Dr. Ed Hallowell’s book Crazy Busy is a warning and recommendation for those who live in the
increasingly technologically immersed early 21st century. Having treated thousands of patients for
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), he describes a new type of patient who arrives
for treatment and evaluation, but who does not have ADHD. Instead, he or she is a produc
of a society “gone ADHD”. The expectations and demands placed on contemporary people
put them into a distracted, disorganized state that mimics ADHD but is actually a new form
of cultural adaptation.
Hallowell speculates that our information technology infused world has made us an impatient
society and looks back in wonder at the fact that people used to actually use rotary dial
phones with their excruciatingly slow method of dialing.
Overall he does not recommend a kind of Luddite iPhone destroying rampage, but rather
the awareness of how culture is changing, and how we can be wiser in how we use
technology to enhance our lives without losing what matters the most. A new skill
of our world is the skill of filtering out the information you don’t really need and the
tasks you don’t really need to do.
He also notes the proliferation of the idea of “multi-tasking as a productivity tool”
rather than an impediment to good work. More work may get “done” but what is
the quality of the work? We can really only multitask when one of the tasks we are doing
is something we know so well we can do it without really concentrating on it at all, such as
driving a car or brushing one’s hair. You can listen to an audio book while you drive to work,
but can you listen to an audio book while you participate in a conversation?
He also stresses the importance of connecting to the community and our friends and family
as a strategy for wellness. He notes that technology has the potential to connect more people
yet also to keep us from having actual old-fashioned face-to-face human interactions in favor
of social media, text messaging, and other online interactions.
The book was written in 2007 but sadly many of the problems seem to still face our culture.
However as concerns about screen-time and social media rise, the advice of this book will resound.
