Take a message

A teacher I knew once covered his classroom's clock with a sign that said "Be Here Now." It is all that a person can ask for from people around them. Perhaps it is the perfect message to our youth. 

The other day someone older than myself commented on how younger people did not have a good work ethic. They were right, of course. Young people, IMO, do have a harder time deciding to get started, a harder time keeping going, and a harder time seeing a job to its end than people even a few years older than themselves.

It might be normal maturation. It might be a factor of our modern civilization. Perhaps we can blame it on MTV like people used to do back in the 80s and 90s.

In the past, older folks, who noticed young people flitting about from one thing to another like a fly checking out a summer barbecue decided that the problem was TV. It had to be. MTV, they said was the cause. It narrowed 'normal' TV from half-hour shows to five-minute videos. People were basically the same. They still got up in the morning, and went to sleep in the evening. They still put their pants on one leg at a time. So they decided the cause of the generational difference in attention span was technology.

Today is no different. People still notice that younger folks are constantly distracted. Today, TV is an accepted piece of life, whether in hour-long or minute-long doses. Few people continue to argue that we should turn off the set and go back to books and board games every night. Today, folks blame the short attention spans and lack of follow through on cell phones, texting, and instant messaging.

All of those things do draw a young person's attention away from those near to them (geographically speaking). (I would be remiss, however, if I did not pause to note how the text messages and such also bring young people together as well. New devices electronically connect friends instantaneously across town, and across the world. They remain connected whether they are sitting bored at home, commuting, or at work. That is a real accomplishment.)

The problem, though, is that there are only so many moments in the day people spend with each other. If young people are constantly surfing Facebook posts or awaiting a chime on their phone, how can they get work done? If they keep a watchful eye on their mobile phone, how can they truly converse with the people around them? Saying, "Hold on," to the people around you does not make up for the fact that you are breaking off from a conversation with them.

Taking a phone call has always warranted an "Excuse me, please." In times past, the person would retire to take their call in a separate room. Today, there are no phone booths left. Maybe we should bring them back. We take calls sitting at a table in a restaurant or in an elevator. We don't think much about it, but it is wrong. It is egocentric to talk on a cell phone when others are around. It distracts you, whether driving, or walking. You, the people around you, and whoever you are talking to all deserve your undivided attention. Giving them less is insulting.

Manners aside, I think it is wrong to keep the cell on all of the time to begin with. When a person really concentrates on his or her work, there is no room left in the brain for an incoming call or text message. Sure, everybody needs a distraction once in a while. Studies have shown that frequent breaks increase productivity. There is, however a difference.

Those studies are talking about working for twenty or thirty minutes, then taking a five minute breather to move and decompress. That pattern of brain activity lets the information sink in. It allows a person to reflect on what they are doing, and make changes so that he or she does it well. When a person works for ten minutes then receives and responds to a text, then works for another minute before the next text comes in, nothing is really getting done. That person is texting, not working. His mind is on the phone, not on his work.

Today we need to acknowledge the vision of our elders. In just the same way that our parents made us turn off the TV while we did our homework, we need to turn off the messaging. We need to admit that there are lots of times, and lots of places that it is just wrong to keep the cell phone on. Movie theaters remind us to turn them off before a picture. We need to be responsible enough to turn them off before getting to the restaurant, or getting into a conversation. There is nothing wrong with letting a few messages build up and then responding to them all at once.

If your face-to-face relationships, and your work can benefit from your undivided attention, why not acknowledge that each is important and turn off your personal distraction device? Maybe old people will begin to notice how much work you are doing, and what you have to say, not how often you excuse yourself.

In this day and age, no one tries to "Stick it to the man." We might not "Fight the establishment" the same way any more. The differences those sayings highlighted years ago between generations do still exist. They will always be there, as sure as ants at a picnic and sand in your swimsuit at the beach. Today we need to recognize them, and do what we can to bridge those generational gaps. The OFF button is the first step. You might be surprised with the results.  MTV might not play videos any more, but now they are an accepted art form.

mayB txtN wl B d nxt art 4m.


ROFL. jst tnk of it ;-P