments, likes, follows, energy drinks, beating a hard level. This practice isn’t supposed to get rid of the things we enjoy, it’s to become more aware of positive and negative habits and teach the ability to delay gratification.

There’s not a lot of evidence that this actually works, but I’d be willing to try.

The Importance of Human Connection

I’ve been doing some reflecting over the past few days, and paying attention to how much I use my phone. I try not to reach for it first thing in the morning or before I go to bed. Sometimes, I look around and see everyone in the room on their phone. I work at a brunch restaurant, and there will often be tables with families or couples who don’t even speak to each other. They just look at their phones. It makes me sad, because what’s more important than human connection?

Here I am referencing TikTok again, but sometimes it really does highlight great things. One of my favorite trends to see is one called “Humans being Humans”. At the end of the day, I’d love for everyone to realize (me included), how important this is. Or this. And staring through a screen won’t get you there.

Society needs to relearn how to be human. To the fullest. Instead of looking to the TV to lull us to sleep, coffee to wake us up, and feeds to scroll while waiting in line, we could be doing anything else. I’m excited to learn more from this book, as it’s already got me thinking about habits in my life that I may want to change. For now, as I head to bed, I’ll be reaching for a book instead of my phone, and dreaming of Augusts in Provincetown.