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Continuous Partial Attention?
Jeff Kenton | Mar 30 2006
Hi everyone, I was reading the March 27 Newsweek, and Steven Levy's column caught my attention. In the article, he quotes a conference talk given my Linda Stone. Linda used to work at both Apple and Microsoft. She's concerned about a phenomenon called Continuous Partial Attention (CPA). This affliction (my word) involves trying to engage oneself in two worlds simultaneously. Levy also provides a metaphor: "A live Blackberry or even a switched-on mobile phone is an admission that your commitment to your current activity is as fickle as Renee Zellweger's wedding vows." (Ouch.) and: What can be done? Is it rude to assume that I can ask my conversation partner to unhook the bluetooth earbud when talking to me? Can I take away my meeting group's Blackberrys until the meeting is over? Does anyone have any strategies for dealing with this? 17 Comments
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 What bothered me the most...Submitted by randellt on March 31, 2006 - 8:58am.
What bothered me the most is Levy's generalization: Quote:
A live BlackBerry or even a switched-on mobile phone is an admission that your commitment to your current activity is as fickle as Renee Zellweger's wedding vows. I understand the spirit of Stone and Levy on this topic, it's the lack of acknowledgement that "free will" plays a significant role here. People *choose* to interact the way they do, they are not compelled to do so by their BlackBerry's or phones. » POSTED IN:
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