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Assignment 2

In “The Case for Nothing” from Jenny Odell’s book How to Do Nothing, Odell introduced us to the “the attention economy,” a concept which is both abstract and difficult to define, and yet remarkably easy to spot in our society. Herbert A. Simon, who first coined the term, wrote that “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” Surely you can simply look around the very room you are in right now to find an example of “a poverty of attention.” Perhaps you yourself are that example.

Odell, using art, history and philosophy as a basis for her argument, implores us to reexamine our behaviors in relation to the attention economy and embrace the art of doing nothing as resistance to it. She writes, “…digital distraction was a bane, not because it made people less productive, but because it took them away from the one life they had to live.” Odell believes our time spent monetizing and being monetized takes us away from place and people, from the present. She continues, “externalities of attention economy distractions keep us from doing the things we want to do […] long term, they keep us from living the lives we want to live.” She asks us to consider how much of our time is lost to the ethers of the attention economy, and what might it be costing us?

Behavioral sciences are also interested in these questions. More and more we hear discussion of addiction to technology, but where does this concept come from and who is studying it? For our second assignment, I have asked you to read two psychological studies where scientists conduct experiments and collect data regarding cellphone usage. One study questions the role of mindfulness in moderating cellphone addiction in high school students, and the other considers the cognitive effects of using a cellphone when taking a break from a difficult task.

Unlike Odell, these studies use quantitative and qualitative evidence to discuss and ask questions about the role of technology in our lives, and more specifically on our mental health and cognitive abilities. We might consider that studies like these add to or extend her arguments or are, essentially, in conversation with them in spite of these texts existing in very different contexts. Odell does not cite any behavioral scientists or studies, and these scientists do not discuss the value of “doing nothing” and yet it is easy to see the link between their work.

Using these studies and Odell as a jumping off point, I would like you to begin your own conversation about technology, particularly cellphones, in our culture. You will use yourself as a source in study, collecting data from your own cellphone usage and analyzing it through the lenses of Odell and these scientists.

You might begin by writing a reflection on your own cellphone usage. What do you use your phone for? What do you think the purpose of a cellphone is? How often would you say you use your phone? What do you feel like when you forget or lose your phone? You might consider asking yourself some of your own questions as well, like, “Why do I always get distracted and end up on TikTok when I just open my phone to check my e-mail?” or “How come I am only able to fall asleep at night while watching Crunchyroll on my phone?”

Then, create a plan for collecting data. What data do you think you should collect from yourself? How much data should you collect? How might you collect it? Organize it? Present it? How detailed should your data collection be? Should you simply record usage times or keep a more descriptive usage journal? What kind of nuances do you need to look out for regarding qualitative data and quantitative data? For instance, you may have a day where your phone records 6 hours of usage – but that may have been a day where you spent 5 hours reading a novel or doing homework on your phone – how might you account for discrepancies like this one? How might you record distinctive or anomalous behaviors?

Your paper should utilize at least two of the sources we’ve discussed in class, illustrating how your research and discussion is occurring in conversation with that of others (They Say). You may do this by summarizing their texts in order to contextualize your project, or by explaining important concepts that will relate to your work.

You must also analyze your own data carefully, discussing what was significant, interesting or surprising in your findings and why those details matter. You should return to our source texts in this analysis, weaving in important concepts, questions, concerns, etc. This space in your paper is a time you might want to reconsider what you wrote in your initial reflections on your cellphone usage – what were you wrong about? What were you right about? What does that mean?

From your analysis, you should come to some larger conclusions that will allow you to create a focus in your paper; a controlling idea. This controlling idea should be a thread that ties Odell, the studies, and your analysis of your own data together and lead to some big picture idea: a So What? As you write this essay, consider what this critical process has lead you to believe about yourself, “the attention economy,” culture, society, etc. Ask yourself: So what? Who cares? Who should care?

You essay should demonstrate They Say, I Say and Comp Guide conventions, including Quotation Sandwiches and a distinct Controlling Idea. You will need to produce at least 3 completed and revised drafts in order to receive full points on this project. Your final draft should be turned into Blackboard carefully edited with minimal grammar and spelling mistakes. It should be MLA formatted with 12pt Times New Roman font and 1” margins. Your paper should be 5-6 pages in length.