Opinion: Damon Young: Distraction
blame the mind, not the machines

An interesting few words from Damon Young on the machines that distract some people. Damon likes to observe – here’s one of his people observations. I think that too often I have observed his subject.

An ordinary suburban cafe, with an ordinary sullen teenage waitress and faux-friendly barista. The tables are unvarnished barrels. The cups are marmalade jars. And the coffee is bitter, weak and overpriced.

Sitting at the barrel next to me is a thirty-something dad with his two school-age kids. The boy is staring down at his iPad in its blue cover, tapping the screen like he’s sending a telegram. The girl is holding up her iPad in its pink cover, watching a film. Her headphones are pink too. They say nothing.

Their father, his leg bouncing up and down like a dog being scratched, is licking his thumb and forefinger, and slowly turning the pages of the newspaper. But he’s not really reading the newspaper, because he keeps getting messages on his smart phone. Every few minutes there’s another chime, and he instantly checks the screen, reads, types, swipes then puts it down. By the time their miniature artisan pizzas land on the barrel, the father is checking his phone before the messages arrive — two minutes is too long.

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For his article on machines – click here

For Damon Young’s Blog – click here