How the Internet Effects Our Davening and Our Learning
Posted on | June 15, 2010 | By Mark Frankel | 13 Comments
Over the past view years, I’ve met more and more people who admit that they’re very distracted and find it hard to focus during davening and throughout the day.
One of my favorite technology-oriented writers, Nick Carr explains in his new book, “The Shallows” that the Internet is effecting our ability to concentrate and think deeply.
In an interview in the Atlantic, Carr explains how he became interested in this topic:
You write that the Internet encourages a mental ethic of speed and, in effect, distraction. Tell us a little about how you arrived at this idea.
It was originally spurred by my own personal experience. Like a lot of people, I had been using the Net heavily for more than a decade. In fact, every time the Web gained some new capability, I used it more. What I started noticing around 2007 was that I seemed to be losing my ability to concentrate. Not just when I was sitting at a computer. Even when the computer was off and I tried to read a book, to sustain a single train of thought, I found it difficult.
Carr is a deep thinker and it’s worth spending a few minutes reading what he has to say on the subject. In a recent post on his blog he successfully defended his work from an attack by Stephen Pinker, the famed Harvard psychologist who criticized his thesis recently in the NY Times.
When I was recently at the Torah U Mesorah convention, an out of town principal whose students spend a reasonable amount of time on the Internet, watching videos and playing video games said the level of focus and concentration for his students is very low.
I think there are two things we can do to address this problem:
- Decrease our usage of high distraction technologies
- Make an increased effort to increase our focus during learning and davening. Start small with a few words or a single brocha and catch yourself and try to refocus.
When we started Beyond BT, we were caught up in the distraction producing high-frequency updates, but over time we have decrease the pace. Now we’re going to decrease the pace a little more and post 2-3 times a week.
We’ll also let a post stay up for a few days when we see a nice comment thread forming so people don’t feel a need to repeatedly check back every hour.
Deep thinking and focus are essential components of Judaism, so let’s try to fight the trend towards distraction in any way we can.
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June 15th, 2010 @ 1:46 pm
“When I was recently at the Torah U Mesorah convention, an out of town principal whose students spend a reasonable amount of time on the Internet, watching videos and playing video games said the level of focus and concentration for his students is very low.”
Probably true. Another factor I’ve heard from those in chinuch (both in the day school/yeshiva system and also those professionals who teach in supplimental Hebrew Schools) is that because learning issues are more common (ADD/ADHD, students who are partially mainstreamed from P’Tach, etc) and vast, teachers have learned to adapt lesson plans so that the majority of the students stay focused.
On one hand this great b/c everyone learns differently. The downside is that while attempting to help students a, b and c who need information delivered to them in a specialized way, the rest of the classmates (even if it’s only for a few minutes) are sort of on the sidelines.
Before anyone jumps down my throat, this is just an observation from a parent that has a child that “needs information delivered in a specialized way” and another child that is more attuned to traditional forms of learning.
June 15th, 2010 @ 3:31 pm
This really strikes a chord with me. I definitely suffer from the issues mentioned. I find it difficult to read more than a chapter of a book and my davening and learning are very distracted. Being in tech I’m in front of the computer around 10 hours a day. I work at home, so even when I’m not working I spend a lot time at the computer. I’m the same age as Carr and I definitely think that’s a factor.
I read the back and forth between Carr and Pinker. This phenomenon is only around 15 years old, so I think it’s way too early to draw conclusions. People my age are definitely transitional figures in the drama so I really don’t think our experiences are that relevant. (Though we do need to find ways to deal with it.)
I would tend to side with Pinker as I believe that human brain is incredibly adaptive and also quite underutilized. I think that in the long run we, as a species, will evolve the ability to adapt to this new way of assimilating information.
Now excuse me as I have to go post this article on Facebook. :)
June 15th, 2010 @ 3:47 pm
Ask anyone in Chinuch or in any level of secular education and they will tell you that the biggest source of competition and distraction of attention are technology and the multiple means of communication available to kids, adolescents and adults. Does anyone have a positive approach for a solution?
