Nicholas Carr fell in love in 1986. That was the year he got his first computer. In the early 1990s he went online and his feelings grew even stronger. But lately he has discovered what he once thought of as free love is quite shallow and has come at a considerable price.
Mr. Carr has been doing the talk show circuit lately talking about what our love of the Internet is doing to our brains. He found he was having trouble concentrating and paying attention when he was away from the computer. He couldn’t seem to remember things either.
He could no longer sit and read a book without craving some hyper-links to click or other distractions such as his cell phone or some Googling or perhaps checking his email or texting somebody. He needed constant distraction.
He could no longer sit and read a book without craving some hyper-links to click or other distractions such as his cell phone or some Googling or perhaps checking his email or texting somebody. He needed constant distraction.
And so, he did what any magenta-blooded multitasker would do – he Googled up the research and he wrote a book about it. In the process he discovered that the Internet can be a cruel mistress.
These observations are not uncommon. Among my circle of friends and family I hear these complaints all the time. It seems somebody is always staring blindly into space as they try to recall a name or an event from their recent past.
Whenever I am in a meeting I can’t help be distracted myself by the bizarre behavior of my colleagues. I watch with interest as many of them move their hands to their hips to see if their cell phone is vibrating. Then, one by one, they all get up and walk out of the meeting with a gizmo pressed to their ear. It reminds me of Pavlov’s dog.
Current brain research indicates the electrical connections in our brains adapt to the environment. In other words, the way we gather information changes the way our brain works.
Today’s always connected lifestyle is changing the way we think and the way we behave. Nicholas Carr claims we are becoming intellectually shallow.
We are being bombarded with vast amounts of information at incredible speeds through the advent of interruptive technology. A growing population of computer users has vast amounts of information at their disposal but there is no time to process it.
As a result we remember less and understand less of what we read and look at. We don’t learn as much as we would if we concentrated on one thing at a time and took the effort required to access and use our long-term memory.
For example, the hyperlinks embedded in many Internet articles quickly lead you elsewhere in different directions. Rather than supplying more relevant information these distractions are barriers to understanding and get in the way of deep thought.
Once the hyperlinks clutter your path it is sometimes impossible to remember where you started in the first place. The more links you encounter, the more your comprehension suffers.
Not long ago multitasking was the new mantra and the Internet made it all possible. Recent studies show doing many things at once impedes the mechanisms of deep thinking and comprehension. It turns out that multitaskers are multi-shallow and their decisions are often multi-incompetent. Who knew?
Not long ago multitasking was the new mantra and the Internet made it all possible. Recent studies show doing many things at once impedes the mechanisms of deep thinking and comprehension. It turns out that multitaskers are multi-shallow and their decisions are often multi-incompetent. Who knew?
In an experiment comparing multitaskers with unitaskers (like me) it was found our busy colleagues performed worst on all tests including the ones directly related to multitasking itself. Ironically, it seems the more we multitask the more incompetent we become. What a coup for the lazy community.
Alas poor Mr. Carr. He hasn’t stopped loving computers or the Internet but for the sake of his own deep thought he may have to call it off. Just like in real life, sometimes the sacrifices are just too large and the relationship suffers.
He has decided he likes to look at things longer than 14 seconds. He would like to relearn or retain his critical thinking, mindfulness and problem solving ability. He needs to take some time to reflect and free his imagination. To accomplish all this he will have to re-evaluate his relationship with his computer and the Internet. It may be time to move on.
The growing use of screen-based media is seen by many as a boon to mankind but it is not a free ride. Like many other things it requires a personal choice.
When it comes to knowledge and thought, what do you prefer – depth or velocity? You can’t have both.
