It's 'cause the internet has shifted the capacity of our brains away from deep focus and towards shallow multitasking. It's why we do shit like close Reddit on our computers then pull out our phones and open Reddit again without thinking about it. If you're really curious to learn more about it, try to stay focused long enough and read The Shallows; If you're really interested in pushing back then look into meditation.
The Internet is a dangerous drug. Don't underestimate the way it can mess with your brain. There is a book on the subject called The Shallows, What the Internet is doing to our brains that discussed this.
Like with any addiction, some people are more likely to get trapped. But knowing the risks and taking it seriously is the first step. And then with any addiction you have to cut yourself off. A therapist that is experienced with this could really help if you find you are unable to manage it on your own.
You might be interested in The Shallows - https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
However, it's a full book. Written by a guy who admits that he can't even really read a full book anymore, and interviews people including literature professors who no longer have the attention span to even read the books that they're assigning.
Naturally, if you have that problem, it'll be hard to get through a whole book about it, but it's kind of cool to see that even the people whose livelihood is directly tied to reading/writing books are also feeling the same.
> Must be a literature major ... lol.
Nope ... lol.
> However, has anyone shown that there actually is such an effect?
Also, would you like to compare the contribution to society made by a "useless wanker" serving coffee or producing "volumes of useless shit" compared to, say, a corporate lobbyist participating in legal corruption, an oil industry engineer contributing to the destruction of the climate, or a Wall Street financier putting the global economy at risk in the name of greed? All of those make comparatively fantastic salaries, btw.
There are far worse things to be than a failed writer or academic.
There's evidence that people in highly developed countries are becoming dumber. The Flynn effect no longer holds, and in a large part this is because of social media and the Internet.
Check out this book, the author goes into great detail about the scientific research done in this area.
Is reactionary a pejorative? Is pushing back on things that are proven negative also considered reactionary? For example, is pushing back against information era? For example like the book Shallows does it with scientific evidence.
Yes, while vaping has deleterious affects on lungs I think in terms of the affect social media has on our brains - especially developing brains - social media is far more serious.
The book In The Shallows is a good read about the topic of the internet and brain plasticity. What researchers have shown is that activities that require concentration like reading and studying focus on one part of the brain, consuming social media activates all parts of the brain.
I really like and appreciate most of y'all here.
but I recommend a book... real interesting about what constant internet usage does to the brain. It's called The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr.
I'll risk our friendships n shit.
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
Its a widespread problem, and I think its pretty serious. Its well worth making a serious effort toward disciplining ourselves and trying to extract ourselves out of our digital addiction. I recently read this excellent book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain that I highly recommend. It'll explain the neuroscience of why your attention has gotten all messed up.
I think this is something that a lot of people, not just those with ADHD, are dealing with. I really believe that the 24/7 use of phones with their constant notifications plus the constant mindless browsing of news, social media feeds, entertainment sites are sapping people's attention spans and ability to focus. It conditions our brains to crave excessive stimulation and when we don't get it (such as during a 2 hour art film), we get bored and can't focus even if we enjoy what we're doing on some level. It's even worse for delayed gratification tasks like studying which can be boring in the moment but pays off at some later time.
I've been meaning to read The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains to get a better understanding of how this all works. But the book was published in 2011 and even in the 6 years since, the way we use our devices has changed a lot.
Perhaps it's best if we really cut out a lot of the mindless browsing and view out "screen diet" similar to how we view nutrition. Reddit, Twitter, clickbait news are all "junk" which are fine in moderation but can mess up our ability to focus on stuff that matters. Or even our ability to enjoy fun stuff like movies or books.
There's also the fact that internet companies want you to have a short attention span. It makes them money. Whether it's ad revenue or impulse buys, more eyes constantly browsing their sites means more money for them. And a shot attention span for the rest of us.
The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicolas Carr
Fascinating! And scary as hell. It has helped me to start cleaning up my mental hygiene habits in regards to screen time and helped me re-appreciate extended quiet concentration time.
It could be due to how the internet age is changing our brains. No longer do we need to rely on memory as much when we can do a search and be ninja-like in our fact finding. The brain is like any other muscle, and when you don't use certain parts, they grow weaker. I work an accounting job and I make sure to do memory exercises because I started noticing the same thing.
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
And of course, always check with a doctor to make sure nothing's structurally changed in your brain.
Anyone interested in digging into this deeply (if yer attention span can handle it{!}) should consider reading Nicholas Carr's <em>The Shallows</em> ... it's a well-written, brilliant book about neuroplasticity and technology.
Carr digs as far back as the invention of writing, the printing press, etc., to examine how tools (and intellectual tools specifically) have fundamentally changed our species.
I just reread this book and got so much out of it on the second go. It is life changing. Highly, highly suggested and well researched.
Bear in mind you've presented one side of the story. There's a book by Nicholas Carr that was a Pullitzer Price finalist in 2011 called The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. He argues it's not all bad. The way we collect information is changing (becoming less linear). Very interesting read.
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
ALL technology? As in you're not even allowed to listen to music? Because that's what I'd recommend if you can get away with it; a lot of people listen to music while they do other things but very few people sit down and relax and focus on listening to their favorite music without multitasking, it's a great way to pass time.
Failing that, taking up drawing or writing are economical options considering you're tight on cash. A loaner guitar or cheapo from a pawn shop could be healthy hobbies, but they're tough to learn without your computer to access resources.
