Ever since I reformatted my computer, I had been getting reminders to 'Allow/Block' steemit.com to enable desktop notifications through Google Chrome -- you know, the ones where you get a tiny window in the bottom-right of your desktop saying you have been mentioned by so-and-so, or how someone just replied to you.
But I haven chosen to ignore those reminders and not allow notifications to my desktop through the browser. They stopped a while back, but if they show up again I'll click 'Block' next time.
Why am I doing this?
What the hell is wrong with me? LOL...
Annoying Interruption
Well, the reason I did this is because I find it annoying and a constant interruption.
Every few minutes after you post -- or at random throughout the day -- you're going to get little windows pop up on your desktop telling you about someone who replied or mentioned you. I find it gets in the way of doing others things. What's worse is when you get several -- one after the other -- and they just stack up on your desktop, filling up the vertical space...
And It's not just the attention-drawing interruption of notifications. It's especially annoying when you have things in the bottom right sector of your desktop that you are actually using -- and I do use that area. When a desktop notification pops up, I lose the "focus" of my cursor to do work in that area and get "physically" interrupted and prevented from doing what I was doing.
Pay Attention NOW!
I don't need to IMMEDIATELY know when someone has replied to one of my posts or comments, or to know when someone has mentioned me. Even though the notifications are only available at the time they display and the mentions can only be found this way, it doesn't bother me. So I won't know who mentioned me in some post or comment somewhere... OK, big whoopy.
These notifications are not my cup-of-tea. I don't need to know who is replying to me or talking about me at all times of the day so that I can jump into Steemit and go read what is happening. I don't want to be poked for attention to get me to go running off to Steemit right at that moment.
Always Connected
This is like other aspects of the "always-on" always-connected technological world we are immersed in now. Many people aren't on their computers all the time, but they do have phones! People have Facebook and email notifications on their phones, and they get notified when any attention is paid towards them. Then they instantly want to pay attention to that notification and go find out what the activity is all about.
Brain-drain
I even did a post recently about smartphones draining our brain power just by being around us because we are distracted in anticipation of that sound that is trying to get us to pay attention to the phone and the platform the notification comes from.
Hooked-on-Attenion
These notifications keep you hooked to the attention coming from the platform, and hooked into getting more attention from people on those platforms. I don't know about you, but I don't need to have messages sent to my desktop telling me when people reply or mention me. I will go to the site and check my replies when I want to, on my own time. Getting pop ups in the bottom-right corner of my desktop is not something I want to have.
But, if I could go review my notifications on my own time, I would be more willing to have them. Steemit has notifications like that for replies and new posts in your feed. You see them when you want, not all the time throughout the day, interrupting you.
Pavlovian Bell?
Is it just me, or are these notifications like the ringing of a bell where we have been trained to react to that sound? It sounds a little Pavlovian. A bell rings and instead of salivating, we are primed and perky ready to find out who is giving us attention. Have we been trained? Ring ring, and engage in the expected behavior that we've been "trained" to do :P
What do you think about notifications?
Are they getting a bit too much for you?
Do you not even notice them because it's just become the norm?
Do you feel trained to respond to the "bells" notifying you of activity/attention?
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
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