1 00:00:15,436 --> 00:00:25,596 Speaker 1: Pushkin. One of the greatest lies our minds tell us 2 00:00:25,876 --> 00:00:28,076 Speaker 1: is that we're soaking up everything we see in here. 3 00:00:28,516 --> 00:00:31,556 Speaker 1: But that's simply not true. Our ability to pay attention 4 00:00:31,596 --> 00:00:34,156 Speaker 1: to the world around us is much more limited than 5 00:00:34,196 --> 00:00:39,636 Speaker 1: we think. We're missing out on way more than we realize. Okay, 6 00:00:39,676 --> 00:00:41,276 Speaker 1: thank you again for helping me into the study. X. 7 00:00:41,396 --> 00:00:44,156 Speaker 1: So you're going to be doing a classic experiment in 8 00:00:44,156 --> 00:00:46,036 Speaker 1: psychology where you're going to be counting the number of 9 00:00:46,036 --> 00:00:48,756 Speaker 1: basketball passes. I'm testing some of the students in my 10 00:00:48,796 --> 00:00:51,596 Speaker 1: residential college at Yale on an experiment that's now become 11 00:00:51,716 --> 00:00:55,236 Speaker 1: famous in the history of modern psychology. There's a decent 12 00:00:55,316 --> 00:00:57,316 Speaker 1: chance you may have taken a version of it yourself. 13 00:00:57,476 --> 00:01:00,316 Speaker 1: So there's gonna be six players, three people on the 14 00:01:00,316 --> 00:01:02,436 Speaker 1: white team and three people on a black team, and 15 00:01:02,556 --> 00:01:04,196 Speaker 1: your task is you have to count the number of 16 00:01:04,196 --> 00:01:12,596 Speaker 1: passes that the people on the white team. Make makes sense, Yeah, okay, one, two, three, four. 17 00:01:14,356 --> 00:01:16,676 Speaker 1: Since the teams are chriss crossing and the two balls 18 00:01:16,676 --> 00:01:19,236 Speaker 1: are constantly moving, there's a lot to keep track of. 19 00:01:19,956 --> 00:01:22,636 Speaker 1: Even so, most students are able to count the passes 20 00:01:22,756 --> 00:01:28,796 Speaker 1: pretty accurately. Fourteen fifteen, awesome, that's correct. But counting the 21 00:01:28,876 --> 00:01:31,676 Speaker 1: number of passes isn't really the point of the study. 22 00:01:32,236 --> 00:01:34,236 Speaker 1: Did you also notice anything else that was weird in 23 00:01:34,276 --> 00:01:40,036 Speaker 1: the video? I don't think so. Did you happen to 24 00:01:40,036 --> 00:01:43,916 Speaker 1: see a big grilla walk into the scene? No, no, 25 00:01:43,916 --> 00:01:49,316 Speaker 1: no way, I'll replay it again. Something very unexpected happens 26 00:01:49,316 --> 00:01:51,676 Speaker 1: in the middle of this video. A large man in 27 00:01:51,676 --> 00:01:55,676 Speaker 1: a guerrilla suit walks in and beats his chest. Now, 28 00:01:55,676 --> 00:01:58,036 Speaker 1: even though the gorilla walks right through the middle of 29 00:01:58,076 --> 00:02:01,836 Speaker 1: the frame, many people simply report not seeing it. Did 30 00:02:01,876 --> 00:02:04,036 Speaker 1: you see a huge grilla walk in the middle of 31 00:02:04,076 --> 00:02:07,476 Speaker 1: the pass? In fact, when researchers Dan Simon and Chris 32 00:02:07,476 --> 00:02:10,356 Speaker 1: Shabri originally ran the study, more than half of the 33 00:02:10,396 --> 00:02:13,276 Speaker 1: subjects failed to spot something right in front of their eyes. 34 00:02:13,916 --> 00:02:21,796 Speaker 1: O God, I you believe Simon's and Shabri christen this 35 00:02:21,836 --> 00:02:26,556 Speaker 1: phenomenon inattentional blindness, we're actually blind to anything we're not 36 00:02:26,636 --> 00:02:29,916 Speaker 1: actively paying attention to. When you focus on the people 37 00:02:29,956 --> 00:02:32,996 Speaker 1: passing the ball, you're simply unable to see a huge 38 00:02:32,996 --> 00:02:37,076 Speaker 1: gorilla even when you're looking right at it. Our minds 39 00:02:37,116 --> 00:02:39,476 Speaker 1: make us believe that we see everything we look at, 40 00:02:40,036 --> 00:02:42,956 Speaker 1: but that's just not true and the things we don't 41 00:02:42,996 --> 00:02:48,676 Speaker 1: notice matter for our happiness more than we think. Our 42 00:02:48,716 --> 00:02:51,156 Speaker 1: minds are constantly telling us what to do to be happy. 43 00:02:51,476 --> 00:02:53,716 Speaker 1: But what if our minds are wrong? What if our 44 00:02:53,756 --> 00:02:56,236 Speaker 1: minds are lying to us, leading us away from what 45 00:02:56,276 --> 00:02:58,956 Speaker 1: will really make us happy. The good news is that 46 00:02:59,116 --> 00:03:01,396 Speaker 1: understanding the science of the mind can point us all 47 00:03:01,396 --> 00:03:04,396 Speaker 1: back in the right direction. You're listening to the Happiness 48 00:03:04,476 --> 00:03:13,836 Speaker 1: Lab with doctor Laurie Sanders. I guess the joy of 49 00:03:13,876 --> 00:03:16,516 Speaker 1: doing science is when we discover things that are like, 50 00:03:16,636 --> 00:03:19,836 Speaker 1: really surprising and counterintuitive about how our own minds work. 51 00:03:20,316 --> 00:03:24,836 Speaker 1: And you're more likely to be surprised about processes in 52 00:03:24,876 --> 00:03:27,916 Speaker 1: the mind that we don't have conscious access to. This 53 00:03:27,956 --> 00:03:30,836 Speaker 1: is my colleague Brian Schell. He's a professor of psychology 54 00:03:30,836 --> 00:03:34,596 Speaker 1: and cognitive science here at Yale. Brian studies the surprising 55 00:03:34,636 --> 00:03:38,476 Speaker 1: limits of our attentional abilities. There's just way too much 56 00:03:38,596 --> 00:03:41,796 Speaker 1: information coming in through our eyes at any given moment 57 00:03:42,236 --> 00:03:45,796 Speaker 1: to fully process even most of it, much less all 58 00:03:45,796 --> 00:03:48,156 Speaker 1: of it. We assume that the mere act of looking 59 00:03:48,196 --> 00:03:51,316 Speaker 1: at something means we'll be able to perceive it. That say, 60 00:03:51,396 --> 00:03:53,996 Speaker 1: if I'm looking at a computer screen, I'll naturally be 61 00:03:54,036 --> 00:03:56,356 Speaker 1: able to see all the stuff that happens on the screen. 62 00:03:56,636 --> 00:03:59,236 Speaker 1: But one of the most shocking discoveries of this research 63 00:03:59,316 --> 00:04:01,916 Speaker 1: is that that is not true. That in some cases, 64 00:04:01,956 --> 00:04:05,236 Speaker 1: you can completely fail to be consciously aware of something 65 00:04:05,236 --> 00:04:07,476 Speaker 1: that's right in front of you if you are not 66 00:04:07,716 --> 00:04:10,716 Speaker 1: paying attention to it. And Brian's work on an attentional 67 00:04:10,756 --> 00:04:13,996 Speaker 1: blindness has shown that we're missing gorillas all over the place. 68 00:04:14,516 --> 00:04:17,436 Speaker 1: His lab uses a slightly different version of the gorilla experiment. 