Beware the Danger of Digital Drift

I jolt awake and roll over to check the time. 3:58 a.m., two minutes before my alarm. Anxiety about missing my flight made for a fitful night of sleep. I rub my eyes and start packing for the airport.

Eight hours later, I land back in Northwest Arkansas, excited to see my wife, daughter, and dogs after a weeklong speaking tour in New Mexico. Fueled by a Trenta Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, I survive the afternoon in a dazed state somewhere between exhaustion and lunacy.

My wife, Jo, meets me at the gym with our daughter, Murphy. We trade off so she can work out while I take Murph home. Pulling into the driveway, I remember we’re watching a friend’s nine-month-old lab puppy who is all gas and no brakes. I glance in the mirror to see Murph sound asleep. To avoid waking her, I decide to leave her in the car for just a few minutes while I feed the dogs.

I walk inside, navigate the furricane of three hungry dogs, and reach for the food bin. As I pour their dinner, I notice it’s running low. I pull out my phone to add “buy dog food” to our grocery list when a notification pops up: “Sam played Ke7 — your move.”

I open the chess app, think through my response, then instinctively tap Instagram. I reply to a message, check a few stories, and scroll. At some point I switch to email, starring, deleting, and replying before finally putting my phone down.

The dogs are finished eating. I’m still in my sweaty gym clothes, so I start the shower. As the water warms, I hear the door open.

Jo steps inside, puzzled. “Where’s Murph?”

My eyes widen. Oh my God. I left my daughter in the car.

Jo runs outside and finds her still sound asleep. Relief floods me, followed quickly by horror. How could I let that happen? The truth is, I fell into something called digital drift.

Digital drift is the subtle, almost unconscious way our attention and sense of purpose slide away while we’re online. It’s not quite doomscrolling, but a sneakier version of it. We open our phones with intention — to check a message, set a reminder, or look something up — and minutes later, we’re somewhere entirely different, both mentally and digitally.

More than just stealing our time, it steals our presence. Apps are designed to keep us adrift, quietly untying the mental anchors meant to keep us focused and connected. Over time, digital drift fractures our attention, erodes time awareness, strains relationships, and disconnects us from ourselves.

To fight it, try naming your purpose before opening your phone, scheduling your scroll windows, or moving simple tasks like grocery lists back to pen and paper.

Life is too short to drift through it, hoping we end up where we want to be. Let’s make sure our attention stays tied to our intention.

Fact

The average person taps, swipes, or clicks on their phone over 2,600 times a day.

Action

Set one “no-scroll” hour each day to reclaim uninterrupted focus.

Question

Are you using technology, or is it using you?

Quote

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” – Henry David Thoreau