A Step Further

I am not the only person at this moment in time considering radical solutions to the hijacking of our attention by various entities (tech companies, the news cycle, etc.). In fact, I’ve taken many steps prescribed by those who also are trying to reclaim agency over their attention:

• Phone Culling
  • On my phone, I’ve deleted all social media apps, and even put in web blocks to particular sites (like Reddit) that are accessible via my browser.
  • I limit my notifications to only the essentials (messaging apps, reminders, and important emails) so that even ostensibly “good” content (like the news) can’t interrupt my flow.
• Social Media Withdrawal
  • There are whole categories of social media I refuse to participate in, for varying reasons.
  • Twitter/X: due to disinformation and toxicity.
  • Facebook: with the exception of Marketplace, few of my acquaintances use it and I don’t wan to curate a separate me there.
  • TikTok: my attention span is already broken enough.
• Positive Habit Cultivation
  • I regularly meditate to try and build up my ability to be conscious of the present moment.
  • By limiting my phone/social media usage, I instead can focus investing attention in deeper forms, like reading books or watching movies (and yes, watching a movie end-to-end at home with no phone usage is a challenge).

However, there remains one particular maelstrom that blows through the cracks in my safeguards. A whirlwind that too often sends my mind into a tailspin that confuses my attention. An absolute tempest that is seemingly impossible to avoid:

That is US politics (and all the chaos that entails).

And so I find myself wondering, could I simply opt out of paying attention to the US political landscape? What would be the consequences of such a choice? And is it even practical to (or possible) to do so?

Before considering that though, I want to consider what I promise is a related topic: fictional aliens that get “drunk” on mere language.

Two Ariekei Ways

Note: this section contains major spoilers for China Miéville’s Embassytown.

A while ago I read Embassytown, and it is one of the few books whose concepts I continue to chew on years after reading it. In particular, how the aliens respond to an existential threat to their minds has some strong parallels to how I’m considering handling the assault on my attention described above.

First, let me summarize some of the book’s plot in order to put the two responses the aliens choose into context.

The Language

Without getting bogged down in the details, in the city of Embassytown, humans live next to an Alien species called the Ariekei. The Ariekei speak a special language that by humans can only be spoken by specially genetically engineered twins, who can then speak in tandem in a way the Ariekei can understand. These sets of twins are the “Ambassadors” to Ariekei, and help to facilitate relations and trade.

The disruption comes when a new “Ambassador” named EzRa arrives, and is able to speak the Ariekei language not by virtue of being twins, but via brain implant/tech breakthrough that allows two non twins to “sync up” and speak the language.

Upon hearing EzRa speak, this actually causes a euphoric like reaction in the Ariekei, who begin to demand to hear EzRa speak the way an addict would demand a drug. Two groups of Ariekei combat this addiction in separate ways…

Exposure Therapy

One group of the Ariekei expose themselves to short recordings of EzRa’s speaking, building up a tolerance over time to its intoxicating effects.

The key here though is that in order to do this, the Ariekei rely on some sympathetic humans to facilitate this process. In other words, they’re not able to accomplish this on their own; they need outside intervention which then allows them to live in this new world.

Intentional Deafening

Another group of the Ariekei instead recognizes a more brutal path: they intentionally deafen themselves so they cannot her EzRa’s speaking anymore.

The Ariekei use what are effectively a special set of wings to “hear”, and deafening means amputating those wings and losing the ability to hear. This also necessitates that they find a new way to communicate with each other.

When thinking about “opting out” of US politics, this is what I’m talking about: intentionally deafening myself to all the vectors by which I receive political news, such that it can no longer affect me.

To do this, it would likely entail a radical excising device usage and behavioral patterns, given how saturated the landscape is with political news. There is so much spillover of US politics into all spheres of online discourse, that I think to “block out US politics” would effectively mean abandoning 99% of my remaining engagement with the Internet.

And that is what I want to at least begin to explore, because even though I could “reverse” this sort of deafening (if I block Reddit, I can unblock it), there are still consequences for doing so in the mean time.

Opt-out Impacts

Originally I had planned to write down a list of all the various consequences I anticipated from blocking out US politics. But after mulling it over, I think they largely fall into two buckets.

Positive: Regained Focus

On the positive side, I would free up much of my current attention capacity to focus on other pursuits I enjoy: reading through my every growing book backlog, learning/studying about new topics, and enjoying the outdoors.

Both creative pursuits and relaxation would hopefully thrive in this new world, with my energy no longer constantly sapped by the constant drum beat of the next scandal or the next breaking headline.

Like the deafened Ariekei, I would come into contact with my non-deaf brethren; I can’t (nor do I want) to completely shut myself off from society. But I’d be more insulated from the constant hysteria, more clear headed, more able to pause, reflect, and not jump from crisis to crisis (all the while doing nothing because, look, it’s the next crisis!).

It would take effort to learn how to communicate and navigate this new world, but perhaps that evolution is worth the freedom of mind.

However, there is a big downside I fear…

Negative: Information Lag

Namely being “behind the curve” in terms of information. Given the speed at which information moves, there is a real sense that a breaking headline or event could impact me, and I would be caught unawares and unprepared to react.

I still imagine news would trickle down to me via various channels, since I’m not becoming a hermit. But in some scenarios might it be “too late”?

I remember during the COVID pandemic, I had access to information coming out of China, and what I saw spooked me enough that I was able to stock up on supplies before everything shut down in the West. I even had the luxury of extra toilet paper!

That was only possible because I had stayed connected to the news cycle, hyperaware of what was happening around me, and ready to “take action” at a moments notice.

Is that preparedness something I’m willing to give up?

Taking Action

I think it is. Or at least it’s worth trying out.

Here’s the thing: if I’m honest with myself, the number of times I’ve acted on information based on the news/social media is pretty small. More often than not, I rather find myself NOT taking action and being paralyzed by the cascade of information.

On the one hand, I fear that I won’t be able to properly act in the world if I don’t have access to up to date information about US politics and the news.

On the other hand, the reality is that by engaging with the media, what I fear becomes my reality: I lose the ability take action because all my energy is spent absorbing and reacting to news.

And so I think it’s worth further exploring what it means to “opt-out” of US Politics and the news, and at least give it a try. If my current information diet isn’t actually helping me to move through the world and make decisions, then is it really serving a purpose?