Paying Attention in the Digital Age

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY ↓ More info and sources below ↓ In a world of distractions, how do we pay attention? It seems like every week someone tells us how the internet and the digital age are overloading our brains. Sure, sometimes it feels like we re being fed more information than we can handle, that we re paying attention to the wrong things. Are we giving our brain a fair shot? I explore some science that show how paying attention can be a bad thing, and then some science about how paying attention can be a very helpful thing Special cameos by Hank Green and Mike Rugnetta! Further reading: The original Simons and Chabris experiment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo The cocktail party effect: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/07/173613681/hear-that-in-a-din-of-voices-our-brains-can-tune-to-one The illusion of attention: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/neurophilosophy/2011/aug/11/neuroscience-psychology How is the internet changing our brains? (Harold Rheingold and more) http://www.edge.org/q2010/q10_index.html#responses Sherry Turkle - Alone Together http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html Written and hosted by Joe Hanson Produced by Painted On Productions (http://www.paintedon.com/) ----------- Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Twitter http://www.twitter.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.twitter.com/okaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/