One of the greatest challenges of the information age is distraction. The inability of people o concentrate on a particular task until it is completed. This is a phenomenon that hasn't been addressed and that badly needs attention. Think of it. An employee gets an assignment to write a short article on a new product, such as the iPhone. The writer goes to the internet for information and the browser defaults to the home page. Right away, there is a news item about a riot in a nearby city. After glancing through this item, the writer notices the latest story about Brad and Angelina. By this time the poor employee has forgotten why s/he went to the internet in the first place. This kind of thing happens all the time and exemplifies the difficulty of concentrating on the job at hand. This is an issue that needs to be dealt with. Productivity is suffering greatly and, more importantly, the mental health of people is likely to suffer as well. Check out this article on the subject. Stoooopid .... why the Google generation isn’t as smart as it thinks - Times Online