I was interested and concerned to hear of the difficulties caused to attention spans by a reduction in in-person human contact during COVID. The context was younger children and an example was that because ‘Granny is on screen’ and can be turned up or down, on or off, she becomes less ‘real’. This has brought about a detrimental effect on general attention spans and engagement.
My immediate thought was, ‘it’s not only children’. I have attended innumerable ‘meetings’ over the last 18 months when little signs make it clear that not all attendees are fully engaged. Indeed, it is easy to slip into the habit of doing more than one thing at a time, none properly.
At one level it is poor manners not to concentrate on a conversation. At another level, by not immersing properly we miss parts of what is said and may very well be the loser for that.
On a good day I always have had the ability to concentrate hard on what I am doing, to the annoyance of the family who find I am not really with them. Too many screen-based conversations have certainly undermined that innate ability in me and if at 60+ I am losing out, what about younger and more attentive minds?
What is the solution? I know that when I need to think through anything important, like next Sunday’s sermon, I must turn to my notebook and pen to make a start; when I do that, immediately concentration comes back. You will have your own method for regaining self-control.
So, to faith and our relationship with God. It is easy to treat God as though he were on a screen: turned on and off, up and down at will but if we do that, just as with our human conversations we lose out because we miss what is said, miss his loving care of us.
Has the pandemic lifestyle made you stop committing to following things though? Has it made you consume worship and not engage in it? Were you already struggling to balance a myriad of conflicting pressures on time and attention?
A Prayer
Loving Father, when I am side-tracked and distracted, help me regain my focus on you. When a thousand demands crowd in, help me balance them and do things properly, thoroughly and at the right time. When there is so much noise, I cannot hear you assuring me you are there, send your calming spirit to help me listen again for the sake of Jesus who focused his obedience on our salvation. Amen.