Turn your critical lens toward things you think matter, that you want to discuss [and] share. Let practice win out over rubbernecking.
~Tyler Green [1]
"Rubbernecking" is a great way to describe how we let things that don't matter distract us from things that do.
Rubbernecking happens when we notice other people paying attention to something (real or virtual) and automatically assume that it's worthy of our attention as well.
Rubbernecking happens when we suspect something's probably meaningless, but a faint, persistent anxiety keeps us fixated on it.
Rubbernecking happens when we know something's completely meaningless, but a fascination with the spectacle prevents us from turning away.
Why does this matter? Because of the importance of our focused attention. As I've written before, focused attention is our most precious resource because it's extremely taxing on our intellectual and emotional capabilities; it can have a amazingly powerful effect on its object; and it can't be subdivided. [2] (We can pay continuous partial attention to multiple objects, but we can truly focus on only one object at any given moment. [3])
And every instance of rubbernecking represents wasted attention--a valuable, finite resource dedicated to something meaningless and unrewarding. Note that I'm not suggesting that we never take breaks, daydream or even just goof off. But breaks, daydreams and goofing off are all essential forms of play that allow us to recharge and refresh ourselves. Rubbernecking is a waste, a state of useless vigilance that holds us in its grip until we're finally convinced that there's nothing to see here. And given that our focused attention is so taxing, powerful and limited, we waste it at our peril.
So what can we do?
Resist the Pull of Social Proof
Social psychologists call the phenomenon of being influenced by what others are paying attention to "social proof," and it's a compelling force. But social proof is a poor predictor of what's truly worthy of our attention; as Stanford professor Huggy Rao and his colleagues have written, "Reliance on heuristics such as social proof can often lead to overvaluation of the choice and regret about the decision." [4] When we find ourselves drawn in on the basis of others' attention, we're probably rubbernecking.
Consider Our "Return On Attention"
We talk endlessly about ROI, but what's the ROA in any given experience? What are we getting in exchange for this precious resource? Even when we're goofing off, we should be able to clearly identify the terms of the exchange--but if our answer to the question is, "Not much," or, worse, "I don't know," that's a sign that we're rubbernecking and should move along. [5]
Improved Emotion Regulation
Emotions are central to our reasoning and decision-making processes, and our ability to focus our attention on what matters is directly related to our ability to be aware of and regulate our emotions. [6] Note that regulation does not mean suppression; the better we can sense and understand our emotions, the more effectively we can articulate and express them. [7] But when we're not in touch with our emotions, when our anxieties and frustrations are operating just beyond our conscious awareness, we're more likely to soothe ourselves by rubbernecking. [8]
Footnotes
[1] @TylerGreenBooks, November 12, 2013
[3] Beyond Simple Multi-Tasking: Continuous Partial Attention (Linda Stone, 2009)
[4] Fool's Gold: Social Proof in the Initiation and Abandonment of Coverage by Wall Street Analysts (Hayagreeva Rao, Henrich Grieve, and Gerald Davis, Administrative Science Quarterly, 2001)
[5] Growth, Profitability and Return on Attention
[6] Antonio Damasio on Emotion and Reason
[8] The Marshmallow Test for Grownups
For Further Reading
Attention Surplus Disorder (Anxiety and Distraction)
Updated March 2021.
Photo by Ted Kerwin.
