Hello everyone! So I started reading The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains and just the first chapter caught my eye. Carr writes how it's hard to focus on any book for too long, and he thinks the Internet is causing this. He points out when someone is on the Internet they are used to reading short passages and getting their information quick and easy. The minute he pointed this out it made me realize that I too can't concentrate as well as I used to on a book. I agree with him that the Internet is what is doing this to our brains because it is true that you can easily look something up, skim the article, and you have what you need. Still I wish I was still able to concentrate better on a book the way I used to because when I can't concentrate I find myself re-reading passages all the time. It gets tiring. Does anyone else find themselves zoning out the way I do?
Later in the book he writes how books went digital.Carr says that at first people weren't quite that interested in e-books because in a real book you could highlight, write notes, bookmark, and it was just easier. Yet as technology advanced people were able to do all those things on an e-book and it was much easier to get your book there than going out to buy or borrow the book you needed.Technology was appealing to people's needs and desires and it was becoming harder for people to resist the temptation and addiction of technology.
It's true that technology is continually distracting us, and I, too, found myself skimming instead of deep reading. It's a difficult thing to do, especially with all of the distractions that just seem so much more interesting. With the new e-books, complete with apps and the internet, becoming more popular, deep reading has never been more at risk than it is today.
ReplyDeleteYou aren't the only one who zones out while reading books or basically any type of long article. While reading AOTD, it took me such a long time because I would read a chapter and then give myself a break because I thought I deserved it (which I didn't because really, all I read was one small chapter). Also there was many times where I would re read a whole page because I would totally be thinking about other things while reading one small page. E-books are becoming more and more popular and I don't understand why some people don't like them. You're still reading a book aren't you?
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