Why Streaming, Scrolling, and Multitasking Leave People Feeling Emotionally Flat

Things that entertain are all around.

At all times.

Whenever possible, in all the free time.

You can:

Watch a TV show while talking on the phone.

Scroll while eating

Use a podcast to help when working.

While watching a film, look at social media.Follow social media whilst watching a film.

No longer is there any division.

Everything overlaps.

It feels efficient.

It feels stimulating.

However, there is another feeling that goes unnoticed by many though:

Flatness.

Not sadness exactly.

Not in the sense of "burnout" that is associated with the dramatic sense.

It's just a weird sense of numbness in feelings.

A feeling that:

Nothing fully lands

Nothing feels memorable

Everything blends together

Even though it's been a long time after being fed.

It's not that the brain is not designed to take in constant input.The brain is not designed to constantly take in input.

There needs to be contrast in your mind.

Moments of:

Attention

Reflection

Silence

Recovery

Lives without contrast are colorless.

Many of those pauses are eliminated with the advent of streaming, scrolling and multitasking.

Instead of:

One focused experience

You get:

Continuous partial attention

That alters the way that experiences are processed.

Nowhere is there more space to relax with the kids.

The down side of multitasking.

You're here in all places.

But, he was no where deeply engaged.

You might:

While watching TV, check in to see messages

When viewing video, listen to music.Listen music while searching videos.

Scroll during conversations

If you can, you ate it all!

There was not much of a feeling left in you.

Since it is the attention that makes experiences emotional.

The quicker a person eats, the less affect it will have on them emotionally.

Modern platforms are geared towards continuation.

Not absorption.

Episodes autoplay.

Feeds refresh infinitely.

The stopping points in Algorithms are eliminated.

You sit with infrequently:

A scene

A thought

A feeling

Prior to the next thing coming.

This ongoing shift doesn't give time to process emotions.

Every day, you can expect to see 150,000 new messages.You're likely to receive 150,000 new messages every day.

Novelty and concentration can be a factor in emotion.

However, if all of these come at a quick pace:

Funny videos

Tragic news

Memes

Emotional stories

Ads

Drama clips

Brain begins to level reactions.

Not because you have lessened your love.

As it's not able to maintain the emotional level for extended periods.

So eventually:

Excitement weakens

Attention shortens

The emotions may become flat or dull.Emotions may be subdued.

If you are not getting the message, you are being "over entertained!If you are not getting the message, you are being "over entertained!

When it came to entertainment, it was more deliberate in the past.

You:

Chose a movie

Watched it fully

Discussed the situation later on.

Nowadays, when a person's content is playing like a wallpaper, it's not content, it's a wallpaper.

Always on.

Always available.

Half-watched.

When fun is a way of life…

It loses sharpness.

This is a Memory Too fragment that can be used for multitasking.

This is another of the ‘missed effects’ .

Attention focused increases your memory for experiences.

However, with all attention being divided, one's memory becomes divided also.

It is for this reason that many people:

The shows that they forget are those they've viewed recently.

Recall of videos (yesterday): Low

Aim to spend a half hour each week of learning.On-line aim to spend a half hour learning every week.

The brain (shallow engagement) is stored differently.

In the Nervous System, it's rare for it to be quiet.

The term 'streaming' and 'scrolling' are not used to suggest physical consumption.

They're neurologically active, but.

Your brain keeps:

Switching contexts

Processing stimulation

Anticipating rewards

Filtering information

This produces mental fatigue, but not by working hard.

Hence, sometimes one feels the following after “relaxing” from these:

Restless

Emotionally numb

Mentally crowded

This is NOT about technology being evil!

It's not entertainment, it's this.

Entertainment can genuinely:

Inspire

Relax

Connect people

Create meaningful emotion

The problem is that of volume and fragmentation.

As all things becomes fixed…

Nothing feels distinct.

What aids the sense of emotion to become more pronounced again?

Not extreme detoxes.

More conscious eating!

Think and plan ahead.Plan and think ahead, do one thing at a time.

Watch.

Listen.

Read.

Fully.

2. Allow Endings

Don't automatically substitute anything with something else.

3. Reduce Background Content

There is no silence but silence.

It's a must for your brain.

5. Selectively Use Less & Better Experiences

There isn't any direct link between amounts consumed and satisfaction.

5. Be aware of what you really remember.

Oftentimes the best experiences are slower, simpler.

The Bigger Insight

Emotional flatness is believed to be a lack of stimulation.

In some cases, the situation is just the reverse.

Overstimulation leads to a decrease in emotional contrast.

When it's always something else that's in need of your attention…

Your emotional system starts to take measures to reduce intensity to protect itself.

Final Thought

The present world has a lot of things to offer with streaming, scrolling and multitasking.

Fullness is not depth however.

Depth usually requires:

Attention

Stillness

Presence

Space between experiences

Without those things…

Emotionally there can be a lot of things going on but at the same time nothing.