June 15th, 2010 @ 7:52 pm
Harness technology in a positive way to help both kids and parents. One example: serious discussions about using the power of the Internet and long-distance education (such as the K12.com online curriculum) for the secular studies component, to help deal with the problem of the soaring costs of Yeshiva tuition. Another example: Home tutoring through sophisticated computer software for kids needing remedial help (e.g., a Kriah practice CD, an Ivrit dikduk CD, an Illustrated Mishnayos CD, etc.) Many schools already use Whiteboards and Smartboards as teaching aids. Multimedia can be used to help kids learn.
June 16th, 2010 @ 9:15 am
Some schools won’t let your kids in if you have internet at home. Not so farfetched, really. It does makes sense. Practically though…
June 16th, 2010 @ 10:33 am
I can honestly say, my son loves having a Smartboard in his class. Last year, in 3rd grade, his Rebbe (who is a techie and has been teaching for 30+ yrs) used the Smartboard for all sorts of great things.
This year (which is actually over today) his 4th grade English teacher also used it. She said it helps keep the kids focused b/c its a medium that they can relate to.
June 16th, 2010 @ 10:56 am
I don’t think Carr or the readers of Beyond BT are against use of the Internet or of any technologies.
It’s just that we need to have an awareness that use of distraction intensive technologies (which could even include phone texting) can and does affect our ability to focus which in turn affects our ability to think deeply and Judaism does ask of us to focus and think deeply.
June 16th, 2010 @ 11:51 am
I agree.
From a “mussar” approach, maybe those of us on BeyondBT should attempt to not use phones/texting for a specific time, like during dinner.
June 16th, 2010 @ 2:20 pm
If we’re able to detach ourselves on Shabbos and Yom Tov, we should be able to do so for set periods during the week.
June 16th, 2010 @ 2:55 pm
Could be. However understanding that something isn’t permitted according to Halacha is different than something that is a “reshus” or for lack of a better term, a chumrah- i.e. I am taking it upon myself not to check email/texting for an hour every night.
Also it could be a bechira issue. After keeping Shabbos for a number of years, the urge to check voicemail after the phone rings or emai become habitual and their really isn’t much bechira (free will) involved [See Rav Dessler's Strive for Truth vol 1, IIRC]
June 16th, 2010 @ 10:54 pm
I remember Marshall McLuhan’s 1960′s book, “The medium is the message.” However, I don’t think that’s always the case nowadays. Content is also relevant.
A “book,” whether in print, website or “Kindle” format is still a book, regardless of medium. It will hopefully have been subjected to more rigorous vetting than general blog or website content. You can do an internet search for a Jewish law topic, and spend some time going through an authoritative-looking site, thinking you are acquiring relevant knowledge, only to find out that it was written by and for non-Jews. You can also find reliable, rabbinically authored book excerpts (or even an entire book) that is appropriate for use by Jews. Same medium, but the message varies markedly due to the nature of the content.
There are many issues with texting and the like that go beyond interference with learning and davening. When texting, family members at the dinner table are focused on outsiders rather than each other; that is the work of the medium. However, the content is also noteworthy. If we actually have a conversation at the table, we should strive to make it a source of knowledge, inspiration or good clean family fun. If we waste our meal time to quibble with each other or exchange lashon harah, we are not better off than we would be with our noses buried in texting devices.
June 17th, 2010 @ 1:12 pm
This is such a huge issue in our lives. At least we go off the grid at least once a week by virtue of Shabbos. Perhaps this helps us at least “reboot” to reality a little better?
June 17th, 2010 @ 10:04 pm
I have noticed in the last couple of years the schools are emphasizing presentation that is exciting, flashy and in tune with popular culture in order to keep student attention and compete with the surrounding culture. I think it’s sad, because along the way we reinforce to kids that they should always expect to be amused/entertained and engaged by external sources—and forfeit the expectation that they should grow to know how to occupy themselves in a worthwhile manner including projects or learning that progress slowly and take time and patience.
Case in point: a weeks-longs social studies unit in my daughter’s yeshiva based on American Girl dolls where the students made their own doll, created a fictional historical story for her, and had an American Girl museum at the end of the unit. Needless to say most of the girls in the class received the actual American Girl dolls (about $100 each) by the end of this project. I also succumbed and bought one although prior to this “lesson” my daughter accepted my decision that we don’t spend that kind of money to buy a popular doll……