Continuous Partial Attention
We are on the cusp of one Age of Attention and moving into another. We have been in the Age of Continuous Partial Attention for the last twenty years. We are just now entering the Age of Uni-focus. Trends start slowly, then accelerate. The first signs of the shift are starting to show up in this messy transition time. By 2014, we will be in the prime of this Era.
Continuous partial attention is fueled by the urge not to miss anything. Every call, every email, every text message, every blog post, every person wandering by, just might have value, might call us toward the next great opportunity or experience.
Continuous partial attention is different from multi-tasking. The Age of Multi-Tasking preceded the Age of Continuous Partial Attention. Multi-tasking is motivated by a desire to be more productive and more efficient. The multi-tasker gives the same priority to a variety of activities that don’t require much cognitive processing. We’re multi-tasking when we eat lunch, talk on the phone, and file or copy papers at the same time. We’re just being in the business of getting things done. We multi-task to CREATE more opportunity for ourselves – opportunity to DO more, to PLAY more, to CREATE more. We use continuous partial attention to SCAN for opportunity, to connect more, to be a live node in a web of endless possibilities. With every opportunity, we ask, “What can I gain here?”
When William James, defined attention in 1890, in Principles of Psychology, he said that it is taking possession of the mind in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought… it implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.
Today, a commonly used definition of attention is: the act or faculty of attending. We seem to have completely dropped the part about withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others. We’re just doing it all.
Continuous partial attention (cpa) is an always on, anywhere, anytime, any place behavior. It’s neuro-chemically addictive and it involves an artificial sense of constant crisis. We keep a top priority in focus. At the same time, we scan the periphery to see if we are missing other opportunities, and if we are, our very fickle attention shifts focus. What’s ringing? Who is it? What email just came in? 15 text messages. Blog this. What time is it in Beijing? 19 voicemails.
The artificial sense of constant crisis is more typical of continuous partial attention than it is of multi-tasking. In this state of constant crisis, our adrenalized Fight or Flight mechanism kicks in. This is great when a bear is standing ready to rip us to shreds. How many of those 500 emails a day is a bear? How many are flies? Is everything an emergency? Our way of using the current set of technologies would have us believe it is.
Over the last twenty years, we have not only become expert at paying continuous partial attention, we have become skilled in paying – CONTINUOUS continuous partial attention. There are times when CPA is the best attention strategy for what we’re doing. There are times when we can’t seem to shut it off and it’s not the best match. In small doses, continuous partial attention has served us well.
Continuous continuous partial attention, an always-on lifestyle, and the fight or flight response associated with it, sets off a cascade in our bodies, starting with norepinephrin and it’s friend, cortisol, a stress hormone. As a hormone, cortisol is a universal donor. That is, it attaches with any receptor site leaving little room for other hormones. As a result, dopamine and seratonin – hormones that help us feel calm and happy – have no where to go. The abundance of cortisol has contributed to our turning to pharmaceuticals to calm us down and help us sleep. Consider the success of drugs like Ambien, a non-narcotic sedative-type sleep medication, and anti-depressants, like Prozac. We have more attention-related and stress-related diseases than ever before. We can’t find the off switch -- on our devices or on ourselves. As we begin to consider the impact of this lifestyle, researchers are beginning to tell us that we may actually be doing tasks more slowly and more poorly.
We are beginning to shift away from a desire to be always-on, and moving toward a desire to protect our time, and to experience more meaningful relationships. We are moving from what I call the “I CONNECT” Era and the Age of Continuous Partial Attention and into the “I PROTECT and BELONG Era.” An era, that, over time, will be characterized by Uni-Focus and Presence. The world may continue to be noisy. Our yearning and fulfillment going forward will be more and more likely to come from getting to the bottom of things, from stillness, authenticity, meaningful connection, and a sense of protecting ourselves and being protected. Neo-Luddites Rising! OR… I know how to use the tools and I choose not to right now.






