You’ve heard of distracted driving. But what about distracted living? I coined the term (sort of) to apply to the condition of being distracted by the increasingly pervasive, and seemingly unavoidable, communications technologies surrounding us, such as email, cell phones, texting, Facebook, Twitter and other internet services. As I wrote in a newspaper column on the topic, it is characterized by frequent interruptions of other activities, from conversations with friends to work assignments to outings with kids. Those susceptible to distracted living often feel they must tap into their communications devices, and do so reflexively, without really thinking about it. Though they believe they’re making a choice about how they use these technologies, the technologies often come to have a grip over the individual’s behavior.
OK, enough said. If you want to read more, visit my posts about the topic.
ALLAN HOFFMAN 