69 00:04:17,836 --> 00:04:21,036 Speaker 1: Instead of basketball players, Brian has people track a group 70 00:04:21,076 --> 00:04:23,436 Speaker 1: of black and white circles and squares moving across a 71 00:04:23,436 --> 00:04:26,916 Speaker 1: computer screen. The gorilla in this case is just a 72 00:04:26,956 --> 00:04:29,796 Speaker 1: bright red cross. And so this bright red cross has 73 00:04:29,836 --> 00:04:32,956 Speaker 1: a completely different color, a completely different shape, a completely 74 00:04:32,996 --> 00:04:36,556 Speaker 1: different type of motion trajectory, and it literally passes across 75 00:04:36,596 --> 00:04:39,316 Speaker 1: the entire screen and moves right in front of your eyes. 76 00:04:39,836 --> 00:04:42,236 Speaker 1: But despite the fact that the red cross is totally 77 00:04:42,276 --> 00:04:45,436 Speaker 1: different from the other shapes, around thirty percent of people 78 00:04:45,596 --> 00:04:48,716 Speaker 1: failed to see it, even when they're looking directly at 79 00:04:48,716 --> 00:04:51,676 Speaker 1: the screen. Our window on the world is only that 80 00:04:51,756 --> 00:04:54,516 Speaker 1: which we attend to, and that is just a brute 81 00:04:54,556 --> 00:04:57,916 Speaker 1: fact of human nature. We all have things that make 82 00:04:57,996 --> 00:05:00,956 Speaker 1: us happy in life. A delicious meal, a sunny spring day, 83 00:05:01,476 --> 00:05:04,596 Speaker 1: rain drops on roses, whiskers on kittens. I mean, there's 84 00:05:04,636 --> 00:05:07,196 Speaker 1: lots of good stuff out there, but the limits of 85 00:05:07,196 --> 00:05:10,516 Speaker 1: our attention mean that our favorite thing can only influence 86 00:05:10,516 --> 00:05:13,716 Speaker 1: our mood if we notice them. I mean, when was 87 00:05:13,796 --> 00:05:15,476 Speaker 1: the last time you took a second to look up 88 00:05:15,476 --> 00:05:18,236 Speaker 1: at the blue sky and the trees, or really stop 89 00:05:18,316 --> 00:05:21,396 Speaker 1: to pay attention to your partner's smile, or notice the 90 00:05:21,436 --> 00:05:25,116 Speaker 1: warmth of your coffee cup. Research shows that all these 91 00:05:25,196 --> 00:05:27,836 Speaker 1: little times were not paying attention can have a big 92 00:05:27,836 --> 00:05:31,796 Speaker 1: impact on our well being. Psychologist Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel 93 00:05:31,796 --> 00:05:34,676 Speaker 1: Gilbert showed this in a clever study. They had their 94 00:05:34,676 --> 00:05:37,876 Speaker 1: subjects download an app that contacted them at random times 95 00:05:38,036 --> 00:05:40,956 Speaker 1: and ask three questions, what are you doing right now? 96 00:05:41,356 --> 00:05:43,876 Speaker 1: Are you paying attention to what you're doing? And third, 97 00:05:44,236 --> 00:05:47,076 Speaker 1: how are you feeling? They found that what people were 98 00:05:47,116 --> 00:05:49,996 Speaker 1: doing only had a small impact on what they were feeling. 99 00:05:50,876 --> 00:05:54,716 Speaker 1: What really mattered was whether people were paying attention. And 100 00:05:54,836 --> 00:05:57,956 Speaker 1: that's important. If we want to fully enjoy all the 101 00:05:57,996 --> 00:06:01,156 Speaker 1: good things in life, we actually have to notice them. 102 00:06:01,276 --> 00:06:03,236 Speaker 1: We need to make sure we're saving some of our 103 00:06:03,236 --> 00:06:06,436 Speaker 1: limited attention for the stuff that really matters. But if 104 00:06:06,476 --> 00:06:08,596 Speaker 1: we really want to use our attention to become happier, 105 00:06:09,156 --> 00:06:10,916 Speaker 1: there's something else we need to come to terms with, 106 00:06:11,836 --> 00:06:15,236 Speaker 1: and that's that it's really, really hard to recognize just 107 00:06:15,356 --> 00:06:18,276 Speaker 1: how bad our attention is. And that's because we tend 108 00:06:18,316 --> 00:06:22,316 Speaker 1: not to notice what we're not noticing. Philosophers sometimes call 109 00:06:22,396 --> 00:06:25,956 Speaker 1: this the refrigerator light illusion. The idea is, how would 110 00:06:25,956 --> 00:06:28,996 Speaker 1: you know if the light in your refrigerator is off 111 00:06:29,036 --> 00:06:32,756 Speaker 1: when the door is not open. Everybody has intuitions that 112 00:06:32,836 --> 00:06:34,876 Speaker 1: tell them that, of course, if a gorilla walked in 113 00:06:34,876 --> 00:06:37,836 Speaker 1: front of me, I would notice it. But those intuitions 114 00:06:37,836 --> 00:06:40,116 Speaker 1: are wrong. And if our brains are wrong about seeing 115 00:06:40,116 --> 00:06:43,916 Speaker 1: a huge gorilla walking directly across a screen, imagine all 116 00:06:43,916 --> 00:06:46,916 Speaker 1: the less salient, feel good gorillas we don't realize we're 117 00:06:46,956 --> 00:06:50,076 Speaker 1: missing on a daily basis, all the smiles we don't notice, 118 00:06:50,596 --> 00:06:52,716 Speaker 1: or the taste of a yummy lunch we didn't realize 119 00:06:52,716 --> 00:06:56,076 Speaker 1: we ignored because something else grabbed our attention. But these 120 00:06:56,196 --> 00:06:58,596 Speaker 1: days it's not just our limited minds that are causing 121 00:06:58,596 --> 00:07:01,796 Speaker 1: the problem. We've also added something else to our daily 122 00:07:01,876 --> 00:07:05,796 Speaker 1: routine that makes our usually bad attention much much worse. 123 00:07:06,876 --> 00:07:10,116 Speaker 1: Welcome that world. It's two thousand. Thank you for coming. 124 00:07:10,156 --> 00:07:13,076 Speaker 1: An Apple CEO, Steve Jobs is addressing the crowd at 125 00:07:13,116 --> 00:07:16,076 Speaker 1: the Macworld convention. We're going to make some history together today. 126 00:07:16,316 --> 00:07:19,636 Speaker 1: He pauses and takes a sip of water. He seems 127 00:07:19,636 --> 00:07:22,516 Speaker 1: to be psyching himself up for something important. Every once 128 00:07:22,556 --> 00:07:29,476 Speaker 1: in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. Well, 129 00:07:31,116 --> 00:07:40,396 Speaker 1: today we're introducing three revolutionary products of this class, an iPod, 130 00:07:41,956 --> 00:07:48,196 Speaker 1: a phone, and an Internet communicator. Are you getting it? 131 00:07:52,036 --> 00:07:57,316 Speaker 1: These are not three separate devices. This is one device. 