Has anyone else noticed that when you pick up a book, that the words suddenly become dull and are becoming harder to find interesting? It is not because I can not read or dislike reading, but because of my ability to concentrate. In Nicholas Carr's book The Shallows: What The internet is Doing to our Brains, I read that most people, even author's in modern society, have become stricken with a sudden illness in not concentrating while reading.
This sickness is not from a bacterial disease, but from a technological one. Nicholas Carr formulated that this is because our attention spans are becoming smaller. This is due to the fact we are in a world where everything needs to be quick or else we loose interest. For example, the smart phone. People are constantly scrolling and looking at pictures, short videos, and small posts, but never take the time to invest in what they are actually looking at. People are paying more attention to short cat videos instead of reading good books. This is because technology has began to shape us in needing things to get straight to the point and to be fast. Causing us to delay in longer things like watching long documentaries, reading books, or other time taking hobbies. Modern technology has begun to "[chip] away [the] capacity for concentration and contemplation"(Carr 6).
This, to me, is frightening because I love to read, but have been doing so less frequently. My phone has drawn my eyes to it for a good majority of my day, week, maybe even in the years that I have gotten a phone. Social media has even been doing this on purpose, with Snap chat, YouTube, Instagram, etc. These apps are made to grab your attention quickly, supply with the content needed to make you happy, then repeat. I have to admit that You Tube has played a big part in my concentration, instead of having my nose stuck in a book, my eyes are glued to a screen. To conclude, when beginning to read Nicholas Carr's book The Shallows: What The internet is Doing to our Brains, I immediately related to the reading situation and believe this is something that should be taken more seriously.
Have you noticed that it is getting harder to read? Is technology shaping our brains? Do you agree that our loss in concentration could be because of our modern technology?
-Ximena Yanez
I don't necessarily think that it is getting harder to read. I think it is getting harder to sit down and focus. People these days have no problem going on their phones to read somebody's post and status. Personally, I have trouble reading because in my mind reading is boring. I'd rather go on my phone and listen to music. Technology is to blame for our loss of concentration. Modern technology has infested itself into our lives so much that it seems like without it we are drained and tired. In my point we become forever bored.
ReplyDeleteI do think that it is harder for us to concentrate and focus. I don't think it is getting harder to read in a way.I personally don't mind reading things going on in the world and go on Instagram. Reading an actual book on my phone causes me some trouble because I can't focus without wanting to get on social media. That's just the problem that we have. We get these urges us to not focus on reading but focus on everything else going on. I do blame technology for this because we just can't focus as much as we want to.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that it is hard for me to concentrate and read, but even before I had a phone, I always found reading boring. Before the internet, plenty of people had difficulty sitting still for a long time and focusing on a single task that demands concentration and analysis. Reading has never been a simple task for most people including myself, and I simply believe that the internet has served as a way to distract myself from reading but only when I am not truly focused in the text to begin with. For me, the internet has not made my ability to read any less but rather has made its way into my reading when I am already distracted.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about a screen changing the way my brain wants me to read but now that I think about it I feel like it does change. I always thought I was too lazy to focus on the smooth pages in a book. I still find reading in a book more boring only because the book is too descriptive and I just want the author to get to the point. I think the advanced technology is changing how our brains think and see and develops, since our brains are still growing, to not want us to like "old things". I also believe our brains are very adaptive on what's next in the future that we aren't going to care about everything else.
ReplyDeletealso me focusing in a book is much harder for me than watching a 2 hour marvel movie.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it has been getting more difficult to read. When I was younger, I used to be able to finish entire books; nowadays, I can barely read through a chapter of "Brave New World" without stopping. So, yes. I agree that concentrating on certain tasks has become very taxing. Technology has certainly affected my ability to focus. However, I do not feel as if it is the sole cause of my lowered attention span. There are other factors that come into play as well: classes, homework, stress, anxiety, and a lack of motivation. Obviously, it's different for everyone, but I truly believe that technology isn't the only reason why reading has become more difficult.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Natasha. When I was young, I did enjoy reading all types of different books and found them interesting and exciting. However, as I got older I paid more attention to technology. Then, when I got a phone, it became something that I could not go a day without checking. Now whenever I read a book, I can't focus because I am obsessed with checking my phone. So I do believe that technology played a major part in making my reading much more difficult.
ReplyDeleteI do think that our phones are making it harder for us to read. These days I would say I am addicted to my phone since I am on it 24/7. I think because of that, I much rather be scrolling through Snapchat and Instagram or watching Netflix then read. For example, I see at times when I would tell myself just one more episode of Netflix and I would start my homework. But then one episode leads to another, then all of the sudden the day is over and I have accomplished nothing. But even though we are less motivated to read, there are still ways to encourage us to read more often.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is getting harder to read due to technology and our phones. Already having issues on concentration, sitting still and reading books like these are very difficult. Whenever I'm reading, my mind trails off to song lyrics or the last movie I watched or sometimes the last thing I saw on Instagram. Usually I can set my phone aside and get what needs to be done but this summer has been a true struggle. My lack of concentration isn't only coming from technology, but I can say that it is a major role. I wish it wasn't that way but it is ad clearly not only for me.
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