A couple weeks ago I noticed Facebook persistently showing me a series of pop-up messages encouraging me to turn on a new set of alerts that would allow them to send me notifications even when Facebook wasn’t open. Aside from my immediate paranoia of having Facebook constantly running in the background, most likely tracking my every click, I was soon overcome with a sense of digital desperation. In all my attempts to find a little peaceful corner of my computer where I can think, create, read, watch Netflix, etc., now Facebook wants to interrupt that time, as well. “No. No, Facebook, you are not allowed. We’ve talked about this.”
Instead of allowing Facebook and other digital applications to disrupt our lives with constant alerts, notifications, and advertising, we should declare war against these micro-interruptions in our days. And if we’re going to war, we need a battle plan.
We could probably blame AOL for making the idea of getting a message alert a fun experience. Their catchy and fun “You’ve Got Mail!” message created a sense of excitement, belonging, and attachment across the digital universe. Of course, that was a time when messages were rare, spam wasn’t prevalent, and most people didn’t send messages about the cup of coffee they were currently drinking.
desperate plea for attention
amber alerts
weather alerts