Tracy in Ky Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 This looks like a fascinating book. Follow the link to an interview with the author... http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/06/09/the-shallows-what-the-internet-is-doing-to-our-brains/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirth Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I'm on the library waiting list for this book. Have you read the precursor book called The Big Switch also by Nicholas Carr? It was really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 I'm on the library waiting list for this book. Have you read the precursor book called The Big Switch also by Nicholas Carr? It was really good. No, I haven't. Thank you for telling me about it. I feel an Amazon order coming on:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 because I'm too busy with the computer. I need to change that. My attention span is a lot shorter now when it comes to reading. It's a bit scary to me because I used to be such a bookworm. I certainly will check out the two book recommendations. And fit them into my new reading lifestyle that I will start today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I've noticed that in myself, but I thought it was from constant interruptions by my dc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I just requested the book. Thanks for mentioning it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 for example, I was just reading a book and wishing I could just hit the Ctrl and f buttons to find the name of a character I couldn't remember instead of having to flip back through the pages. And looking up a word in a dictionary. It seems almost archaic to have to understand the concept of alphabetization and guide words in order to look up a word in a hardback dictionary instead of just typing in a word online. But those archaic concepts are valuable thinking skills, don't you think? And what other archaic thinking skills are being lost as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 I've noticed this about myself too--not reading as much or thinking as clearly. I've been trying to change my habits. It's scary when you think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I have been reading about this lately (ahem, online) and I need to get off the internet! Roger Ebert has an excellent blog post about this. Definitely worth a read: Link NYT also ran a piece: Your Brain on Computers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumping In Puddles Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I've noticed this about myself too--not reading as much or thinking as clearly. I've been trying to change my habits. It's scary when you think about it. :iagree: I need to change my habits too. I'm not reading as much or thinking as clearly and it is scary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I read the one-page interview you linked. No need to read the whole book! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 I have been reading about this lately (ahem, online) and I need to get off the internet! Roger Ebert has an excellent blog post about this. Definitely worth a read: Link NYT also ran a piece: Your Brain on Computers... Thanks for the links! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Tim Challies has posted on this subject often lately. I definitely agree. Not only has my attention span decreased, but the pull of the internet is almost irresistible. I really have to exercise self-control. Another book to throw out there: Still Bored in a Culture of Entertainment by Richard Winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Not only has my attention span decreased, but the pull of the internet is almost irresistible. I really have to exercise self-control. :iagree:When I think of all the things I could accomplish, instead of dinking around on the internet, I'm sickened. If I have a spare minute during our school day, I almost immediately reach for the laptop. That is the curse of wi-fi and a lack of self control on my part. Back in the days of dial-up, there's no way I would have taken the time to dial in and s-l-o-w-l-y browse web pages. I, personally, feel like I'm on information overload. My thinking actually feels fragmented. This is part of the reason I'm challenging myself to take a class in the fall. I'm getting prerequisites out of the way so I can apply for nursing school in a few years. I need to do this for myself, before it's too late and my brain actually atrophies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 NYT also ran a piece: Your Brain on Computers... I just read this yesterday — it's an excellent article and cites neurological studies that confirm what everyone basically knows. Last week I took ALL the computer games away from the kids, and let them pick out Lego kits of equal value to the games I took away. I had started severely restricting game time a couple of months ago, and the increase in reading, drawing, and imaginative play was accompanied by a significant decrease in bad behavior (whining, complaining, attitude about chores, etc.), which is what prompted me to take the games away entirely. The NYT article gave me the neurological data to back up my "mean mommy" decision in a way that DS12 (science dude) totally understood. I actually found the article rather frightening, when you realize that these neurological changes are happening in an entire generation of young people — who will be the future doctors/teachers/pilots/police/managers/etc. Pretty soon we will be an entire nation of ADDers. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Haven't read the book (or articles) yet, but I have noticed for years that my kids fight more and are far more disgruntled when they've been watching TV/ playing on the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted June 9, 2010 Author Share Posted June 9, 2010 I am grateful for all the replies to this thread. I agree with Corraleno--it is like we all know this already, deep down. But because habits run so deep, it is not an easy thing to change. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in GA Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I've noticed that in myself, but I thought it was from constant interruptions by my dc. :iagree: Yes! I've been saying for some time that my ability to focus and stick with one thing has been seriously disrupted since having children. But maybe they're not the ones to blame ....???? Jenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I have been reading about this lately (ahem, online) and I need to get off the internet! Roger Ebert has an excellent blog post about this. Definitely worth a read: Link NYT also ran a piece: Your Brain on Computers... That was a very good article. I only wish more people could see it happening. I've been noticing it for a few years now - and because of it, our boys are NOT allowed unlimited time on computers or TV and don't have their own cell phones. As they head to college (oldest goes next year) time will tell what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildiris Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 "Mr. Nass at Stanford thinks the ultimate risk of heavy technology use is that it diminishes empathy by limiting how much people engage with one another, even in the same room." NYT Your Brain on Computers... Recently I read a similar sentiment to one the above decrying the lack of empathy in today's youth. The effects of technology on a generation steeped in electronic gadgets is beginning to reveal itself. A year after Carr's article ran in the Atlantic, a rebuttal article ran in the Atlantic applauding Google and technology. I cannot help but think that fragmented thinking will lead to some catastrophic disaster simply because we've become distracted to see it coming. I've long since thought I should limit my computer use, now I am certain that I will modify my behavior. I don't want to wake up obsessed. From the Atlantic, one person's take on un-plugging, Off the Grid Great links and discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 this is your brain on computers, I said to my son, "I'll print it out because I hate reading long things on the computer." duh. I am rewiring my brain, and I have known this, and know it is time to stop. Paper, pen and books are my friends. Were any of you youngsters around when the tv commercial about drugs with the fried egg and the pan was played frequently? "This is your brain." I think that was the whole unbroken egg. "This is your brain on drugs." Cracked the egg into the frying pan, sssizzle. Thanks for posting this information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WordtoonsWay Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Ah....interesting...always experts at both ends of a situation.... found this bit of science from UCLA showing the brain is more active while searching the net than when reading a book... http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/internet_brain.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I think it may depend upon what sort of internet activities you engage in. If you participate in political boards, then you're probably sharpening your mind. If you play farmville all day, you probably are not. Even if you post on boards like these-do you post a lot of responses to prayer requests or do you take an interest in the threads with issues (political, educational or otherwise)? I've met all sorts of extraordinary people on the internet and I mean that in every possible sense of the word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 No, I haven't. Thank you for telling me about it. I feel an Amazon order coming on:D I must admit a chuckle that you'll be ordering a book on how bad the Internet is on the....wait for it...:D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted June 10, 2010 Author Share Posted June 10, 2010 I must admit a chuckle that you'll be ordering a book on how bad the Internet is on the....wait for it...:D Bill Moderation in all things. I didn't say I'm giving it up completely ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 You know, I was thinking about this last night and discovered a difference between reading online and reading a book that I hadn't thought of before. Reading a book involves two styles of reading. The first is the quick scan of the blurb. We might stroll through the library and scan a dozen blurbs before one of them impresses us enough that we will actually borrow the book- commit to reading it. Reading online condenses both of those things into the same spot. So, it should be surprised that we scan over most things and only sometimes commit to reading the article all the way through. Then you add in that the whizz bangs in online publishing that attract our attention are the same things that make it difficult to commit to reading it. That doesn't happen with a book. You might be attracted by the cover or the title, but when you commit to opening the book, all the whizz bang stuff is no longer in your way. It's done it's job of catching your attention, and once you're committed, it no longer needs to be there so the inside of the book can be laid out in a way that makes reading easy. You can't do that online. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Q Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 This thread makes me want to go offline and read a book about Mongolian princesses. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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