Thanks for this beautiful essay Henrik. I resonate with many of the points you discuss, but wanted to add a different perspective. As adults, having full control of our frontal lobes, many of us can 'play the internet like a piano'. Yet this analogy does not translate to children. Interfacing with the internet produces 'hyper attention' while other analog activities such as reading a physical book, engaging with nature, or interacting with people face-to-face nurtures 'deep attention'. When deep attention has to compete with hyper attention, it is akin to throwing a dolphin into a tank filled with piranhas and hoping that they will find a way to coexist.
I like using the analogy of a beautiful, mountainous, and mysterious landscape. At a young age, children have the opportunity to build train tracks to the farthest reaches of this wondrous scenery (by developing their deep attention). If they build these connections now (i.e., by immersing themselves in literature, history, nature, the art of conversation, etc.), they will forever be able to travel to the most remote locations that few others reach. If, however, they were to neglect the laying of these tracks now (and fall for the easy lure of hyper attention), the wonders of this landscape would remain largely hidden from them in their adult lives; only glimpses might be caught when flying over to another far-away land.
Internet: a user manual
Thanks for this beautiful essay Henrik. I resonate with many of the points you discuss, but wanted to add a different perspective. As adults, having full control of our frontal lobes, many of us can 'play the internet like a piano'. Yet this analogy does not translate to children. Interfacing with the internet produces 'hyper attention' while other analog activities such as reading a physical book, engaging with nature, or interacting with people face-to-face nurtures 'deep attention'. When deep attention has to compete with hyper attention, it is akin to throwing a dolphin into a tank filled with piranhas and hoping that they will find a way to coexist.
I like using the analogy of a beautiful, mountainous, and mysterious landscape. At a young age, children have the opportunity to build train tracks to the farthest reaches of this wondrous scenery (by developing their deep attention). If they build these connections now (i.e., by immersing themselves in literature, history, nature, the art of conversation, etc.), they will forever be able to travel to the most remote locations that few others reach. If, however, they were to neglect the laying of these tracks now (and fall for the easy lure of hyper attention), the wonders of this landscape would remain largely hidden from them in their adult lives; only glimpses might be caught when flying over to another far-away land.