You said you don't like reading but I'd suggest you try to learn to love it, because it's going to be one of the cheapest and most fulfilling ways to pass time given your constraints. I think as you spend time away from technology you'll find reading more enjoyable as your mind recovers some of it's ability to focus. Just going out on a limb here (and projecting a bit), but do you often feel unable to focus on tasks like reading long passages or say sitting back to watch a movie without interruption? I know at least one author who's written a book suggesting that the way we're presented with rapid-fire and incredibly diverse information/entertainment on the internet has left our ability for deep focus impaired, while our ability to multi-task has improved.
Another option that occurred to me mid-post is that you might try to find some cheap model airplane kits or something like that, they're quite time consuming if you can be meticulous.
Well, it is a fact that we can process information much faster by reading. Although, on the internet, we don't really "read" per se. We skim articles and look for key sections. Nicholas Carr thinks that's a bad idea.
With that said, I think the attention span is higher for older demographics than younger ones. This is partly why things like Snapchat, Vine etc.. is much more popular among the younger crowd. The beauty of the internet is that, it really doesn't matter what medium you use to create content -- as long as it's high quality, it will eventually find an audience.
I would also be interested in seeing some data on media consumption preferences.
There is a difference. And if you really want to know how deep the rabbit hole goes, you can read this book...
Remember, all I'm offering is the truth...
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
It's a good read. If you are into this stuff, I highly recommend it.
> but 30s is quite a lot!
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/
I highly recommend this Substack if you’re into this kind of thing. He is super well read in the philosophy of technology (Postman, Illich, etc.) and explores a lot of their ideas as it relates to current society. I also really enjoyed this book: The Shallows - What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains.
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
Great book on how the internet is affecting our brain, for better or worse.
Studies have shown that you learn more by writing by opposed to keyboard. And learning using HTML The Shallows is particularly bad.
The author of that article, Nicholas Carr, wrote The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
It should be read by everyone.
Here's a relatively short (16m) interview he did in 2011:
I got it with the wayback machine:
Reading Helps You Develop New Understanding
When you read NoSurf related books you form new neural connections in your brain as you absorb the authors thoughts and insights. This new understanding not only increases the quality of your thoughts, but expands the set of potential actions you're now free to take. Reading "The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains" by Nicholas Carr was a life-changing event for me and instrumental in my NoSurf success because it exposed me to the world of neuroscience and helped me understand what was happening to my mind. After reading the book and absorbing the information inside, I was overflowing with new ideas of things I could try to improve my relationship with the internet.
Recommended books:
If anyone else cares there's a decent argument that supports OP in The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains.
Check out this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
139557749| > United States Anonymous (ID: EwRHxNzN)
>>139557219 >internet is cocaine You're not the first person to have thought of this. https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
There are not enough research papers specifically on gaming addiction because gaming addiction together with social media and pornography falls under the umbrella of internet addiction - Like you said a rather new field. Some breakthroughs are being made in the last years to have it recognized as an addiction per se (at least in Europe) the problem with conducting enough research is that there are no funds and insurance companies have no wish having another area of responsibility to potentially give away money to people suffering from it. If gaming addiction become completely recognized by international bodies of medicine then insurance companies might have to pay preexisting clients for passed and current treatments ---> something they definitely do not want to do. Nonetheless here are some videos of legit men of science (not some random ex gamer) that research the field.
There are also longer talks on his channel like this one. Dr. Greenfield has been researching Internet addiction since the 90's.
"Dr. Klaus Woelfling, from the University of Mainz. Germany is taking steps in treating Internet addiction and especially gaming addiction" - this one is a difficult watch primarily because the speaker is very uncharismatic (try watching with the speed setting on 1.5).
Last but definitely not least is "Your Brain on Porn" Yes, yes I know, you might not want to hear that another of your favorite pastimes is bad for you, but this video covers on a very scientific basis the damages that watching excessive pornography causes to the brain, and no this is not some kind of NoFap cult propaganda, it speaks only on the subject of internet porn. Like I said before, porn together with gaming fall under the umbrella of internet addiction because the reaction we receive from these negative habits has the same structure. If you actually watch the Your Brain on Porn video you will hear him mention numerous times that the damages caused to dopamine receptors is similar to the ones cause from gaming and extensive internet use.
This is just some of the evidence done by men of medicine and science from the top of my head. If you want to go deeper I'd recommend The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains By Nicholas Carr an American author and Pulitzer Prize winner (for that book), witch contains truly numerous examples of scientific studies and references you might want in the bibliography.
Also The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge M.D that talks mainly about brain plasticity and how different behaviors and habits cause the brain to form new cells , create new neural pathways etc etc . He also gives lots of examples how positive and negative behaviors causes various changes IN THE BRAIN, Internet addiction stuff included.
If you really want proof and not just searching for a reason to dismiss things you dont like the sound of then I hope this comment will serve you. If you do nothing less at least watch the first interview with Dr. David Greenfield. It is only 6 minutes long.
Hope this post that took me 50 minutes to put together and find all the links, will be of service to somebody. Peace.
Edit: Grammar and formatting
Been reading a book right now that talks about all of this - you guys should check it out (because we should all ALWAYS be reading something during our transformation :) )
https://www.amazon.com/Shallows-What-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
Someone had written a book about this.
Here is it's review.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/books/review/Lehrer-t.html?_r=0
And the book itself.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Shallows-Internet-Doing-Brains/dp/0393339750
Some research points out that human brains have not evolved fast enough for the transition between regular books in physical form to the electronic text format.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/
And internet encourages us to multi task, which is not how our brains are designed.
All these factors contribute to the decline in concentration and comprehension.
Mindfulness meditation is supposed to remedy this situation, of only we could get off FB and reddit for 20 min a day.