Distraction In Fahrenheit 451

Emotions are a natural instinctive state of mind caused by one's circumstances, meaning everyone feels emotions. One primary way people regulate emotions is through creating distractions, as explained by the article "Computers in Human Behavior Reports," as it states, "Distraction is defined by the divergence of ones' attention away from the event that initiated the emotional response...Distraction reduces the response to the emotional stimulus" (Tag et al.). In short, this quote explains how distraction from the problem helps lower the emotional stimulus, whose job is to help one feel and process emotions. Considering this information, technology can be regarded as a distraction that suppresses emotions. In society today, the same concepts

This idea is more of a problem today, compared to the 1950s American society when the novel was written, because of the new technology being created, which allows people to cope with emotions by forgetting about the real world. As displayed by the article "Emotion trajectories in smartphone use: Towards recognizing emotion regulation in-the-wild," the newer portable technology can be used anywhere or time, allowing one to help conceal their emotions easier, as shown as the text states, "Smartphones 'anytime, anyplace' access to information has made them constant companions to humans. Consequently, it would be surprising if they were not used to also proactively modify our emotions" (Tag). In other words, devices are present at one's fingertips; one would lean onto them to help suppress and control negative emotions, which one would prefer not to feel. The enigma of suppressing emotions that leads to dependence on technology is a more significant problem today because it is normal not to want to feel negative emotions causing people to hide or cope with their feelings, meaning that it is human nature to continue wanting to feel only positive emotions. Considering this, newer portable technology allows for this distraction that one might not have had in 1950s society, with the one main piece of technology only being the television which was not portable. Not wanting to feel negative emotions is human nature, for this one will lean onto technology to use as a distraction. When thinking about the significance of this, with typical human nature not wanting to feel negative emotions, society might suggest that one should suppress or conceal their feelings. Still, research has shown that feeling negative emotions can make one happier and strengthen those positive emotions. Considering