IN a café recently, I found myself jolted from deep focus by the familiar sound of someone's smartphone notification. Just like that, my mind was pulled away from my work.
The 'ping' reminded me of the Russian experimental neurologist and physiologist Ivan Pavlov's bell in his conditioning study with his dog.
The connection is uncanny — we have become conditioned to respond to that sound, much like Pavlov's dog salivated at the ringing bell.
Pavlov's experiments, conducted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, demonstrated the power of conditioned responses.
He noticed that dogs began to salivate, not only when food was presented to them, but also when they saw the lab assistant who fed them. Intrigued, Pavlov designed an experiment to explore this phenomenon.
He trained a dog to associate the sound of a bell with the arrival of food.
After several repetitions, the dog began to salivate at the mere sound of the bell, even in the absence of food.
Fast-forward to today, and our smartphones have become ubiquitous, constantly vying for our attention with a symphony of pings, dings, and buzzes.
Each notification, like Pavlov's bell, triggers an almost reflexive response. We are instantly drawn to our screens, compelled to check for messages, updates or alerts.
The conditioning is so pervasive that we've come to expect these interruptions as part of our daily lives. Our conditioned response to smartphone notifications, I believe, has far-reaching implications for productivity, mental well-being, and the ability to focus on the task at hand.
Consider this: how many times have you found yourself in the middle of an important task, only to be disrupted by a notification? That brief distraction can break your concentration and derail productivity.
A study cited by Clockify said employees lose about 720 hours annually due to distractions, which equate to significant financial losses for businesses.
So, what can we do about it? Deputy dean of undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, Associate Professor Dr Azmawaty Mohamad Nor, said the answer lies in reclaiming control of our devices and treating them as the tools they are meant to be.
In short, do not let them control us.
"Firstly, set your boundaries by establishing specific times when you check your phone and stick to them. And turn off non-essential notifications to reduce interruptions.
"Secondly, learn to focus on the task at hand. When working on something important, put your phone on silent or airplane mode. Create a focused environment free from digital distractions.
"Thirdly, practise mindfulness and awareness. Be conscious of your response to notifications.
"Pause and consider whether it's necessary to check your phone immediately or if it can wait. And finally, consider detoxing yourself digitally every now and then by taking regular breaks from your devices. Disconnecting for a few hours or even a day can help reset your relationship with technology," Azmawaty says.
By taking these steps, we should be able to break the cycle of conditioned responses and regain control of our attention and our lives. Let's not become like Pavlov's dog, mindlessly responding to every instance of these sounds.
So this National Day, let's free ourselves from the shackles of the pesky pings, dings, and buzzes, shall we?
The writer is an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, and former director of Corporate Communications Centre, Universiti Malaya. He may be reached at nahrizuladib@um.edu.my