content consumption and notifications numbness - when your attention goes numb
why notifications
how we may become notification numb
what to do about it and findings
a mindset shift in notification settings for an examined life
Notifications are a core component of most people’s daily existence in our times. Mobile notifications are used by app developers for informing users, nudging them to complete a certain task, or reminding them to perform a task. Notifications are a means to increase user retention, and they also serve the user, helping them craft the identity they want to have (whether consciously or unconsciously).
When you, as a user, don’t calibrate which notifications you intend to receive and which you intend to keep away, “notification numbness” may take over after some time. Some notifications are not action-oriented. When you get those notifications, you may feel a sense of frustration and resentment build up over time. “Notification numbness” is the process of becoming adjusted to the notifications you receive to the point of not noticing them anymore. If your notification is a reminder to drink water, and you have it every day, it may feel very helpful in the first week or so, and its effect on your attention decreases significantly after some time. To the point that you become “numb” to the notification.
A team of Google researchers explored the role of notifications in people’s lives via an ethnographic study (Aranda et. al, 2016). An ethnographic study is a qualitative-questions-based interview with everyday people, where the researchers ask open-ended questions in an attempt to understand the research topic as much as possible by getting insights from target users.
The Google researchers proposed a matrix of notifications, where “actionability” and “enjoyment” are the key variables on the axes. When a notification is urgent (high actionability) and painful (low enjoyment), people pay the most attention to it. Those are “mission critical” notifications that need action now. According to the findings, “notification numbness” happens the most with unactionable, “nudging-style” notifications that become routine. Those are the ones that seemingly make users feel the most frustrated and cause numbness.
The researchers drew significant findings for developers to improve the way they build notifications algorithms and designs. For everyday users, you may consider switching your view of notifications: you have the option to turn notifications off. If your attention is the most valuable resource you have, notifications are one of the most pressing problems to sort out. They ask for your attention, not at your own time preference, but at random time preferences depending on the app. That is a recipe for cognitive overwhelm.
It creates friction and mind fogginess because—especially if you have push notifications turned on—they inevitably get your attention, even if for a fraction of a second. You may consider only allowing notifications for potentially urgent matters. Some things do need fast action, and notifications are an amazing feature for that. When you define what you intend to get “distracted” from with intention, you are switching from an “I’m a victim of notifications” mentality to an “I have the ability to control where I put my energy” mindset. Because you do have control, and internalizing that makes a difference.
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