The Shallows: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember
Sep 2010 · Atlantic Books Ltd
4.4star
25 reviewsreport
Ebook
320
Pages
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About this ebook
'Boldly reactionary... What looks like feast, Carr argues, may be closer to famine' Sunday Times
'Chilling' The Economist
In this ground-breaking and compelling book, Nicholas Carr argues that not since Gutenberg invented printing has humanity been exposed to such a mind-altering technology. The Shallows draws on the latest research to show that the Net is literally re-wiring our brains inducing only superficial understanding. As a consequence there are profound changes in the way we live and communicate, remember and socialise - even in our very conception of ourselves. By moving from the depths of thought to the shallows of distraction, the web, it seems, is actually fostering ignorance.
The Shallows is not a manifesto for luddites, nor does it seek to turn back the clock. Rather it is a revelatory reminder of how far the Internet has become enmeshed in our daily existence and is affecting the way we think. This landmark book compels us all to look anew at our dependence on this all-pervasive technology.
This 10th-anniversary edition includes a new afterword that brings the story up to date, with a deep examination of the cognitive and behavioural effects of smartphones and social media.
'Chilling' The Economist
In this ground-breaking and compelling book, Nicholas Carr argues that not since Gutenberg invented printing has humanity been exposed to such a mind-altering technology. The Shallows draws on the latest research to show that the Net is literally re-wiring our brains inducing only superficial understanding. As a consequence there are profound changes in the way we live and communicate, remember and socialise - even in our very conception of ourselves. By moving from the depths of thought to the shallows of distraction, the web, it seems, is actually fostering ignorance.
The Shallows is not a manifesto for luddites, nor does it seek to turn back the clock. Rather it is a revelatory reminder of how far the Internet has become enmeshed in our daily existence and is affecting the way we think. This landmark book compels us all to look anew at our dependence on this all-pervasive technology.
This 10th-anniversary edition includes a new afterword that brings the story up to date, with a deep examination of the cognitive and behavioural effects of smartphones and social media.
Ratings and reviews
4.4
25 reviews
Jonah Holden-Maillard
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October 12, 2015
Interesting but hindered by the endless quotes, studies and references. Sadly this spoils the flow of the book. It's not an easy read. The author makes some compelling arguments which would be just as -if not more- convincing in half as many pages.
7 people found this review helpful
Cheryl Meredith
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February 4, 2014
This novel will change your life. Too many people today ignore public messages about how we are losing our humanity to technology and efficiency simply because they deny us, call us radicals, and take a stand to defend pleasures that are easily mistaken to be beneficial. But they are mistaken. In his short novel, Carr easily takes every argument conjured by a pro-Internet debater and refutes it, nearly effortlessly. Once you finish, you will understand yourself so much more.... And you will also change.
8 people found this review helpful
Rich “Richmeister” H
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January 12, 2025
Tremendous yet terrifying.
About the author
Nicholas Carr is the author of The Shallows, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Glass Cage, and Utopia is Creepy. He has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, and Wired. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife.
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