132 00:07:58,996 --> 00:08:02,076 Speaker 1: Apple didn't just reinvent the phone that day. Their innovation 133 00:08:02,276 --> 00:08:05,196 Speaker 1: was an attentional game changer, one that's brought a host 134 00:08:05,236 --> 00:08:08,036 Speaker 1: of changes to all of our lives, ones that even 135 00:08:08,076 --> 00:08:12,556 Speaker 1: Steve Jobs couldn't foresee. Take, for example, one seemingly irrelevant 136 00:08:12,556 --> 00:08:17,636 Speaker 1: economic indicator, chewing gum purchases. Since the iPhone came out, 137 00:08:17,796 --> 00:08:20,996 Speaker 1: chewing gum sales have dropped by double digits. Now, you 138 00:08:21,076 --> 00:08:23,436 Speaker 1: might think that this could be for a couple of reasons, 139 00:08:23,436 --> 00:08:26,796 Speaker 1: like maybe people are turning to breathmans or something. So 140 00:08:26,836 --> 00:08:29,716 Speaker 1: what's going on? Well, some scholars have argued that the 141 00:08:29,756 --> 00:08:32,676 Speaker 1: shift in purchasing behavior reflects less of a change in 142 00:08:32,716 --> 00:08:35,396 Speaker 1: our preferences and more of a change in our behavior, 143 00:08:36,276 --> 00:08:39,356 Speaker 1: specifically how we're spending our time in the spot we'd 144 00:08:39,396 --> 00:08:42,476 Speaker 1: normally be buying gum the checkout line, and that's where 145 00:08:42,476 --> 00:08:45,676 Speaker 1: Steve Jobs comes in. We're no longer tempted by all 146 00:08:45,676 --> 00:08:49,276 Speaker 1: those impulse buys because we simply don't see them anymore. 147 00:08:49,876 --> 00:08:52,476 Speaker 1: One study found that sixty two percent of people pulled 148 00:08:52,476 --> 00:08:55,116 Speaker 1: out a device while waiting in line, and more than 149 00:08:55,156 --> 00:08:57,836 Speaker 1: eighty percent of those people whip that device out in 150 00:08:57,956 --> 00:09:01,756 Speaker 1: less than twenty seconds. With our eyeball stuck to our screens, 151 00:09:02,116 --> 00:09:04,596 Speaker 1: we simply don't notice the other tempting stuff in the 152 00:09:04,636 --> 00:09:07,236 Speaker 1: checkout aisle. But could our phones be causing us to 153 00:09:07,316 --> 00:09:10,476 Speaker 1: miss stuff that's even more important than a pack of gum. 154 00:09:10,476 --> 00:09:13,556 Speaker 1: Brian used his Red Cross study to find out. So, 155 00:09:13,636 --> 00:09:17,116 Speaker 1: with a bunch of undergrads here a Yale, we repeated 156 00:09:17,196 --> 00:09:19,796 Speaker 1: this experiment, but we had half of the subject's talk 157 00:09:19,956 --> 00:09:23,396 Speaker 1: on a cell phone, and it was wonderfully awkward. We 158 00:09:23,436 --> 00:09:25,996 Speaker 1: just told them to talk to the research assistant on 159 00:09:26,036 --> 00:09:28,316 Speaker 1: the other end of the line and you know, find 160 00:09:28,316 --> 00:09:31,156 Speaker 1: out who they are, what their interests are, etc. But 161 00:09:31,276 --> 00:09:33,956 Speaker 1: we told them point blank, look don't let talking on 162 00:09:33,996 --> 00:09:37,756 Speaker 1: a cell phone impact your performance on this tracking task. 163 00:09:38,156 --> 00:09:41,596 Speaker 1: Brian found that subjects did fine. People were just as 164 00:09:41,596 --> 00:09:43,396 Speaker 1: good at tracking the movement of the white and black 165 00:09:43,396 --> 00:09:45,876 Speaker 1: shapes when they talked on the phone as when there 166 00:09:45,916 --> 00:09:48,196 Speaker 1: was no phone in sight. But of course that's not 167 00:09:48,236 --> 00:09:50,996 Speaker 1: what we were interested in. What we really cared about 168 00:09:51,076 --> 00:09:54,236 Speaker 1: is how many of them noticed this red cross our 169 00:09:54,396 --> 00:09:57,436 Speaker 1: gorilla in this case, so when they were not talking 170 00:09:57,436 --> 00:10:00,676 Speaker 1: on a cell phone, seventy percent of people saw the 171 00:10:01,036 --> 00:10:04,236 Speaker 1: red cross. About thirty percent of people were inattentionally blind. 172 00:10:05,356 --> 00:10:08,276 Speaker 1: With exactly the same displays. When they were talking on 173 00:10:08,316 --> 00:10:10,356 Speaker 1: the cell phone and trying not to let it affect 174 00:10:10,436 --> 00:10:15,236 Speaker 1: their performance, ninety percent of people missed the red cross. 175 00:10:15,436 --> 00:10:18,596 Speaker 1: Only ten percent of people saw it. Brian found that 176 00:10:18,676 --> 00:10:21,316 Speaker 1: using a cell phone dramatically increases the rate of an 177 00:10:21,356 --> 00:10:25,276 Speaker 1: attentional blindness. I mean, his subjects miss ninety percent of 178 00:10:25,276 --> 00:10:29,596 Speaker 1: the gorillas that cross their paths. Nine With over three 179 00:10:29,636 --> 00:10:33,156 Speaker 1: billion smartphones and pockets all over the world, just think 180 00:10:33,156 --> 00:10:37,116 Speaker 1: of all the things that are going unnoticed. When we 181 00:10:37,116 --> 00:10:39,476 Speaker 1: get back from the break, we'll talk more about all 182 00:10:39,516 --> 00:10:43,516 Speaker 1: the unforeseen consequences of these missed guerrillas. Because even though 183 00:10:43,516 --> 00:10:45,476 Speaker 1: we don't notice the effect our phones are having on 184 00:10:45,516 --> 00:10:49,156 Speaker 1: our attention, these missed moments might matter for our happiness 185 00:10:49,196 --> 00:10:52,796 Speaker 1: more than we think phones are useful, you know, ironically, 186 00:10:52,796 --> 00:10:56,036 Speaker 1: because of that value, they also provide a very, very 187 00:10:56,076 --> 00:10:59,796 Speaker 1: potent source of distraction that I do think vastly exceeds 188 00:11:00,196 --> 00:11:03,156 Speaker 1: anything else that we've ever seen in human history. The 189 00:11:03,196 --> 00:11:16,996 Speaker 1: Happiness Lab will be right back. About ninety five percent 190 00:11:17,036 --> 00:11:20,756 Speaker 1: of people report having used their smartphone during their most 191 00:11:20,796 --> 00:11:25,036 Speaker 1: recent social gathering. Perhaps more surprisingly, about ten percent of 192 00:11:25,076 --> 00:11:28,596 Speaker 1: people report having used their smartphone at least once during sex. 193 00:11:29,196 --> 00:11:33,916 Speaker 1: So these devices seem to really penetrate a broad array 194 00:11:34,076 --> 00:11:37,836 Speaker 1: of social interactions. I'm talking to Liz Done, longtime friend 195 00:11:37,876 --> 00:11:40,396 Speaker 1: of the Happiness Lab and professor of psychology at the 196 00:11:40,476 --> 00:11:44,876 Speaker 1: University of British Columbia. When smartphones first started appearing in 197 00:11:44,996 --> 00:11:50,636 Speaker 1: everybody's hands, I got curious about how they were influencing 198 00:11:50,676 --> 00:11:54,516 Speaker 1: the benefits that we get out of everyday social interactions. Now, 199 00:11:54,516 --> 00:11:56,796 Speaker 1: you might think Liz started her studies with all the 200 00:11:56,916 --> 00:12:00,556 Speaker 1: really egregious cases of phones messing with social interactions. Well, 201 00:12:00,596 --> 00:12:03,796 Speaker 1: my college students at Yale sometimes call fubbing the idea 202 00:12:03,836 --> 00:12:07,316 Speaker 1: of fubbing. The combination of like snubbing and phone is 203 00:12:07,396 --> 00:12:12,356 Speaker 1: that you are not paying attention to the other people 204 00:12:12,596 --> 00:12:14,436 Speaker 1: around you, and maybe in a way that feels sort 205 00:12:14,436 --> 00:12:19,236 Speaker 1: of hurtful and upsetting to them because you are paying 206 00:12:19,276 --> 00:12:21,996 Speaker 1: attention to your phone. But Liz is actually more worried 207 00:12:22,156 --> 00:12:24,356 Speaker 1: about all the less hurtful ways we use our phone. 