Distraction
Latest
Focus mode comes to Android to limit distracting apps
The big problem with owning a smartphone is that every temptation is just a finger tap away -- ooh, Twitter! -- making it hard to knuckle down on a single task. Earlier this year, Google promised to remedy this with "Focus mode," a new tool that stops you -- ooh, YouTube! -- opening apps that could distract you. You just select which apps like -- ooh, better check Facebook -- you find distracting, and lock them down until you choose to release them.
Researchers are using VR to make dentist visits less painful
Like airlines, dentists understand that the more they can distract you from what they're doing, the better off everyone will be. UK researchers wanted see if virtual reality can ease patient pain and anxiety, so they enlisted 79 people who needed a tooth pulled or cavity filled. Patients were divided into three groups: One that viewed a VR coastal scene, one a VR city, and the other, no virtual reality at all.
Microsoft study shows that tech is shortening your attention span
Think the abundance of technology in your life is making it harder to concentrate for long periods? Microsoft might just have some evidence to support your theory. It recently published a study (conducted using both surveys and EEG scans) suggesting that the average attention span has fallen precipitously since the start of the century. While people could focus on a task for 12 seconds back in 2000, that figure dropped to 8 seconds in 2013 -- about one second less than a goldfish. Reportedly, a lot of that reduction stems from a combination of smartphones and an avalanche of content. Many younger people find themselves compulsively checking their phones, and the glut of things to do on the web (such as social networking) makes it all too easy to find diversions.
Shazam mention, blackout at Super Bowl drives mobile engagement
Velti is a firm that runs advertising on mobile platforms like iOS and Android, and they were paying close attention during last Sunday's Super Bowl game to how and when mobile users were on their phones. The company has released a few tidbits about mobile usage during the big showdown, and they reveal quite a bit about when we picked up our phones during the game. Velti says that while the Ravens may have won the game, Jack in the Box was the biggest win on the mobile side: The company's "Hot Mess" commercial (which featured a big plug for Shazam, who we spoke with about exactly this situation at CES) was the most active mobile engagement driver during the entire show. Viewers saw the bug, and immediately picked up their phones, presumably to either check out Shazam or use the app on the commercial spot (though it was only 30 seconds, so they had to hurry). Mobile engagement also spiked, says Velti, during the brief blackout delay that the stadium experienced. In that same vein, the halftime show was actually the point at which viewers were least engaged in their phones, suggesting that Beyonce's song and dance distracted them back away from the smaller screens. And the game itself distracted viewers from their phones as well -- the relatively boring first half had more mobile usage, while the second half of the game, when the 49ers staged a comeback against the Ravens, saw mobile usage drop. There's a lot of very interesting insight in there about exactly how mobile users make use of their second screen devices. The Jack in the Box / Shazam spike is no mistake, and we can likely expect to see even more moves like that in the future. Our mobile phones are nearly always with us these days, and other screens, including television, have lots of opportunities to use Apple's platforms for even more engagement.
Smartphones, not DVRs, are the biggest threat to TV adverts
TV viewers are a famously fickle bunch, which tends to drive TV advertisers crazy. The prevalent theory remains that skipping past ads using a pesky DVR is the biggest enemy of marketers, but new research has once again contradicted that received wisdom. The IPG Media Lab in Los Angeles pulled together a representative group of 48 TV and online video viewers and asked them to sit through some programming while equipped with the usual "devices or distractions" that accompany their viewing habits. Central to the study was the measurement of time each person spent facing the screen and how engaged they were with the content. The first thing noted was that 94 percent of TV viewers and 73 percent of online video consumers used some other form of media to augment their visual entertainment. Smartphones were the most common, with 60 percent of test subjects resorting to their handset while gawking at the TV. That's resulted in a mediocre 52 percent attention level during actual programs and 37 percent during ads. In other words, two thirds of the time, commercials are being ignored and smartphones are helping people with that heinous behavior. Ironically, fast-forwarding adverts using a DVR garnered attention levels that were 12 percent higher, mostly because people were trying to make sure they didn't skip too far ahead. Damn, why does reality have to be all complex and stuff?
