Noise

Chapter 1Noise, Noise, So Much Noise

To the hard of hearing, you shout.

—Flannery O’Connor

We’re all connected, all day and in every way.

Smartphones, laptops, tablets, and smart watches. Screens in cars, airports, gas stations, classrooms, offices, hospitals, and hotels. The constant buzzing of a 24-hour news cycle. The list goes on.

What? Did you just miss that? Maybe you got another text, news alert, or notification?

The daily experience is to consume information at every turn. It’s nearly impossible to avoid the barrage from morning until night. How much of it is relevant? What’s useful for us, and what is simply a waste of time and energy?

Our brains are hard at work, making it harder to focus and easier than ever to get distracted. Our attention spans are rapidly eroding, and we’re now at risk. Over the years, we adapt. Many of us don’t even notice this decline because we’re too busy fixating on the next distraction, text message, e-mail, meeting invitation, social media post, or funny video clip.

Infobesity is the new normal, and it can have dire consequences. Here’s a snapshot of where we consume information:

• Overflowing e-mail. Our inboxes are flooded with messages; most of them are irrelevant and yet they keep coming over and over to be read, judged useless, and then deleted.
• Smartphone notifications. Throughout the day, our phones vibrate and sound the alarm to be picked up and checked.
• Checking our devices. For most of us, it’s the first and last thing we do every ...