208 00:12:24,876 --> 00:12:27,076 Speaker 1: She was concerned about what the mere act of having 209 00:12:27,076 --> 00:12:30,156 Speaker 1: your phone around does to your attention, like when you 210 00:12:30,156 --> 00:12:32,876 Speaker 1: stick your phone on the table at dinner. We were 211 00:12:32,956 --> 00:12:35,956 Speaker 1: able to get a local restaurant to let us come 212 00:12:35,996 --> 00:12:38,676 Speaker 1: in and basically take over one of their tables for 213 00:12:38,836 --> 00:12:42,476 Speaker 1: many months, and so we would have people come in 214 00:12:42,556 --> 00:12:45,316 Speaker 1: and have dinner with their friends or family. I mean, 215 00:12:45,356 --> 00:12:47,236 Speaker 1: the deal was, you know, we'll pick up the bill 216 00:12:47,276 --> 00:12:50,276 Speaker 1: if you fill out some surveys for us, and then basically, 217 00:12:50,316 --> 00:12:53,956 Speaker 1: by the flip of a coin, they're assigned to either 218 00:12:53,996 --> 00:12:56,236 Speaker 1: have their phones out and available during the meal or 219 00:12:56,396 --> 00:12:58,396 Speaker 1: to put them away, and then we just leave them 220 00:12:58,396 --> 00:13:00,516 Speaker 1: alone and let them do their thing, you know, have 221 00:13:00,596 --> 00:13:02,716 Speaker 1: their meal with their friends and family, and then at 222 00:13:02,716 --> 00:13:06,676 Speaker 1: the end of the meal, we ask them to just report, 223 00:13:06,876 --> 00:13:10,796 Speaker 1: for example, how much they enjoyed this time, how connected 224 00:13:10,836 --> 00:13:13,116 Speaker 1: they felt to their friends and family and so forth. 225 00:13:13,156 --> 00:13:16,236 Speaker 1: And what we see is that when phones are out 226 00:13:16,276 --> 00:13:20,796 Speaker 1: and available, they experienced significantly less enjoyment compared to when 227 00:13:20,836 --> 00:13:25,276 Speaker 1: phones are simply put away. Liza's experiment is just one 228 00:13:25,356 --> 00:13:27,556 Speaker 1: of a growing number of studies showing that the mere 229 00:13:27,636 --> 00:13:31,116 Speaker 1: presence of phones can negatively impact lots of different events. 230 00:13:32,076 --> 00:13:35,236 Speaker 1: Other researchers tested the impact of a simple notification buzz. 231 00:13:35,836 --> 00:13:38,916 Speaker 1: In their study, participants got a free massage. The only 232 00:13:38,956 --> 00:13:41,036 Speaker 1: caveat was that they had to place their cell phone 233 00:13:41,156 --> 00:13:43,876 Speaker 1: on a nearby table and not check it until the 234 00:13:43,916 --> 00:13:47,116 Speaker 1: massage was over. Half of the participants got a call 235 00:13:47,196 --> 00:13:50,596 Speaker 1: during the massage, while the other half didn't. Afterwards, they 236 00:13:50,596 --> 00:13:54,196 Speaker 1: all rated their experience on a nine point scale what happened, 237 00:13:54,756 --> 00:13:57,436 Speaker 1: while those who heard their cell phone vibrate had enjoyment 238 00:13:57,516 --> 00:14:00,796 Speaker 1: ratings that were significantly lower even when they didn't look 239 00:14:00,796 --> 00:14:04,276 Speaker 1: at their phone. Researchers saw similar effects when the enjoyable 240 00:14:04,276 --> 00:14:06,436 Speaker 1: event was watching a movie, we're playing a game of 241 00:14:06,476 --> 00:14:10,436 Speaker 1: Mario Kart. I find these results absolutely crazy. I mean, 242 00:14:10,636 --> 00:14:12,356 Speaker 1: we all kind of know that it's a bad idea 243 00:14:12,396 --> 00:14:14,436 Speaker 1: to pull out our phones and start using them in 244 00:14:14,476 --> 00:14:17,156 Speaker 1: the middle of some social interaction. But lots of us 245 00:14:17,156 --> 00:14:20,116 Speaker 1: have our phones sitting around us all the time. I mean, 246 00:14:20,276 --> 00:14:22,356 Speaker 1: mine is usually by my side when I'm working, or 247 00:14:22,396 --> 00:14:25,516 Speaker 1: watching a movie, or even at dinner. I always thought 248 00:14:25,556 --> 00:14:27,396 Speaker 1: that if it was faced down, that I was fine. 249 00:14:27,716 --> 00:14:30,516 Speaker 1: I had no idea that my phone's mere presence could 250 00:14:30,516 --> 00:14:34,476 Speaker 1: be systematically reducing my enjoyment. But in some sense, of 251 00:14:34,516 --> 00:14:37,476 Speaker 1: course I didn't. As we saw before, our brains simply 252 00:14:37,516 --> 00:14:40,636 Speaker 1: can't notice the many things we don't notice, and that 253 00:14:40,676 --> 00:14:43,356 Speaker 1: means we have no idea how much our phones are 254 00:14:43,396 --> 00:14:46,076 Speaker 1: stealing our attention. Well we see in our data is 255 00:14:46,116 --> 00:14:49,276 Speaker 1: that when people have access to their phones, they do 256 00:14:49,396 --> 00:14:52,396 Speaker 1: report feelings significantly more distracted. You know, this at least 257 00:14:52,596 --> 00:14:54,996 Speaker 1: provides us with some evidence that part of the reason 258 00:14:55,236 --> 00:14:58,196 Speaker 1: that phones are undermining enjoyment in the social setting is 259 00:14:58,236 --> 00:15:00,516 Speaker 1: that they're kind of pulling us out of the moment 260 00:15:00,556 --> 00:15:03,316 Speaker 1: a little bit, making us feel a little more distracted, 261 00:15:03,356 --> 00:15:06,356 Speaker 1: a little less focused on the present, and that is 262 00:15:06,436 --> 00:15:09,316 Speaker 1: kind of chipping away at our enjoyment. Liz us that 263 00:15:09,356 --> 00:15:11,196 Speaker 1: our phones are taking us out of moments that are 264 00:15:11,236 --> 00:15:13,916 Speaker 1: even more important than a simple dinner. She's found that 265 00:15:13,956 --> 00:15:16,356 Speaker 1: phones can affect the connection we experience with our kids. 266 00:15:16,716 --> 00:15:20,636 Speaker 1: In this study, we went out to a science museum 267 00:15:20,796 --> 00:15:25,596 Speaker 1: in Vancouver called Science World. We recruited parents and we 268 00:15:25,796 --> 00:15:29,476 Speaker 1: randomly assign them either to use their phones a lot 269 00:15:29,596 --> 00:15:31,756 Speaker 1: or to try to minimize their phone use, and then 270 00:15:32,036 --> 00:15:35,356 Speaker 1: we let them just go do their whole science museum thing, 271 00:15:35,836 --> 00:15:38,836 Speaker 1: and then at least thirty minutes later, we asked them 272 00:15:38,876 --> 00:15:41,916 Speaker 1: to complete a survey and tell us how they had 273 00:15:41,916 --> 00:15:45,516 Speaker 1: been feeling during their Science World visit. And what we 274 00:15:45,556 --> 00:15:49,756 Speaker 1: see there is that parents feel substantially