And thus furthering the internet's arms war for grabbing people's attention.
I see this playing out two ways:
1. The "productivity" apps will continue to grow as more people become less productive. (the tools aren't lacking, but their attention spans are) We'll continue to see to-do list apps, CRM apps, and project management tools rolled out week after week.
2. Internet based companies (everything from publishers to web apps) will have to increasingly find more ways to ensure user engagement. This means more email notifications, more smartphone notifications, more SMS's, and more ways of people trying to annoy you.
#2 is what's killing me, so these past few weeks I've deactivated all social network services (Facebook, Twitter, etc), deleted all of those apps off my phone, and the result has been refreshing. I feel so....free...my mind is more clear and more able to focus. Sure the messaging situation is a bit broken up right now (a mix of iMessage, SMS, and Hangouts, whereas before I only used FB), but I don't even mind.
We'll see how long it lasts before I feel the need to switch them all back on, but so far I haven't been missing them one bit! I might just give them up for good because I really do feel great not having to check up on my Twitter/Fb/etc. I'm no longer being pummeled with a sea of content that I then inadvertently consume. I spend more time looking around my environment in my moments of free time (like when standing in line) instead of automatically opening up Fb or Twitter like a cruel nervous twitch.
The only social network app that I kept is Instagram because I like taking pictures a lot and Instagram is just fun for that purpose :) Plus it doesn't notify me too much or require too much of my attention even when it does.
Neat! Lately I've been trying to just ponder, soak in the moment or just do nothing if I'm waiting in line or something, rather than reach for my smart phone. But the biggest timesink for me is my laptop, or rather my Internet powered laptop. I remember when I didn't have WiFi (or was it electricity...) in my apartment. I thought I would be bored to tears, but it was actually a nice change of pace. Definitely more serene. Now I just need to find some self discipline and use the Web less, or maybe turn it off completely, and when I do use the laptop to be less obsessive with Facebook, email etc.
People can ignore these things when they really want to do something. For example, most people won't check for emails while watching an interesting movie. Similarly, if I'm working up awesome code that needs to be ready for tomorrow, I'm going to forget to sleep, never mind email.
The problem comes when they are doing something they don't want to be doing - they might check them while watching a nourishing NPR documentary, or that 1980s zombie movie He insists is amazing.
So why are I commenting on HN while I am supposed to be working? I think it's because there isn't a strong enough negative consequence. Most people can perform +-20% at anything in their lives, and not see much effect either way. So if they don't like doing an activity, why not give it -20% effort?
In the 70s it would be a cigarette break, now it's reddit. People don't change much.
This is actually a really good opportunity. For a while now, I've built little web apps designed to increase my ability to focus. NOT productivity, but focus. Maybe one of these days I'll actually focus enough to finish one.
For example, I've built a little time tracker tool that asks you to rate your focus after a work session. That way you KNOW how much time you've spent actually focused, vs. puttering around on the internet.
My current hobby project is a gamification of journaling. The basic idea is to get people addicted writing. My current issue with this app is with testing it. I find myself focusing on playing the game instead of actually coding. Oops.
I see this playing out two ways:
1. The "productivity" apps will continue to grow as more people become less productive. (the tools aren't lacking, but their attention spans are) We'll continue to see to-do list apps, CRM apps, and project management tools rolled out week after week.
2. Internet based companies (everything from publishers to web apps) will have to increasingly find more ways to ensure user engagement. This means more email notifications, more smartphone notifications, more SMS's, and more ways of people trying to annoy you.