Sloth - Laziness and distraction

Our "Sloth" speaker, Dr. John Plotz argues in his essay "Their Noonday Demons, and Ours" that traditional views of sloth (and acedia, a similar concept) look a lot like our current notions of distraction and inattention. As Kelsey Kennedy wrote at Atlas Obscura: "Acedia comes from Greek, and means 'a lack of care.' It sounds a little like today’s sloth, and acedia is indeed considered a precursor to today’s sin of laziness."

You've likely read about the distracting effects of social media and networked technology. When we think of sloth in the 21st Century, it often conjures up images of folks sitting on their sofa, flipping through their phones or watching Netflix. 

However, for Plotz, laziness is only one aspect of sloth. He noted in our interview (quoted in the trailer for this event) that sloth is when we know we should be doing something important or necessary, but we choose to do something else. This can be physical or mental: laziness or distraction.   

Dr. Sherry Turkle, author of Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, said in an interview with Mike Elgan that "'the [smart] phone symbolizes that we could be interrupted at any minute," and this pushes us to engage in frivolous activities. Thus, placing a phone on a table between two people having a conversation can fundamentally change the tone and nature of that conversation. 

So do we get rid of our phones? Unplug? Or, go on a digital holiday? Plotz writes that these aren't really solutions to the perceived crisis of sloth: "Disconnecting the Internet or confiscating a teenager’s cellphone probably helps less than looking for ways to live with persistent temptation and to move beyond the mixed pleasure that every post, tweet or 'level up' affords."

Hear more from Dr. John Plotz at:

Sloth - Too Tired to Care 
7:00pm, Wednesday, May 30, in Paul O'Regan Hall at
the Halifax Central Library, Halifax. 

Watch it live at ccepa.ca.