I read an interesting article in The Flint Journal today: “Is the Internet Shortening Our Attention Spans?” by Allan Hoffman, Newhouse News Service. It refers to “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, July/August 2008 Atlantic Monthly. (You can also read it on Digg.com, with readers’ comments.)
Carr’s article is especially interesting, comparing the Internet to previous changes in the way we write (i.e., writing itself which Plato feared would destroy memory, the Gutenberg press, the typewriter, etc.). As a college writing instructor I'm always interested in things that influence the way we think and write, especially the tools we use. I’m sure the Internet is changing the way we think, and I imagine the life-long exposure of our younger students means they think about things in a way we older folks (i.e., over 40) can't imagine.
I'm still pondering Carr's argument that Google has made our attention span shorter; for example, he can no longer concentrate on long articles, let alone heavy-going literature like War and Peace. I wonder if he's read any of the Harry Potter books, or if he gave up after book three when they got -- gasp! -- lengthy and literary.
Maybe the Internet has made me a little impatient, but it hasn't hurt my attention span or my love of reading. I'd write more, but my summer booklist awaits!
My Summer Reading List:
J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment (Hardcover)
by Michael D. C. Drout (Editor)
Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Vol I: Design & Construction (Hardcover)
Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Vol II: Interior Design & Fitting Out (Hardcover)
Sunday, July 06, 2008
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2 comments:
Hey Cat -- impressive reading list. I found it amusing, on a recent stop at Graumann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, that there's a block of concrete now for "Harry Potter's" footprints -- in fact, it's the foot and hand prints of the three young actors. It seemed to be drawing a lot of interest and many photogs. I'm looking forward to reading the articles you referred us to. I do believe Google etc. has affected my concentration, though I am somewhat addicted. On the other hand, I picked up a bunch of poetry mags at a newstand in H-Wood last week, and sinking into a long John Updike essay on "Clarity in American Art" in NY Review of Books was a great relief and a pleasure. At least our generation has had a chance to experience this kind of submersion in which everything else fades out except for the absorptions of the page I gather Harry Potter did that for many of the young 'uns -- in some cases, maybe for the first time.
Macy Swain said...
Hey Cat -- impressive reading list.
Thanks, Macy! We'll see how far I get by the time school starts. By then it may be my Fall Reading List. :)
At least our generation has had a chance to experience this kind of submersion in which everything else fades out except for the absorptions of the page I gather Harry Potter did that for many of the young 'uns -- in some cases, maybe for the first time.
True -- and may it lead them to many more, wonderful places! Speaking of which, I have to get back to Middle-earth now...
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