more distracted when 275 00:15:49,756 --> 00:15:51,796 Speaker 1: they're using their phones a lot compared to when they're 276 00:15:51,796 --> 00:15:55,316 Speaker 1: minimizing phone use, and they also end up feeling a 277 00:15:55,356 --> 00:15:59,036 Speaker 1: lower sense of social connection in particular. And I think 278 00:15:59,076 --> 00:16:02,156 Speaker 1: that's really interesting because you know, here are these devices 279 00:16:02,196 --> 00:16:06,996 Speaker 1: that have been intentionally built to connect us with other people, 280 00:16:07,396 --> 00:16:09,516 Speaker 1: and yet in the context of this sort of positive, 281 00:16:09,516 --> 00:16:12,396 Speaker 1: everyday situation of visiting a museum with your kids, you 282 00:16:12,556 --> 00:16:14,276 Speaker 1: pull it out more, use it more, and you end 283 00:16:14,316 --> 00:16:17,676 Speaker 1: up feeling less socially connected because you're missing out on 284 00:16:17,876 --> 00:16:21,156 Speaker 1: these opportunities for connection that are kind of right there 285 00:16:21,196 --> 00:16:24,196 Speaker 1: in front of you. Liz has experienced this effect firsthand. 286 00:16:24,676 --> 00:16:26,876 Speaker 1: I take my six year old all over there all 287 00:16:26,916 --> 00:16:28,996 Speaker 1: the time, and like, you know, you can watch him 288 00:16:29,076 --> 00:16:32,196 Speaker 1: learn about gravity and like have all of these really 289 00:16:32,316 --> 00:16:35,716 Speaker 1: nice experiences, you know. At the same time, It's not 290 00:16:35,756 --> 00:16:38,876 Speaker 1: like I say to myself, Oh, I'm going to like 291 00:16:38,956 --> 00:16:41,596 Speaker 1: stop paying attention to my child and spend the next 292 00:16:41,636 --> 00:16:46,156 Speaker 1: twenty five minutes like learning what's going on with people 293 00:16:46,156 --> 00:16:48,636 Speaker 1: I haven't talked to since high school. Like I don't 294 00:16:48,676 --> 00:16:51,916 Speaker 1: make that plan, but I like look at my phone 295 00:16:51,956 --> 00:16:54,316 Speaker 1: for one second for to you know, check in with 296 00:16:54,316 --> 00:16:57,036 Speaker 1: somebody real quick about something, and then I see this 297 00:16:57,276 --> 00:16:59,516 Speaker 1: other thing on Facebook and get kind of stucked in. 298 00:16:59,876 --> 00:17:02,356 Speaker 1: We know we've had distraction for a really long time, right, 299 00:17:02,396 --> 00:17:05,236 Speaker 1: there's lots of stuff that distracts us. Why our phones 300 00:17:05,596 --> 00:17:07,836 Speaker 1: worse than most of the other stuff we've seen in 301 00:17:07,916 --> 00:17:11,116 Speaker 1: human history. I think phones are worse for two reasons. 302 00:17:11,116 --> 00:17:15,796 Speaker 1: And it's like this magical combination of portability and just 303 00:17:16,116 --> 00:17:24,276 Speaker 1: like incredibly rich and endless opportunities for information and entertainment 304 00:17:24,316 --> 00:17:28,516 Speaker 1: that they provide. Let's think for a second about all 305 00:17:28,556 --> 00:17:31,516 Speaker 1: this information and entertainment. On the other side of your 306 00:17:31,556 --> 00:17:35,636 Speaker 1: phone is the entire library of Alexandria, every film archive, 307 00:17:36,236 --> 00:17:41,796 Speaker 1: nearly every song ever recorded, infinite news sites, magazines, podcasts, quotes, maps, 308 00:17:41,836 --> 00:17:45,436 Speaker 1: celebrity gossip and recipes, a shopping cart for every department 309 00:17:45,476 --> 00:17:48,276 Speaker 1: store in the world, all the emails you received since 310 00:17:48,276 --> 00:17:52,836 Speaker 1: two twelve, infinite swipes on potential romantic partners, and thousands 311 00:17:52,876 --> 00:17:56,836 Speaker 1: upon thousands of funny cat videos plus porn. I mean, 312 00:17:57,076 --> 00:17:58,996 Speaker 1: never in the history of our species have we had 313 00:17:59,036 --> 00:18:02,676 Speaker 1: immediate access to so much exciting, addictive stuff. If you 314 00:18:02,716 --> 00:18:04,956 Speaker 1: had a giant wheelbarrow and you pushed it all around 315 00:18:04,996 --> 00:18:06,916 Speaker 1: with you and took it all out of dinner, like, 316 00:18:06,956 --> 00:18:09,356 Speaker 1: I'm sure you'd be just as distracted by that as 317 00:18:09,396 --> 00:18:12,836 Speaker 1: by your phone. It's just that people wouldn't have done that, right, So, 318 00:18:12,876 --> 00:18:15,676 Speaker 1: because it's so portable, it's easy to pull out this 319 00:18:15,716 --> 00:18:18,676 Speaker 1: phone even in social settings, even when you're right in 320 00:18:18,716 --> 00:18:20,716 Speaker 1: the middle of talking to somebody, you know, let me 321 00:18:20,756 --> 00:18:23,716 Speaker 1: just grab my wheelbarrow of like, distractions would not have 322 00:18:23,836 --> 00:18:26,556 Speaker 1: been a normal or acceptable thing to do. And Lize's 323 00:18:26,596 --> 00:18:29,116 Speaker 1: finding that a lot of what's being lost is social. 324 00:18:29,716 --> 00:18:31,916 Speaker 1: If you've listened to other episodes of the Happiness Lab, 325 00:18:32,276 --> 00:18:35,076 Speaker 1: you've heard that social connection, even with strangers, is a 326 00:18:35,156 --> 00:18:37,956 Speaker 1: key part of our well being. But Liz's finding that 327 00:18:37,996 --> 00:18:40,356 Speaker 1: phones are causing us to lose more of those important 328 00:18:40,436 --> 00:18:44,836 Speaker 1: social moments than we realize. We basically just stuck strangers 329 00:18:44,876 --> 00:18:47,436 Speaker 1: together in a room for about ten minutes, kind of 330 00:18:47,476 --> 00:18:52,396 Speaker 1: like a mock waiting room, and either we took their 331 00:18:52,396 --> 00:18:55,836 Speaker 1: phones away or left them with their phones, and then 332 00:18:55,876 --> 00:19:00,436 Speaker 1: we videotape them and code their facial expressions. And what 333 00:19:00,476 --> 00:19:03,356 Speaker 1: we see is that when people are sitting there with 334 00:19:03,396 --> 00:19:06,916 Speaker 1: a stranger in a room for ten minutes in the 335 00:19:06,956 --> 00:19:09,996 Speaker 1: absence of phones, they smile quite a bit at that 336 00:19:10,076 --> 00:19:14,316 Speaker 1: other person, and they almost always interact with that other person. 337 00:19:14,556 --> 00:19:17,716 Speaker 1: You let both people hang on to their phones, and 338 00:19:17,836 --> 00:19:20,916 Speaker 1: what you see is a lot more people choosing not 339 00:19:20,996 --> 00:19:23,676 Speaker 1: to interact at all, and you see about thirty percent 340 00:19:23,796 --> 00:19:28,036 Speaker 1: less smiling between strangers. I just want to pause here 341 00:19:28,076 --> 00:19:31,116 Speaker 1: so we can take this in thirty percent less smiling 342 00:19:31,716 --> 00:19:35,236 Speaker 1: thirty percent. I mean, what have you multiplied that thirty 343 00:19:35,236 --> 00:19:37,996 Speaker 1: percent from one person in a waiting room to all 344 00:19:38,036 --> 00:19:40,636 Speaker 1: the people in the world walking around looking at their phones. 