Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age

摘要

Recently I had the opportunity to enjoy a screening of Michelangelo An-tonioni's L'Avventura. The print was pristine and the theater a marvel of comfort. The film is a bit of a slog, though, long and lugubrious, despite the "la dolce vita" vibes and the stunning vistas of Sicily. But I was struck at how the audience watched in rapt silence, save for the Italian granny behind me who kept grousing that she was once much more beautiful than "this" Monica Vitti. When the lights came up, I realized why the audience had been so attentive. Almost everyone in the hall was over forty.rnSome feminist linguists have suggested that men and women should be considered different species when it comes to language. Perhaps the same can be said for those who were born before the internet and the cell phone and those who came after. Perhaps the real Y2K virus is only now apparent-a generation of peevish, tubby humanoids distracted from the rigors and rewards of an engaged existence by glorified Tamaguchis.