Creativity is a big part of my identity. As a kid growing up in Connecticut, my parents’ video camera served as the main outlet for my creative ideas. Well that, and my brother and sister, who I bribed to be my actors, and occasionally our family dog. That passion for creating has followed me through many walks of life —high school, college, my 10-year career as a journalist and communications professional, and now my journey through graduate school. Although it often seems like my mind is a running faucet that keeps flowing with creative thoughts, there are times where that faucet won’t turn on at all— no matter how hard I turn the knob.
I have often wondered why this disconnect from my creative instincts occurs— and why it happens without warning. I’m sure there are several explanations but one of the most obvious is the digital distractions in my life. It’s no surprise that digital distractions affect productivity, but are they stealing our creativity, as well? Johann Hari points to one possible explanation in Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again. Every time your phone dings and you pause to check your email, Instagram, X, etc., your natural train of thought is disrupted. If this happens repeatedly your mind no longer has the capacity to wander (Hari 98). When your mind wanders, it makes new connections which can lead to solutions. Ever wonder why some of your best ideas come to you when you’re in the shower? Or maybe while you are driving home from work? Think about this: when your mind wanders it goes places that you did not intend. Maybe you start to think about things that have nothing to do with your original problem. That is when creative ideas are generated.
You could argue that getting lost in your phone is a form of mind wandering. This is true, but University of Virginia Professor Eric Williamson argues it’s really not about whether your mind is wandering, it’s about how it is wandering. Next time you scroll through Instagram or X, pause to think about how it made you feel. Did you feel inspired? Did a creative thought come to you? Did seeing the endless number of highlight reels make you feel optimistic? In my experience, instead of generating what could have been a creative thought, feelings such as frustration, anger, anxiousness, irritability, and self-consciousness replace that space in my mind.
In today’s world there are so many sources fighting for our attention, in fact it can feel overbearing— and let’s face it, being creative is hard. It’s challenging enough to form original and innovative ideas on a regular basis, so add in all the other distractions and it becomes nearly impossible. The best way to restore mind wandering is to limit the digital distractions. Sometimes I leave my phone in a different room so I am not tempted to “doom scroll.” Some people even install apps that limit the amount of time they can use their device. Anything that we can do to restore the process of generating creative thoughts is beneficial to our overall cognitive health.
Works Cited
Hari, Johann. Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023.
Williamson, Eric. “Is Social Media Hijacking Your Brain? Spontaneity May Be the Antidote.” UVA Today, University of Virginia, 10 July 2024, news.virginia.edu/content/social-media-hijacking-your-brain-spontaneity-may-be-antidote.
Allison Lucas 