Digital technologies have saturated our lives and there is no going back. Given this, it's worth pondering whether and how they are fundamentally reshaping our mind and our relationships. 

A seminal work that explores these issues is the 2010 book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, by journalist Nicholas Carr. In it, he argues that the internet is “shallowing” our brains, meaning that as we offload cognitive tasks to digital tools, our ability to read linearly, to absorb and immerse ourselves in complex information, is reduced. But more than that, the internet curtails our emotional depth and compassion, diminishing our humanity and rendering us more computer-like, as we process information in short bursts, skim for quick answers, and operate with frenetic attention spans. In Carr’s 2014 book The Glass Cage, he discusses how the increasing automation of tasks leads to a decrease in human agency, creativity, and problem solving capability.

In this episode, Carr joins us to discuss the neuroplasticity of the brain, the mechanisms by which digital technologies reduce our ability to think deeply, how the failures of electronic medical records illustrate the limitations of technology, what social media does to our relationships, the value of focused, reflective thought in a fast paced world, what we can all do to remain independent of technology, and more.

In this episode, you’ll hear about: 

2:42 - Carr’s path to researching and writing about the human consequences of technology

5:38 - The central thesis of Carr’s 2010 book The Shallows 

15:27 - Whether the cognitive impacts of digital technologies are reversible or permanent

21:18 - Whether society is better or worse off due to social media and the internet

25:38 - How modern technology has changed the medical profession 

38:22 - Carr’s thesis for his upcoming book Superbloom

45:21 - How society can address the loss of focus and empathy that has occurred as a result of social media 

Nicholas Carr can be found on Twitter/X at @roughtype.

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