Does it ever happen to you that you sit down to study, work, or read a book, and after a minute you’re already checking your phone or losing focus? It’s as if our brains really cannot retain information for an hour straight without needing to do something else.
The reality is that it probably isn’t just about your discipline, but about the training you have given your brain. We are constantly adapting to our environment, and lately, we are mostly surrounded by instant stimuli: notifications, fast food, short videos, quick access to information, etc. Never before have we had so much information in such a short period of time.
All these factors impact our minds in many ways. Initially, they affect our neuroplasticity, which measures the brain's ability to adapt to what we repeat. Depending on the habits I continuously provide my body, that’s how it will react to the stimuli around me.
The famous dopamine (a neurotransmitter that regulates motivation and pleasure) also plays a role, as it gets accustomed to the enjoyment we provide, like the brief and high spikes from using our phones and constantly switching from app to app.
The prefrontal cortex is responsible for controlling attention, decision-making, and impulse inhibition, while the anterior cingulate cortex is involved in error management and sustained attention; additionally, we have many other regulators.
Progressively as a society, we have gotten used to receiving quick and entertaining information, which we find hard to let go of for a while. I doubt I’m the only one who grabs my phone the moment studying bores me or when I feel frustrated, angry, or sad. In some way, we need to cover up those feelings and channel them with a spike of dopamine.
Another very common example is artificial intelligence, which despite providing numerous benefits (resolving doubts, reducing mental workload, organization), decreases our cognitive effort, because “it thinks, researches, and resolves for us.” This negatively impacts us psychologically and socially.
The constant overstimulation in order to avoid the mentioned feelings leads to an increase in what is known as basil stress. That’s how it becomes harder and harder for us to pay attention in class, maintain a prolonged conversation, or even stick to a long-term habit.
And this creates feelings of guilt and frustration for not being able to fulfill, feeling useless, or suffering from headaches after long exposure to screens.
Technology today is a double-edged sword that can either accompany us or drain us. The solution might not be to see this as something to eliminate, but rather to regulate.
Re-training our brains to tolerate silence, waiting, and emotional discomfort is a current challenge. It’s not about eliminating stimuli, but about regaining control over them to reduce anxiety and disconnection.
Turning off the phone, cooking without music, sitting in silence, feeling frustration and boredom—these are trainings for the mind that allow us to regain control and avoid compulsive behaviors that interfere with our plans. You are not irresponsible; your brain is adapting to the modern context that surrounds us, which makes it much harder to stay focused.
Concentration is also trained; the more we take care of it, the more present we will be in our lives, and that is true productivity.
By Camila di Brino, student of the Biotechnology degree at UADE
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