We pick up the mobile phone to look at the message, when we want to count it, 20 minutes later. Or one hour. We’ve been bombarded with videos and news that we don’t remember. We promised that tomorrow would be different, but we fall again. It’s not a lack of will, it’s a matter of determination. Social networks are ready to keep our attention, without beginning or end, without natural pauses, like the end of a chapter of a book or a movie. This exercise of moving the mobile phone screen —Scrollingin its English term – distracts us or entertains us, but at the same time pushes us to many stimuli that exhaust us and, worse, harm our attention.
Neuroscience educator and promoter Marta Romo warns against it in her inspiring book Hyper-connectivity (Roca Editorial, 2025): “El Scrolling It works like a traction machine. “We do not know when this video will appear that will give us that news that affects us, but the expectations keep us glued to the screen,” he emphasizes. “The machines push them to work within a fuel program that appears in an unexpected way. The thrill of receiving a prize or watching that devastating video generates tales of dopamine fuel that overexcites our brain and prevents it from resting. Because of this habit, more and more people feel tired, without feeling particularly tired. The mind becomes tired when it realizes this.” Small, everyday influences.
The technology is designed so that we can navigate between videos and messages without rest. Every jump leaves an invisible trace. Psychologist Sophie Leroy, a professor at the University of Washington, calls it attention residue: a part of our mind that lingers if we lag behind on the previous task, even when we think we’ve skipped the page. When dynamic signals reach extremes, we lose memory, the ability to concentrate, and the ability to formulate coherent narratives about our lives. All of the above happens because our attention is broken.
Interest has become scarce, largely due to misuse of technology. Every time we are faced with more reading books or doing activities that require a certain amount of intellectual effort. Interest will become a new intellectual knowledge, according to the teacher Gregorio Lurie, by which people will distinguish themselves in the future. But attention is not a luxury, it is an emotional necessity. It is the basis of creativity, art, deep thinking, or our comfort. This allows us to focus on achieving our goals, discovering solutions to problems, or feeling satisfied with our lives. The good news is that we have the power to influence it. Our brain is plastic and we can learn. The first step is to become aware.
“(The solution) is not to separate us, because we are not machines, but to just learn how to communicate more, but with life,” Romo suggests. For this, we have to realize that technology is not to blame, it is just an amplifier. Productivity has reached the ceiling in our time management, we don’t take hassle and even exchange conversations with friends over the phone for superficial voice. But these habits are not stolen from us at all, but rather by presence. We are disconnected from the moment of real conversations taking place in front of us. We live hyper-connected, yet deeply absent. On the subway, in restaurants, in meetings… we all tilt our heads in the same direction: there is one screen. It is a sign of our times, and perhaps also a symptom of it. Paying attention to our surroundings is actually an important decision. Because in a world saturated with stimuli, “the most silent revolution begins with the most radical action of all: caring for those we encounter,” advocates Romo.
Moreover, we are always moving quickly, but our bodies are replenished through mechanisms that require rest and time. We can reduce our efficiency requirements. We can also make time to walk around and walk without headphones, leaving room for our imagination. This does not necessarily mean disconnecting ourselves from networks or demonizing technology, but rather relearning how to use it without surrendering the soul. Connecting with what really matters, the people we want to be with or the experiences we want to have. Maybe, as John Lennon wrote, “Life is what passes you by while you’re busy making other plans.” Today we can say: We are lost on mobile screens. If the true joy of the future isn’t in time, I’m paying attention. Because when we pay attention, we feel more alive and remember that the important thing is not on the screen, but only in front of it.
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