345 00:19:41,196 --> 00:19:43,276 Speaker 1: What is the scale of all this phone use doing 346 00:19:43,276 --> 00:19:46,556 Speaker 1: to basic social connection in our society. I think it's 347 00:19:46,556 --> 00:19:50,036 Speaker 1: so easy to overlook because what we think about is like, oh, 348 00:19:50,236 --> 00:19:52,436 Speaker 1: because I'm on my phone. You know, I found out 349 00:19:52,436 --> 00:19:55,676 Speaker 1: about this funny thing somebody posted on Facebook, and like, 350 00:19:55,756 --> 00:19:57,916 Speaker 1: I managed to send a quick text to my mom 351 00:19:58,276 --> 00:20:00,316 Speaker 1: and all of that, and we have no idea, like 352 00:20:00,676 --> 00:20:04,596 Speaker 1: how many friendly smiles with strangers just didn't happen as 353 00:20:04,596 --> 00:20:06,916 Speaker 1: a result of what we were doing on our phone. 354 00:20:06,916 --> 00:20:08,996 Speaker 1: It's just a part of this broader tendency to overlo 355 00:20:09,196 --> 00:20:12,196 Speaker 1: opportunity costs, where we don't realize what we're missing out 356 00:20:12,236 --> 00:20:15,116 Speaker 1: on as a result of what we're actually doing. So 357 00:20:15,316 --> 00:20:17,716 Speaker 1: what can we do to fix all this? We'll turn 358 00:20:17,756 --> 00:20:21,196 Speaker 1: to some practical strategies for improving your attentional hygiene when 359 00:20:21,236 --> 00:20:34,676 Speaker 1: the happiness slide returns in a moment. I think everyone 360 00:20:34,716 --> 00:20:37,516 Speaker 1: who's listening to this probably has the experience of looking 361 00:20:37,556 --> 00:20:39,276 Speaker 1: down and noticing their phone on their hand and not 362 00:20:39,356 --> 00:20:42,676 Speaker 1: really having any idea why it's there, or what they're 363 00:20:42,716 --> 00:20:45,076 Speaker 1: doing on it, or why they're in Instagram at that moment. 364 00:20:45,356 --> 00:20:47,396 Speaker 1: I'm talking to the person the New York Times called 365 00:20:47,596 --> 00:20:51,036 Speaker 1: the Maria Condo of Brains. I am Katherine Price. I'm 366 00:20:51,076 --> 00:20:54,236 Speaker 1: a freelance science journalist and the author of How to 367 00:20:54,276 --> 00:20:57,596 Speaker 1: Break Up With Your Phone. Before Katherine wrote an entire 368 00:20:57,636 --> 00:21:01,556 Speaker 1: manifesto about taming our smartphone addiction. She too was seduced 369 00:21:01,556 --> 00:21:03,716 Speaker 1: by all the amazing things our phones do for us. 370 00:21:04,116 --> 00:21:06,396 Speaker 1: I had been involved in a home renovation project and 371 00:21:06,436 --> 00:21:08,716 Speaker 1: had been spending a lot of time on eBay. There's 372 00:21:08,716 --> 00:21:12,436 Speaker 1: notion that smartphones of revolutionized shopping, but Catherine was about 373 00:21:12,476 --> 00:21:14,716 Speaker 1: to come face to face with the price we paid 374 00:21:14,756 --> 00:21:17,996 Speaker 1: for that revolution. I had had a baby around that time, 375 00:21:18,236 --> 00:21:21,356 Speaker 1: and I had a number of evenings where I would 376 00:21:21,396 --> 00:21:23,356 Speaker 1: be with her in the middle of the night and 377 00:21:23,396 --> 00:21:25,716 Speaker 1: I'd noticed that she was looking at me, and I 378 00:21:25,716 --> 00:21:28,556 Speaker 1: would be looking down at my phone, and more specifically, 379 00:21:28,556 --> 00:21:30,956 Speaker 1: I was often looking at door knobs on eBay, which 380 00:21:30,996 --> 00:21:33,356 Speaker 1: was like particularly ridiculous because by that point we finished 381 00:21:33,396 --> 00:21:35,956 Speaker 1: the renovation project and I didn't need to be doing 382 00:21:35,956 --> 00:21:38,956 Speaker 1: that at all. But anyway, when I noticed this happening, 383 00:21:38,996 --> 00:21:40,756 Speaker 1: I kind of had this out of body experience where 384 00:21:40,796 --> 00:21:42,516 Speaker 1: I saw the scene as if it would appear to 385 00:21:43,076 --> 00:21:46,796 Speaker 1: in an outsider, and it really disturbed me, this vision 386 00:21:46,836 --> 00:21:49,076 Speaker 1: of this baby looking up at her mother, and her 387 00:21:49,076 --> 00:21:51,436 Speaker 1: mother looking down at this glowing screen. And I also 388 00:21:51,516 --> 00:21:55,636 Speaker 1: remembered from something from my science journalism past, which is 389 00:21:55,676 --> 00:21:59,036 Speaker 1: that baby's eyes can only focus about two feet in 390 00:21:59,076 --> 00:22:02,036 Speaker 1: front of their faces, and that's specifically so that they 391 00:22:02,036 --> 00:22:04,956 Speaker 1: can bond emotionally with the person who's holding them. So 392 00:22:04,996 --> 00:22:06,996 Speaker 1: I found that to be deeply disturbing as well as 393 00:22:07,036 --> 00:22:13,276 Speaker 1: that she's got this evolutionary design that's there to facilitate 394 00:22:13,276 --> 00:22:16,156 Speaker 1: our connection, and here I am looking at eBay. So 395 00:22:16,196 --> 00:22:17,916 Speaker 1: that's the moment when I realized, Oh, I really want 396 00:22:17,916 --> 00:22:20,916 Speaker 1: to work on my own relationship. Catherine started working on 397 00:22:20,956 --> 00:22:24,196 Speaker 1: that relationship with some common sense phone hacks, like shutting 398 00:22:24,236 --> 00:22:27,676 Speaker 1: off her notifications and making her phone more boring looking 399 00:22:27,916 --> 00:22:30,916 Speaker 1: by turning the display to gray scale. She even went 400 00:22:30,956 --> 00:22:33,956 Speaker 1: one step further to delete the apps she found especially tempting. 401 00:22:34,196 --> 00:22:36,356 Speaker 1: Think about the ones that you feel compulsively drawn to 402 00:22:36,556 --> 00:22:38,196 Speaker 1: and then you kind of enjoy, but then you feel 403 00:22:38,236 --> 00:22:40,476 Speaker 1: gross afterwards. That's the easiest way to tell is just 404 00:22:40,516 --> 00:22:43,556 Speaker 1: tune into your own emotions before, during, and after using them. 405 00:22:43,676 --> 00:22:46,316 Speaker 1: And you basically want to have your home screen only 406 00:22:46,356 --> 00:22:49,316 Speaker 1: contain tools you don't want temptations, And for that I 407 00:22:49,356 --> 00:22:52,636 Speaker 1: really do recommend people approach this with a spirit of experimentation, 408 00:22:53,036 --> 00:22:56,476 Speaker 1: recognizing you can always reinstall things and readjust your settings 409 00:22:56,516 --> 00:22:58,476 Speaker 1: back to where they were, but see what it's like 410 00:22:58,636 --> 00:23:01,436 Speaker 1: to just delete some of your most problematic apps from 411 00:23:01,436 --> 00:23:03,716 Speaker 1: your phone for a day. See what it feels like. 412 00:23:04,396 --> 00:23:07,396 Speaker 1: But Catherine argues that the most effective strategy for fixing 413 00:23:07,396 --> 00:23:10,436 Speaker 1: our relationship with our phones involve some advice that many 414 00:23:10,436 --> 00:23:13,396 Speaker 1: of us haven't heard. She thinks we need to cultivate 415 00:23:13,436 --> 00:23:17,756 Speaker 1: a completely new attitude towards our phone use, one of mindfulness. 