The origin story of Ahero.

I was constantly getting distracted. I found myself scrolling through Instagram the second I was bored, checking Twitter the first thing in the morning, and going down endless rabbit holes on Youtube.

I was spending hours and hours distracted instead of working towards my long term goals or things that truly made me happy. And I finally realized, I needed to reprogram my brain and habits.

I wanted to understand why this was happening in the first place.

Why was I so easily distracted? Why was it so difficult to maintain a healthy relationship with technology?

After weeks of research and self-reflection, I reached a conclusion. I call what we are in today, “The Golden Age of Distractions”.

While distractions have been around for a long time, there are three new aspects that have led to this Golden Age of Distractions.

#1 Addicting by Design

Many of the products we use everyday are “free”. But nothing is ever free. The cost is our time, attention, and data.

The products are optimized to capture and retain your attention. Aka, if you are addicted to the product, the product makes more money by showing you more ads.

Many different design techniques are deployed to keep you ‘hooked’.

Let’s talk about the technique of using intermittent variables of rewards because boy, is it powerful.

B.F. Skinner observed this in the 1950s. Skinner observed that animals can be persuaded to perform an activity more often, simply by giving a variable reward.

This is the same psychological hack used by slot machines to generate billions of dollars every year. This is the same psychological hack used by the infinite scroll and newsfeeds.

#2 Unavoidable

Unlike other forms of distractions, internet based distractions are almost unavoidable.

A person addicted to gambling can put themselves on the self-exclusion list. A person who is distracted by TV can cut the cable or even throw their TV away.

However, many people need the internet and cannot get rid of it entirely.

In fact, in 2016, the UN General Assembly even passed a non-binding resolution that “declared internet access a human right."

A student attending classes remotely or a social media manager needs the internet/computer for work. However, the same computer provides easy access to play.

Therefore, while we may be aware of our internet based distractions, these distractions are just one click away.

#3 Powerful Algorithms

More and more of our decisions and thoughts are being influenced by algorithms. Compared to previous forms of distractions, algorithm powered distractions are much more sneaky.

Algorithms, by their nature, are constantly evolving and optimizing.

While our tools to combat distractions have primarily stayed the same, our distractions are fueled by better data, constant experimentation, and some of the smartest people in the world.

Time is arguably the most important resource in our toolkit.

Once it’s lost, it’s gone forever. Therefore, we must be intentional with how we spend our time.

Doing this is no easy task. But you’re here! So take the first step.

Try out Ahero. Let us know what you think. We need people like you to help us create a movement.