Dystopian Distraction
In Harrison Bergeron
Harrison Bergeron is a short story published in 1961 by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. It’s a satirical dystopian story set in the USA’s future where equality is real. Happy Days! The equality is kept in check by the government through dumbing down the populous. Reminds me of the movie Idiocracy1.
In this world everyone is equal. If you are perceived to be better in intelligence, athleticism or beauty, that is all corrected. The potential utopia of an absolutely equal society can also be of one of complete control and transformed into a stifling dystopia2. Something that seems like a good idea to one could be a nightmare for you and Harrison Bergeron. This story is a warning to be careful what you wish for.
They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.
What I found most appealing was what was being used to dumb down the higher intelligent people; they are constantly being distracted.
Harrison’s father, George, is equipped with his dumbing equipment; a government transmitter and wearing a 47lbs birdshot canvas bag that was padlocked around his neck. The wife, Hazel, suggests to remove the bag or remove some of its weight. George refuses. The rationale behind that is the fear of facing the legal consequences of jail time and a fine are very steep. The husband goes on to argue that there are dangers to ‘cheating’ the laws. If enough people cheated society as they know it will degrade into the ‘dark ages’ again.
But he cannot complete the thought or conversation with Hazel. The government transmitter has zapped him again but not with the same noise at the start of the story. This happens repeatedly to George, that a regular zap of noise, pain or both is given to George to disrupt his thoughts. There is no consistency to the noises or intensity of the pain transmitted.
He’s not the only one with the higher intelligence. We find that eight of the ballerina’s are equipped with a similar transmitter. The sound of ‘somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer’ came through George’s transmitter. The TV had the live feed where he sees eight other ballerina’s winces in unison with himself and the other performers. Another blast to distract and disrupt thought to people who are perceived to be of higher intelligence people. This time George is left white, trembling with tears in his eyes. While on the TV screen, two of the eight ballerinas had collapsed and were holding their heads.
Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains
I feel that we are aware of the ever-shortening attention spans. We’ve got the measurements. In 2004 the median average attention span was two and a half minutes. The attention span measurement in 2012 median average was 75 seconds3.
Making the connection between a dystopian science fiction story from the 1960’s to the shortening of the median attention span because of my imagination is good but certainly not enough. The experts have the research to reflect that shortened attention spans causes individuals to lose focus. Focus has been central to scholarly work4. Designing experiments, data analysis and writing up the essays require focus to complete. Some research has argued that even multitasking is not optimal because of the mental fatigue it causes5. Even when in conversation, if someone is interrupted that disrupts the original speaker’s train of thought and causes social anxiety6. Distractions slow productivity, obstructs creativity and decision making7.
From the Journal of Psychiatry in Jan 2025, reported that from studies of academic performance shows that students who social media while studying exhibit lower retention rates, diminished comprehension and weaker problem-solving abilities8. Those are students. What is that doing to the rest of us? The same thing. Constant distractions either through social media, coworker asking for help or a loud bang causing you to lose the train of thought are suboptimal for focus and productivity9.
I could think, if it was just chimes
It seems that we are losing focus. How can get it back? Suggestions of time blocking tasks, going on a digital detox or putting your phone in a drawer while you’re working10. Figuring out what works best for each individual is equally important and challenging.
In Harrison Bergeron, the distractions are a forced constant on the populous by the government. The devices strapped to their heads to distract, are they so different from the ones we hold in our hands? Our own distractions are there but we have the choice. To let the distractions consume our ever-shortening attention spans or to retain our focus. It won’t be easy, but we still have the choice, for now.
All of the above bolded text is taken directly from the short story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy
https://blogs.bsu.edu/dlr/2018/12/13/harrison-bergeron-ones-utopia-is-anothers-dystopia/#:~:text=Kurt%20Vonnegut%20Jr.,213th%20Amendments%20of%20the%20Constitution.
https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/attention-spans
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02381-x
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-09358-4
https://yebisubargrill.com.au/chronic-interrupting-psychology-reveals-inner-world-meaning/
https://medium.com/@TheInfluenceJournal/the-neuroscience-of-focus-leading-in-a-world-of-constant-distraction-1ef01060a121
https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/digital-distractions-and-productivity-assessing-the-impact-of-social-media-on-work-efficiency.pdf#:~:text=Studies%20on%20academic%20performance%20reveal%20that%20students,further%20impairing%20cognitive%20function%20and%20academic%20motivation.
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/minds-business/even-small-distractions-derail-productivity.html
https://yaledailynews.com/articles/unplugged-how-digital-detoxes-affect-student-productivity-and-well-being
Makes me want to read this book. Enjoyed this article.