416 00:23:18,076 --> 00:23:20,116 Speaker 1: We need to take the time to notice how our 417 00:23:20,156 --> 00:23:22,836 Speaker 1: phones are making us feel. Now we've talked about the 418 00:23:22,836 --> 00:23:25,916 Speaker 1: power of mindfulness and other episodes on this podcast, and 419 00:23:25,956 --> 00:23:28,596 Speaker 1: that's because there's tons of research showing that becoming more 420 00:23:28,636 --> 00:23:31,596 Speaker 1: mindful generally can be a big booster shop for well being. 421 00:23:32,436 --> 00:23:35,116 Speaker 1: But Catherine contends that we can use the same strategy 422 00:23:35,516 --> 00:23:38,876 Speaker 1: to develop a healthier relationship with our devices, one that 423 00:23:38,916 --> 00:23:41,636 Speaker 1: can protect our fragile attention. It's a lot easier to 424 00:23:41,716 --> 00:23:45,076 Speaker 1: change a habit if deep down inside of you, you 425 00:23:45,196 --> 00:23:48,196 Speaker 1: just don't want to engage with the habit anymore. And 426 00:23:48,236 --> 00:23:50,836 Speaker 1: there were a fascinating series of studies done by the 427 00:23:50,876 --> 00:23:53,996 Speaker 1: Sky Judson Brewer where he basically trained a group of 428 00:23:54,036 --> 00:23:57,516 Speaker 1: smokers in a mindfulness based technique where they were basically 429 00:23:57,516 --> 00:23:59,836 Speaker 1: just supposed to notice what it was like to smoke 430 00:23:59,876 --> 00:24:02,916 Speaker 1: a cigarette, to notice what a craving felt like. Don't 431 00:24:02,916 --> 00:24:05,156 Speaker 1: fight it, just kind of notice. Notice what happens if 432 00:24:05,196 --> 00:24:07,316 Speaker 1: you do indulge in it, Notice how it feels if 433 00:24:07,356 --> 00:24:10,116 Speaker 1: you don't, notice how long last if you just kind 434 00:24:10,116 --> 00:24:12,476 Speaker 1: of observe it. And he found that the mindfulness based 435 00:24:12,516 --> 00:24:15,636 Speaker 1: group quit at twice the rate of the control group, 436 00:24:15,676 --> 00:24:17,316 Speaker 1: and then in the long run, they were five times 437 00:24:17,356 --> 00:24:21,036 Speaker 1: as successful in sticking with the quitting. And when he 438 00:24:21,116 --> 00:24:24,716 Speaker 1: spoke to the participants about what had happened, he heard 439 00:24:24,796 --> 00:24:27,636 Speaker 1: these really interesting comments from people along the lines of 440 00:24:27,956 --> 00:24:30,876 Speaker 1: One woman said, I really had never tasted a cigarette before, 441 00:24:31,236 --> 00:24:34,836 Speaker 1: and once I tasted it and really experienced it, I realized, 442 00:24:34,916 --> 00:24:36,956 Speaker 1: I thought this is disgusting, and I don't want to 443 00:24:36,956 --> 00:24:39,876 Speaker 1: be a smoker. Like a smoker trying to really taste 444 00:24:39,916 --> 00:24:43,276 Speaker 1: a cigarette. Catherine decided to examine why her phone had 445 00:24:43,396 --> 00:24:46,316 Speaker 1: such a powerful hold on her. There's interesting reasons that 446 00:24:46,396 --> 00:24:49,556 Speaker 1: we reach for our phones. They're like little security blankets. 447 00:24:49,836 --> 00:24:52,916 Speaker 1: And the more you understand your motivations, what your brain 448 00:24:53,036 --> 00:24:55,596 Speaker 1: is after when you reach for your phone, the easier 449 00:24:55,556 --> 00:24:57,836 Speaker 1: it will be to come up with alternatives to present 450 00:24:57,876 --> 00:24:59,876 Speaker 1: your brain with so that you can choose to do 451 00:24:59,916 --> 00:25:03,156 Speaker 1: something else instead. To help us become a bit more mindful, 452 00:25:03,436 --> 00:25:07,756 Speaker 1: Catherine recommends using the acronym www, which stands for what for? 453 00:25:08,356 --> 00:25:11,556 Speaker 1: Why now? What else? What for? Like what did you 454 00:25:11,556 --> 00:25:14,316 Speaker 1: pick up your phone for? Did you actually have any purpose? 455 00:25:15,116 --> 00:25:17,436 Speaker 1: And no judgment? I mean like there's no right answer here, 456 00:25:17,476 --> 00:25:19,916 Speaker 1: just why did you pick it up? Then the why now? 457 00:25:20,156 --> 00:25:23,076 Speaker 1: Is it the emotional or the situational question like what 458 00:25:23,156 --> 00:25:25,316 Speaker 1: was the trigger that caused you to do it in 459 00:25:25,356 --> 00:25:28,276 Speaker 1: this second? Were you feeling socially anxious? Is it just 460 00:25:28,316 --> 00:25:31,676 Speaker 1: an habitual thing? And then the last question is what else? 461 00:25:31,796 --> 00:25:34,156 Speaker 1: So what else could you do in that moment? What 462 00:25:34,236 --> 00:25:36,836 Speaker 1: do you actually want to spend more time and attention on? 463 00:25:37,236 --> 00:25:39,316 Speaker 1: What are some things that you used to enjoy when 464 00:25:39,316 --> 00:25:41,076 Speaker 1: you were a kid that you supposedly don't have time 465 00:25:41,116 --> 00:25:43,276 Speaker 1: for now, or that you want to learn but you 466 00:25:43,276 --> 00:25:46,956 Speaker 1: don't have time for. Catherine cautions that this process might 467 00:25:46,996 --> 00:25:50,276 Speaker 1: take a while. She even recommends doing a personal experiment 468 00:25:50,316 --> 00:25:53,036 Speaker 1: like this for at least thirty days. You actually have 469 00:25:53,116 --> 00:25:57,156 Speaker 1: to take some time to retrain your quote unquote muscle 470 00:25:57,156 --> 00:25:59,716 Speaker 1: of attention so that you can get it strong again. 471 00:26:00,876 --> 00:26:03,636 Speaker 1: But Catherine has seen firsthand that putting in the work 472 00:26:03,636 --> 00:26:07,236 Speaker 1: to regain your attention is worth it. Attention is like money. 473 00:26:07,396 --> 00:26:11,636 Speaker 1: I mean, it's fine, and people are constantly trying to 474 00:26:11,676 --> 00:26:14,516 Speaker 1: get it from you. And I would say that our 475 00:26:14,556 --> 00:26:17,156 Speaker 1: attention and time are even more valuable than money, because 476 00:26:17,196 --> 00:26:19,956 Speaker 1: even if someone does convince you to buy some stupid 477 00:26:19,996 --> 00:26:22,196 Speaker 1: thing like you can make more money, you won't get 478 00:26:22,236 --> 00:26:23,996 Speaker 1: that money back, but you can still get more money. 