You should read Stolen Focus by Johann Hari[0]. People all over the world today are struggling with focus and attention, not because they're not virtuous enough but because tech companies have been intentionally hacking our brains and stealing it away from us. If you don't have time to read the book he did an outstanding interview[1] with Bari Weiss on her podcast Honestly which I urge you to listen to.

I used to think of attention in the same way you do, blaming and hating myself because I felt like I wasn't disciplined enough. It's so important to understand that this is something billionaire tech giants have done to us, on purpose.

0 https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/stolen-focus

1 https://www.honestlypod.com/podcast/episode/2f84e8d4/your-at...

And I will also add: suppose that somebody claimed "they cannot help it" (that somebody lures them into it is a different matter) - that when presented with a situation that requires control they lose it: then, you understand, they should treat that as an issue to be overcome with some degree of priority.

...Just like the snipers here that leave a cheap track of their disapproval on the basicmost behavioural "standards".

Dear mdoms, first of all allow me to grant you that I will check the material you kindly indicated, when time will allow.

But let me confirm my point: if «tech companies have been intentionally [etc.]», this must involve their users, who have been using those services (I can guess which ones they may be) willingly, though innocently. Many of them should also have experiences the other side in life - I hope they received a decent scholarization - and could and should have seen the difference from that side to the other side, and act accordingly taking measures and distances. Many of us have tried experiences in our life, and noticed that they were leading them into something undesirable, and consequently relegated those experiences to appropriate spaces (if any) - this is perfectly normal.

In short: if visiting intoxicant.com makes you intoxicated¹, you should probably avoid it, or greatly reduce it, or manage it differently (actively)¹.

¹and note that while they may try hard, it's not an overpowering "injection" - I suppose it must be some bad habit they attempt to instill in users, and which the said users may dodge instead of adopt. You do have a will.

Yes, definitely, this and all related problems people have with focus and attention on modern devices is just because they aren't virtuous enough.

???

To the original point: "crutches" are not a feature, they are a device. They are not universally useful - the same way that prescription glasses are not. A low refresh display may help some people: it is not helpful in general; some people find featureless text editors less distracting, normalcy greets happily the availability of features and options and hides the GUI with a keyboard shortcut.

To your statement: I do not see how «modern devices», on literal terms, can be the issue: they are *organizers* (meant to optimize your time). If people use them differently, that is not a fault in the device.

To your statement again: focus and attention are skills that individuals develop. If they are underdeveloped, they should if sough be developed. If your point is elsewhere, please make it explicit. I must presume you do not think that it is the responsibility of your sofa to sculpt your abdominals (nor, for that matter, to make you use your sofa wisely).