Alejandro Arce — home Thinking in Public
No. 40 · Life

We all have ADHD now

Line illustration: a head in profile drawn in a single line with butterflies escaping from the open top; one butterfly is the terracotta accent.

Autism and ADHD are almost treated like new diseases.

In my era, the teacher would hit you until you did what you were supposed to do. I'm not saying that was right, and I'm not saying it should come back. I'm describing a memory. But I don't think the fear cured anything. Nobody's attention got better. What happened is the fear was louder than the distraction, so the task won by force.

Take the fear away — hand every kid a phone instead — and the task doesn't stand a chance anymore. Nothing in the kid changed. The referee left the room.

That's why I'd say all of us have ADHD now, functionally — as a description of the environment. Every app on your phone is built by people whose job is to win your attention against whatever you were trying to do. You're outmatched.

Here's what people recommend you do

01

Phone in another room while you work — gone

02

One task at a time, written on paper — nothing else on the desk competing for the same eyes

03

Movement before deep work — a walk, a bike ride, anything that burns the restlessness off before you sit down

04

Boredom on purpose — sit with nothing to look at instead of reaching for the phone

I try to do those, but most often forget to.

That last one is the hardest. I deleted the internet at home, and the quiet that showed up in the house did not show up in my head — my head was crazy noisy. This is why we use the phone: to avoid it.

Boredom used to be the enemy. Now I think it's where the attention grows back.

None of this is a treatment plan. I'm not a doctor and this isn't advice for your diagnosis, or your kid's. It's just a few small fences I put up so the environment isn't the only vote in the room.

The room got louder.

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