Ian Hines interviews Chris Bowler:
On the topic of attention and consumption, it’s becoming pretty clear to most people that the internet is changing us and our habits. It’s pervasiveness into everywhere is having a cumulative affect. This I have felt (keenly) in my life, but is also coming into focus for much of our culture. So I know I’m not just pushing this onto others.
As I’ve come to a time in my life where I desire to create more than anything else, many of the habits formed in the past five years are a detriment to that. I struggle greatly to focus on one task for any length. Even if I achieve that focus, I still find myself switching spaces, letting my thoughts drift to other subjects, my fingers seeking that source of new input.
Twitter is the best example of this tension in my life. I love it, I hate it. My career would not be where it is without it, yet I know I could have created more, done more over the past three years if I removed all the time I spent on the service. It brings me useful information and in contact with amazing people, but also can daily cause me to miss important events in the life of my children.
Where then is the balance?