myTexts for iPad, distraction-free writing to go
A while back, I shared my discovery of myTexts, a robust distraction-free writing application ... well, as robust as a stripped-down, no-frills editor would want to be. Now, myTexts has shown up on the iPad, with iTunes syncing of your text files between your iPad and the desktop version. To make the deal sweeter, if you pick up the US$2.99 iPad app, you can get the Mac version (normally $19) for free. The iPad app is good-looking, and has two different editing modes. The first one you're presented with is a more illustrated interface, with faux-paper and a wooden desktop background. If you'd rather be completely undistracted, there's a full-screen mode that has nothing but your text and a keyboard (and a nearly-invisible button to go back to the menu). In the main menu mode, your files are presented on the left, and your text is on the right. You can switch files quickly, and flip from writing to the file's attached notes with a button at the top. You can export files on the iPad, and it's necessary to do so before syncing a file back through iTunes. When you export a text or myTexts format file, it shows up on your Apps screen in iTunes, where you can add and transfer files of either type. The latest version of myTexts on the Mac can read the original-format files from the iPad, maintaining any notes as well as the text. The desktop version can then interpret any Markdown, and output PDF, Word, Rich Text, HTML and more. While we're waiting for Writeroom for iPad to be finalized/approved, myTexts has swept in and offered an alternative with some great functionality and a clean interface. There are a few glitches, mostly related to attaching and detaching an external keyboard, but it's safe to assume they'll be smoothed out quickly. It's a pleasure to use as it is, and quite useful for writers. Combined with the desktop version, it's pretty powerful as well. If you pick up the iPad version, be sure to head over to moApps to get your desktop version for free!
Using your iPhone in the city? Be careful!
I've lived in big cities for almost ten years now, first in Chicago and now in Los Angeles, and I could have told you exactly what this New York Times piece does: that you've got to be careful while using your iPhone while walking the city streets. We've heard about this before with the iPod, but an iPhone offers up even more distraction while walking around -- in between checking email, jumping on Twitter, and/or playing any number of games, it's practically impossible to spend enough attention on where you're walking and what you're doing even on a relatively clear street. Think it's a joke? Over 1000 people found themselves in emergency rooms in 2008 because they were distracted while walking, says the article, which is twice the number from 2007, which itself was almost double the number from 2006 (and it's probably gotten higher in the last year). That's not to say that we need actual legislation to deal with this (although legislation has been discussed in New York, and there is already legislation on the books in many places against using your phone while driving), but it's something to keep in mind: I put my iPhone away whenever I cross a street, and just plain stop whenever I need to do anything more attention-deserving than switch a song or up the volume. And it only took me one close call with a moving truck to figure that one out. If you're walking around with your iPhone or iPod in a busy urban environment, be careful out there. Note: Clarified the statistics above; the 2008 number is approximately four times the 2006 number.
US government launches Distraction.gov, wants to scare you straight (video)
European countries may have long ago banished the use of cellphones while driving to the dark side of the law, but many of the United States persist in allowing their citizens to talk while driving. One reason for their reluctance may be that outlawing something that has become second nature to most people would be both unproductive and tough to enforce. So what do you do? The natural alternative to forcing people to drive attentively is educating them of the reasons why. Never mind the fact that we all kinda, sorta know the risks we undertake while operating a Droid and a Dodge concurrently. The newly minted Distraction.gov is chockfull of scaremongering statistics, topped by a truly epic video which we've handily stashed for you just after the break. Go get it while it's hot.
