Andrew Melder

I was watching a YouTube video recently from Spencer’s Adventures around his experiences with the AlphaSmart 3000 electronic word processor. Many of the comments reminisced about their time with the device in school, or how they still use it for their writing needs.

However there was a few comments pretty dismissive of the idea; with this one in particular catching my eye:

The underlying idea in this comment is common among discussions where the topic of technology usage is concerned: if it’s such an issue, why don’t you just stop doing the distracting things?

For various reasons, while many may be able to stop themselves from distracting apps and services in order to get something done and be productive; many of us still struggle. I’ve personally tried to take various steps on my phone and laptop in order to stop distractions and be more productive on those devices. Some actions have been successful, but to be honest many haven’t.

For myself, while a laptop is more than capable of being an excellent device for typing out a journal or blog post; its distractions of connectivity, apps and services it is capable of running are generally too much for me to ignore.

I’m sure many of you can identify with this. How often have you gone to check something quickly on your laptop or phone only to go down a completely unrelated rabbit hole of content; be that social media updates, website articles or YouTube videos.

A device like a dedicated electronic word processor (which I’m writing this on) helps by way of its limitations; it can’t do anything else but be a word processor. No emails, no internet browsers, no apps, no videos or music to play in the background while I pretend to focus on the item at hand.

Devices like this save us from ourselves and our willingness to fill in any sense of boredom with noise or entertainment. It’s the same story with single purpose devices outside of the productivity scheme.

There’s a rising popularity of old iPods in an era where unlimited music streaming services have seemingly turned music into a constant background activity, limiting our ability to truly listen and connect with a song and rendering the album almost insignificant.

Digicams have had a resurgence among young people; embracing the friction of the experience and lo-fi nature of the results compared to the always on, highly processed and instant sharing nature of smartphones.

Part of the resurgence of distraction-free or single purpose devices might very well be an over correction to the rapid on boarding of these devices in our daily lives, particularly our smartphones. These are indeed incredible tools when used correctly, with capabilities often exceeding their single purpose counterparts all within our pockets.

But many of us are overwhelmed. The technology changes have been so swift and drastic that our primitive brains, which in the past have had long periods of history to adapt to changing technology and social norms, are struggling to keep up.

Some are thriving with these new technologies; but an increasing amount of people in this world are looking for the alternatives, to simplify and slow down. To single task instead of overloading our brains with attempts of multitasking.

Distraction-free devices, whether from technology of yesteryear or new devices dedicated to a craft, provide a way some of us can get back in control of what we do and when.