Books

The Distraction Addiction

Getting the Information You Need and the Communication You Want, Without Enraging Your Family, Annoying Your Colleagues, and Destroying Your Soul
By Alex Soojung-Kim Pang (Hardcover Book, 2013)
The question of our time: can we reclaim our lives in an age that feels busier and more distracting by the day?

We've all found ourselves checking email at the dinner table, holding our breath while waiting for Outlook to load, or sitting hunched in front of a screen for an hour longer than we intended.

Mobile devices and the web have invaded our lives, and this is a big idea book that addresses one of the biggest questions of our age: can we stay connected without diminishing our intelligence, attention spans, and ability to really live? Can we have it all?

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, a renowned Stanford technology guru, says yes. THE DISTRACTION ADDICTION is packed with fascinating studies, compelling research, and crucial takeaways. Whether it's breathing while Facebook refreshes, or finding creative ways to take a few hours away from the digital crush, this book is about the ways to tune in without tuning out.
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  • Little, Brown and Company

    • Format: Hardcover Book

    • Price: $28.00 US/$31.00 CAN

    • ISBN-13: 9780316208260

    • On Sale Date: 08/20/2013

    • Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

    Full Details

    Formats Available: Hardcover Book, Electronic Book

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The question of our time: can we reclaim our lives in an age that feels busier and more distracting by the day?

We've all found ourselves checking email at the dinner table, holding our breath while waiting for Outlook to load, or sitting hunched in front of a screen for an hour longer than we intended.

Mobile devices and the web have invaded our lives, and this is a big idea book that addresses one of the biggest questions of our age: can we stay connected without diminishing our intelligence, attention spans, and ability to really live? Can we have it all?

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, a renowned Stanford technology guru, says yes. THE DISTRACTION ADDICTION is packed with fascinating studies, compelling research, and crucial takeaways. Whether it's breathing while Facebook refreshes, or finding creative ways to take a few hours away from the digital crush, this book is about the ways to tune in without tuning out.

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang has spent the last 20 years studying people, technology, and the worlds they make. A professional futurist with a Ph.D. in history of science, Pang is a visiting scholar at Stanford and Oxford universities, and a former Microsoft Research fellow. Pang's writings have appeared in Scientific American, American Scientist, and the Los Angeles Times Book Review, alongside many academic publications.


  • THE DISTRACTION ADDICTION by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

  • "Time starved? Distracted by the immediate? Tossing in an ocean of swirling information? No landfall in sight? Need a lodestar; a pilot, perhaps a Zen master? Turn to Alex Soojung-Kim Pang: he has charted these waters. With Pang's help you can surprise yourself. The Distraction Addiction is an intelligent, entertaining and essential guide to navigation in our techno-times." -- Peter C. Whybrow, Director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, and author of American Mania: When More is Not Enough

  • "Does technology rule you? Or do you rule your technology? The Distraction Addiction is a how-to guide for staying sane, balanced, and intentional in an age of constant digital distraction. If you want your phone, facebook, email, and all the rest to make your life richer without making it more scattered, this is the book for you." -- Ramez Naam, author of The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet

  • "A wise, urbane, funny, and delightfully deep book. This book is about much more than distraction and addiction in the smartphone age. It's about living life wholly and fully by paying deep, thoughtful attention to our tools and our bodies, and to the people we love. This book speaks to modern times, but its message is timeless." -- Michael Chorost, author of World Wide Mind: The Coming Integration of Humanity, Machines, and the Internet

Formats

Product Details

The Distraction Addiction
  • Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
  • Price: $28.00 US/$31.00 CAN
  • Pages: 288
  • Physical Dimensions: 6" x 9-1/4"
  • ISBN-13: 9780316208260
  • On Sale Date: 08/20/2013
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The Distraction Addiction
© 2013 Hachette Book Group