"When the "information age" started replacing the "industrial
age," hard work seemed more important than ever. Until the 1980s,
to use a computer was to program it. Silicon Valley corporate
culture, from tiny startups to the massive Googleplex, emphasizes
long hours and feverish work.
"But since the turn of the new millennium, the nature of work
has evolved to the point where hard work is becoming less important
to a successful work ethic than another, more useful value:
attention...
"Now, we find ourselves with absolutely nothing standing between
us and a universe of distractions -- nothing except our own
abilities to control attention. Porn, gambling, funny videos,
flirting, socializing, playing games, shopping -- it's all
literally one click away. Making matters worse, indulging these
distractions looks just like work. And it's easy to work and play
at the same time -- and call it work. These new, increasingly
compelling distractions get piled on to older ones -- office
pop-ins, e-mail, IM, text messages, meetings and others."
