the.com/distract
The art of pulling a mind away from where it was supposed to be.
means To divert someone's attention or focus from the task, thought, or thing actually at hand.
from From Latin distrahere, to pull apart or drag in different directions — your attention literally torn between things, dis (apart) plus trahere (to drag).
Literal senseOnce meant pulled physically in two directions.
Mental cousinDistraught shares the same torn-apart root.
Old usageDistracted once meant insane, not merely scrolling.