Reading "The distraction society" article, by Damon Young, made me realize that despite human's progression in technology and all of its advancements, we still have far to go. As Young describes his life, filled with the many distractions of email, internet, and phones, there are many similarities of the novel Hunger by Hamsun. In fact, this article seems to support the story of Hunger: how the protagonist goes around in circles of trying to write an article to survive yet being distracted by his surroundings.
Although technology does not distract the protagonist of Hunger from his work, he still cannot get his work done. Various people, sounds, creatures, and objects are to blame for the protagonist's inability to write. However, the readers all know what Young states in his article: It is not the distractions to blame, but yourself- the habit of trying to avoid work. Of course, in the case of Hunger, it is on a greater scale. Perhaps because of the fact that he is hungry and homeless (yet cannot seem to accept the idea) makes his mind to be able to be distracted more easily, as he is distracted by a wide range of things- from gnats to the pulse in his feet. Of course, we have to remember that this inability to write probably predated his extreme hunger.
However, there is one thing I noticed did not correspond between the novel and the article. Young brings up something that Nietzsche once said: "One thinks with a watch in one's hand"- which makes me think that we are always looking for, as Young says, "the next big 'hit'". We can never sit still: whereas in Hunger, while the starved man's mind cannot sit still, he very often just notices random things and focuses on them, not exactly looking for a 'hit', but unable to keep himself in control. Whether this is because of his starvation and situation, or whether it is just him, I am not sure. Nietzsche continues to say "haste is universal", and that we never stop to think: is this true with the man in Hunger? His mind is always moving, and I do think he stops to think- in fact, perhaps he always stops to think: perhaps not about reflecting on his life and all that, but he continuously thinks about articles, people, and food. He also tries to get back on track, and does not enjoy his distractions as much as the people today might.
Despite this, the article still uncannily follows the ideas in Hunger. The distractions we today have and those in Hunger are a result of "an unwillingness to confront very human issues: pain, boredom, anxiety. Or in the case of the novel, pride. What's interesting is that in Hunger he suffers these distractions- and they lead him to worse and unhealthy situations. Yet, the man still suffers- perhaps all the more because of it- the distractions that prevent him from getting back on his feet. It is weird to know that if you continue to ignore your problems, whether your situation is good or bad, distractions will haunt you. With technology or without, you will find distractions for yourself.
The only question I have here is, while Young was able to limit himself from distractions and gain some notion of control over his life, how can the protagonist in Hunger help himself (other than start to realize his distractions and problems)?
Although this problem seems to have prevailed through the centuries, it is hard to realize because of all of the advancement we have made. We sometimes think of ourselves as a 'new and better' human, without any of the faults and mistakes that humans had before, because of our technology and progress. However, I think we shouldn't always congratulate ourselves, but work not only on improving our science, but ourselves: not many people try to do that.
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