Technology Management Expert Paul Leonardi on Why Technology Exhausts Us and What We Can Do About It

Paul Leonardi is an expert in technology management and has developed a deep understanding for why today's digital tools—even those that are helpful—can contribute to our growing sense of exhaustion.  Pulling from research he's written about in his book Digital Exhaustion, he explains why this happens and as importantly, what we can do about it. 

 

Chapters:

02:00 Why Digital Exhaustion? 
Paul Leonardi discusses his 20-year career helping companies implement new technologies and his observation of the increasing dread people feel towards new tools. He highlights how the solutions to digital overload are not working, leading to widespread exhaustion. 

04:36 The Types of Digital Switching 
Paul explains three kinds of digital switching: between modalities (apps), domains of work, and arenas (work/home). He emphasizes that these switches, though seemingly innocuous, cause significant cognitive strain and mental exhaustion due to the brain's reorientation time. 

07:20 Cumulative Exhaustion and Control 
Paul explains that digital exhaustion is a cumulative problem, building slowly over time from seemingly small attention switches.  

11:29 Expectations and Response Patterns