Anyone who has grown up in the 1980s and early 1990s shake their head at the children of today, who are coming of age in an era where the Internet is ubiquitous. Back in the last decades of the 20th century, it was important to learn phone numbers, memorize dates, state capitals, and learn how to retrieve information in encyclopedias. Now, this information and more is available one keyboard or dictation away. In The Shallows, Carr argues that though this is all wonderful, the Internet is also making us dumber, as we rely on it more and more instead of actually learning information.
The Internet provides access to a wealth of knowledge, but paradoxically it undermines our ability to read deeply, and think about what we read. Neurological studies have demonstrated that our brains are being rewired as we move away from reading books into the more shallow waters of the Internet, leading us away from an ability to concentrate and reflect on what we read and what it all means. Far from being a panacea, the Internet is causing us to become more shallow versions of what we have been.
Readers who are interested in what the Internet means for human development will appreciate this deep dive into the impacts a worldwide network of computers is having on the human brain, on how we interact with each other, and on how we pursue knowledge.
No comments:
Post a Comment