479 00:26:24,036 --> 00:26:26,156 Speaker 1: You can't get any more time, and you can't get 480 00:26:26,196 --> 00:26:28,876 Speaker 1: any more of your attention back. So we should be 481 00:26:28,996 --> 00:26:31,876 Speaker 1: very very careful with how and where and when we 482 00:26:31,956 --> 00:26:35,236 Speaker 1: spend it. In the last few years, Catherine has perfected 483 00:26:35,276 --> 00:26:39,196 Speaker 1: her own attentional spending by completely transforming her relationship with 484 00:26:39,196 --> 00:26:42,596 Speaker 1: her phone. Nowadays, she keeps her devices shut off and 485 00:26:42,716 --> 00:26:45,676 Speaker 1: far away through most of her family social life. But 486 00:26:45,756 --> 00:26:49,476 Speaker 1: the biggest improvement to Catherine's happiness came from repeatedly asking 487 00:26:49,516 --> 00:26:53,956 Speaker 1: herself that last www question, what else could she be doing? 488 00:26:54,076 --> 00:26:57,516 Speaker 1: Rather than spending time on her phone. After some soul searching, 489 00:26:58,076 --> 00:27:01,116 Speaker 1: Catherine realized that she'd rather be devoting her limited attention 490 00:27:01,236 --> 00:27:04,396 Speaker 1: to music. She'd played the piano since she was a child, 491 00:27:04,796 --> 00:27:07,876 Speaker 1: but never had time to practice, and she'd always wanted 492 00:27:07,876 --> 00:27:10,796 Speaker 1: to learn other instruments too. Having freed up all the 493 00:27:10,796 --> 00:27:13,396 Speaker 1: time and attention she wasted on her phone, she could 494 00:27:13,476 --> 00:27:16,516 Speaker 1: finally commit to this personal goal. I started taking this 495 00:27:17,076 --> 00:27:19,916 Speaker 1: adult guitar class. It was like byob We got together 496 00:27:19,956 --> 00:27:24,356 Speaker 1: Wednesday nights and learned chords. I just started taking percussion. 497 00:27:24,596 --> 00:27:26,596 Speaker 1: Last night was my first class as I now I'm 498 00:27:26,636 --> 00:27:29,116 Speaker 1: doing guitar and percussion. I've started playing music with some 499 00:27:29,156 --> 00:27:31,396 Speaker 1: of the people from my class out of class, and 500 00:27:31,436 --> 00:27:34,876 Speaker 1: I finally feel, after living in Philadelphia for eight years, 501 00:27:34,916 --> 00:27:36,836 Speaker 1: that I have a community. I mean, this has happened 502 00:27:36,836 --> 00:27:39,516 Speaker 1: in the past six months and it's all through music. 503 00:27:39,636 --> 00:27:42,676 Speaker 1: And the reintroduction of music into my life is a 504 00:27:42,716 --> 00:27:45,516 Speaker 1: direct result of re examining my relationship with my phone. 505 00:27:46,476 --> 00:27:50,276 Speaker 1: For me, this has been a really amazing experience. I 506 00:27:50,356 --> 00:27:54,276 Speaker 1: never could have anticipated how many ways my life would 507 00:27:54,316 --> 00:27:56,876 Speaker 1: change as a result of this project. And I feel 508 00:27:56,876 --> 00:27:59,436 Speaker 1: like concentrating on my phone and putting so much focus 509 00:27:59,516 --> 00:28:02,356 Speaker 1: on my relationship with it really has made me a 510 00:28:02,356 --> 00:28:05,916 Speaker 1: better mother, maybe a better partner, made a better friend, 511 00:28:06,956 --> 00:28:09,876 Speaker 1: you know, you name it, and so grateful for that. 512 00:28:12,756 --> 00:28:14,876 Speaker 1: Making this episode has caused me to take a good 513 00:28:14,876 --> 00:28:18,116 Speaker 1: hard look at what I'm spending my attention on. As 514 00:28:18,156 --> 00:28:20,476 Speaker 1: my friends can probably tell you, I've always been a 515 00:28:20,516 --> 00:28:23,556 Speaker 1: little addicted to my phone, but I didn't realize until 516 00:28:23,636 --> 00:28:26,436 Speaker 1: now just how much it was sapping my attention and 517 00:28:26,636 --> 00:28:30,556 Speaker 1: my joy even when I'm not really using it. And so, 518 00:28:30,756 --> 00:28:33,996 Speaker 1: inspired by Catherine's advice, I've started to try to become 519 00:28:33,996 --> 00:28:37,396 Speaker 1: more mindful about why I'm turning to my phone, and 520 00:28:37,436 --> 00:28:39,996 Speaker 1: I've started to think more about all the opportunity costs 521 00:28:39,996 --> 00:28:43,036 Speaker 1: of my phone use. What happiness grillis am I missing 522 00:28:43,076 --> 00:28:45,996 Speaker 1: without even realizing it? What else could I be paying 523 00:28:46,036 --> 00:28:49,156 Speaker 1: attention to instead. I've started to notice that using my 524 00:28:49,196 --> 00:28:51,756 Speaker 1: phone in public prevents me from the short moments of 525 00:28:51,756 --> 00:28:54,636 Speaker 1: connection that often make my day. A quick colo or 526 00:28:54,716 --> 00:28:57,236 Speaker 1: ketchup on the street that I would have squandered because 527 00:28:57,236 --> 00:28:59,996 Speaker 1: I was staring at my email, or that deep chat 528 00:29:00,036 --> 00:29:02,316 Speaker 1: with my husband that I'd be more involved with if 529 00:29:02,356 --> 00:29:05,116 Speaker 1: my iPhone wasn't unconsciously tempting me from the other side 530 00:29:05,156 --> 00:29:07,876 Speaker 1: of the table, or the taste of my morning coffee, 531 00:29:07,876 --> 00:29:10,556 Speaker 1: which I often ignore in favor of a quick social 532 00:29:10,556 --> 00:29:14,076 Speaker 1: media click. I hope this episode has caused you to 533 00:29:14,116 --> 00:29:16,516 Speaker 1: think a bit more about all the gorillas you might 534 00:29:16,556 --> 00:29:19,436 Speaker 1: be missing in life without even realizing it, so you 535 00:29:19,476 --> 00:29:22,156 Speaker 1: can start using your phone only for the things that 536 00:29:22,236 --> 00:29:25,436 Speaker 1: are really worth your attention, the stuff that actually brings 537 00:29:25,436 --> 00:29:28,236 Speaker 1: you joy, like calling a good friend or the occasional 538 00:29:28,236 --> 00:29:31,916 Speaker 1: cat video, or even clicking on your favorite podcast app 539 00:29:32,116 --> 00:29:34,716 Speaker 1: to hear the next episode of The Happiness Lab with 540 00:29:34,796 --> 00:29:45,756 Speaker 1: Doctor Laurie Santos. The Happiness Lab is co written and 541 00:29:45,756 --> 00:29:49,116 Speaker 1: produced by Ryan Dilley. Our original music was composed by 542 00:29:49,196 --> 00:29:53,396 Speaker 1: Zachary Silver, with additional scoring, mixing and mastering by Evan Viola. 543 00:29:53,596 --> 00:29:57,116 Speaker 1: Pete Naton also helped with production. Joseph Friedman checked our 544 00:29:57,156 --> 00:29:59,836 Speaker 1: facts and our editing was done by Sophie Crane mckibbon. 545 00:30:00,156 --> 00:30:04,596 Speaker 1: Special thanks to mil LaBelle, Carl Migliori, Heather Faine, Julia Barton, 546 00:30:04,836 --> 00:30:09,116 Speaker 1: Maggie Taylor, Maya Kanig, Jacob Weisberg, and my agent, Ben Davis. 547 00:30:09,756 --> 00:30:12,196 Speaker 1: The Happiness Lab is brought to you by Pushkin Industries 548 00:30:12,316 --> 00:30:15,236 Speaker 1: and me, Doctor Laurie Santos.