Lindsey Komson

Featured Image: Robin Worrall

It’s so easy to get distracted nowadays. Whether we’re trying to complete a homework assignment, read a book, or even go to sleep, it’s a habit to reach for our phones. I’ll admit – I do it too. How could we not? Social media keeps us on our toes, allows us to learn new things, and often makes us laugh. But in many instances, it’s keeping us from focusing on a real-life goal and achieving it.

In Johann Hari’s book, Stolen Focus, he partly attributes humans’ decreasing attention spans to the “crippling of our flow states.” I found myself automatically relating these ideals to my own life, and hoping to help others apply it to theirs as well.

So, let’s get into it.

What’s a flow state?

Hari describes a flow state as “when you are so absorbed in what you are doing that you lose all sense of yourself, and time seems to fall away, and you are flowing into the experience itself.” That might sound like mediation at first, but rather, “it’s the deepest form of focus and attention that we know of.”

How do I get into a flow state?

According to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, there are many aspects of reaching “flow,” but Hari highlights three key components in his book:

1. Choose a clearly defined goal.
   To accomplish something, you have to set a goal in the first place.
   
   
2. Do something meaningful.
   How could you enjoy something if it has no meaning to you?
   
   
3. Go for something at the edge of your abilities.
   Something too easy will become boring pretty fast, and something too difficult will cause unsettling feelings.

Finding flow in my own life

About a year ago, I set a goal for myself to become stronger by going to the gym on a regular schedule. This is especially meaningful to me because I want to live a healthy lifestyle on all fronts. Each week that I go to the gym, I try to increase my weights so that I’m building up muscle.

I always knew that I lost track of time at the gym, but now I understand why: I have a clear goal, there’s meaning behind it, and I’m constantly doing something at the edge of my abilities. I reach a flow state at the gym, and it’s extremely fulfilling.

That’s great, but what does this have to do with social media?

Well, going back to the idea of being on social media all day every day, what is that getting you? As I said before, I’m not above getting distracted on social media (trust me, I get distracted just as much as everyone else).

But learning about flow states made me think…

Why do people keep scrolling, tweeting, posting, etc. if it’s not satisfying the criteria for a “flow” state?

First off, social media provides people a sense of validation. The constant influx of “likes,” comments, or reposts allows certain users to feel seen or heard.

It’s also notable that my generation grew up in this new age of social media. We don’t know a world without the constant flow (no pun intended) of information at our fingertips.

Back to real life

Scrolling on social might be fun, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s important to pursue meaningful experiences.

So close out the Instagram feed and find your flow. I promise, it’ll have a huge impact.

Hari, Johann. Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention–and How to Think Deeply Again. Crown, 2023.