The Gap Is Only Going To Widen
People have always been distracted.
I'm 21, I'm an internet kid. But even I have distant memories of sitting down to study and having my mind wander off. It could be the muted sounds of the TV in the living room, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid in your bookshelf, or just doodling in the columns of my Classmate notebook.
I’ll be distracted for a minute, or two, or ten. But that's about it.
The cost was minimal.
Now with a selection of the algorithm's finest addictive videos, personalised to you being an arm's reach away, the cost is higher.
My screen time last week was 6 hours, that's a third of my day.
We've all been there, you're working, your mind starts to wander and the next thing you know you're on your phone, and an hour has passed. Gun to your head, you wouldn't be able to recall a single one of the 100 videos you just scrolled on.
AGI is here (in most ways that matter)
News flash, for about $100 a month you can now get a team of AI coders, a couple AI analysts, and an AI video producer.
Oh and also, for about $20 a month, and a WiFi connection you can learn literally anything.
This isn't "AI is going to take your job by 2030 doomer news”. This is now. I've watched people build entire products in weekends that would have taken teams months just two years ago.
If you're someone with an idea, or even undirected ambition, you have immense leverage. In other words, for the same effort, time and energy you can accomplish way more.
Here's the thing: these two trends are happening simultaneously.
So it's never been harder to focus, but if you focus you can do 100x more.
This creates a new kind of inequality. Not based on your skills or background, but on the ability to resist your phone.
The people who figure this out won't just do a bit better. They'll do 100x better. And everyone else will fall further behind.
On a personal note
It's easier said than done, I've personally been trying to figure this out.
In reality it’s a false dichotomy, like most people, I am both the guy who wants to build and the guy who doom-scrolls Reddit TTS videos with Subway Surfers playing below.
It's not like you choose the life of a hermit and move on. Modern society makes it harder than that.
As long as I am on the internet, it’s a daily battle to focus my attention on what I want to achieve and not what I'm biologically programmed to crave.
I don't have this figured out yet. But I know this much: the people who do will inherit the world.
(P.S. If you’re also heavy into digital minimalism, would love to know your best hacks hmu)
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