Tunes for toons while raiding
We've talked about listening to music while playing the game before. While the "actual" game music is pretty good (I've gone back and forth between having it on and off during the time I've played, and at this point I'm in an "on" phase, so I can hear all the new Northrend music). But Lazaragh on Jubei'thos wants to know about a specific situation: what do you listen to while raiding?Personally, while I'll often have a podcast or a movie on while playing solo or sometimes running five mans (if I'm feeling particularly awake), I tend to have to focus while raiding, so I usually turn the background noise off and listen to Vent or just the audio queues ingame. Any more than that an I get distracted. But there are all kinds of answers in the thread, from trance to pop to metal (Dragonforce FTW!), and pretty much across every genre that you can think of. What might be most interesting about all of this is that the music apparently has no effect on gameplay, though it'd be interesting to see the raiding performance of people who listen to music while playing against people who don't.Maybe an enterprising raiding group can do an experiment and figure that out. I'd guess it's just personal taste, but it does seem to me that even if you say your attention isn't divided, the music has to be a little distraction. Maybe it's just me. What kind of music do you raid with?
Survey: Casual games keep the vices at bay
According to a recent survey conducted by Information Solutions Group (on behalf of casual games company RealGames) shows that casual gaming might be more than just a quick diversion (or frustration, if the game refuses to understand your speech). Other than providing a quick round of Sudoku, that copy of Brain Age 2 could have other health benefits.The survey asked 4,537 respondents between December 28, 2007 and January 11, 2008 about casual gaming. Of the 4,537 individuals, 2,784 of them said they watched their weight and 60% of those individuals said they use games as a way to keep from snacking and overeating. That's not all, though.Of the 1,324 survey respondents that said they were smokers, 42% said that gaming provided a distraction from smoking. While the focus of the survey is more about casual games, we do know one title that's pretty good with helping smokers quit. Any of you trying to curb your bad habits with some gaming?
Horde looking for (and finding) fewer groups?
Distraction on the WoW LJ posts about something I've noticed while sitting in the LFG channel over the last few days on my server as well: Alliance are having a nice big party in the LFG channel, while Horde seem kind of lonely in it.Why does it seem like Alliance run more PUGs than Horde do? It seems to happen on every server that I've been on, and it can't just be a population thing-- even Horde heavy servers (of which there aren't many) seem to have more PUGs rolling on the Alliance side. Could it be that Alliance players are more social, or just more likely to be unguilded?And another thing I've noticed (and while Distraction doesn't mention it obviously, you can see it in his script) is that Horde seem to be less responsive to pleas for help in terms of LFG as well. Not only is it less common for a group to be LFG on Horde side, it seems, but it's less common for anyone LFG to find the help they need. I watched one guy Hordeside look for a Botanica group member for about 2 hours over the weekend, and when I finally joined up, the group frll apart anyway. Has that been your experience? And if so, why could that possibly be?
Using an iPod while driving is distracting: duh
Man, we need to get in on the cash cow feeding all these driver distraction studies. A new study conducted by Drexel University found that using an iPod while driving has "significant effect" on driver performance. The study monitored 12 people who were asked to "drive" in a simulator while selecting and playing music, video and podcasts on their iPods. The result? No surprise: searching for media caused drivers to slow down and veer left or right whereas watching videos (!) "significantly affected" car-following speed. Hey, can we get some funding to prove that knitting a sock affects driving performance as well? Hell, let's just ban it all and get back to the intrinsically safe concept of propelling 2,000 pounds of steel and glass down the road at 80 feet per second.
Canada to outlaw iPods in the car for youngsters?
Grant Robertson at The Digital Music Weblog (a sister blog) has dug up details on a move from the Canadian Automobile Association to pressure provincial governments in Canada to ban younger drivers from using electronic devices, such as mobile phones and MP3 players, in the car, eh. While some think they have their song switching skillz down pat while juggling a Big Gulp™ and steering with their knee, Grant also cites a study released in April 2006 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that states "the many forms of distractions are collectively responsible for as many as eight out of every ten crashes" (do y'all even have 711's and 'Big Gulps' in Canada? If not, consider yourselves lucky).Check out Grant's post on the issue covering more on this sudden iPod-hating from Canada (we kid). But if the thought of not being able to cart your tunes with you is too much to bear, you might also need to start checking up on those fancy iPod-integration kits that let you control your iPod from your steering wheel.
