The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
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- Create Date：2021-03-25 14:21:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Nicholas Carr
- ISBN：0393357821
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Nicholas Carr’s bestseller The Shallows has become a foundational book in one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the internet’s bounties， are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply？ This 10th-anniversary edition includes a new afterword that brings the story up to date， with a deep examination of the cognitive and behavioral effects of smartphones and social media。
Reviews
Lauren
，
Good info， but it seems to me like he was trying his best to find the reader's limits of concentration。 Whole chapters of extraneous information。 So much repetition。 For someone who limits technology and has no issues with concentrating while reading in-depth material， this was a struggle for me。 Good info， but it seems to me like he was trying his best to find the reader's limits of concentration。 Whole chapters of extraneous information。 So much repetition。 For someone who limits technology and has no issues with concentrating while reading in-depth material， this was a struggle for me。 。。。more
Lloyd
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Phenomenal book！ Usually， I don't write reviews of more than 3-4 words， but this book was an excellent pleasure to read that I cannot resist to fully acknowledge about how well written this book is。 I won't give away contents of the books， which I leave it to the readers to figure out。 I read this book out of curiosity and I was surprised at the level of details it gave me and the depth of the authors' research is commendable。 I was fully indulged in reading this book from the start。 Possibly on Phenomenal book！ Usually， I don't write reviews of more than 3-4 words， but this book was an excellent pleasure to read that I cannot resist to fully acknowledge about how well written this book is。 I won't give away contents of the books， which I leave it to the readers to figure out。 I read this book out of curiosity and I was surprised at the level of details it gave me and the depth of the authors' research is commendable。 I was fully indulged in reading this book from the start。 Possibly one of those rare books I've enjoyed reading from the beginning and the one of those authors whose train of thoughts and concerns matched with mine。This book talked about a lot of subtle ideas which I haven't seen any other author talk about （and I wish someone did）， which may explain why I enjoyed this book。 。。。more
Sadia Nawaz Hiraj
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I was thinking about leaving social media for so long。 Good book！
Amber Roberts
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I thought by the title it might've been more sensational but it wasn't at all。 The author doesn't present the internet as a problem but rather examines how this new technology may be reshaping the way our brains function and how it has evolved up to this point。 He covers different scientific experiments that show how the brain physically changes when it learns and uses historical references to show how people far in the past contemplated how new media would affect us。 I like that Carr covered ho I thought by the title it might've been more sensational but it wasn't at all。 The author doesn't present the internet as a problem but rather examines how this new technology may be reshaping the way our brains function and how it has evolved up to this point。 He covers different scientific experiments that show how the brain physically changes when it learns and uses historical references to show how people far in the past contemplated how new media would affect us。 I like that Carr covered how humans personify the computer and think of the human brain and a computer as equal。 He confirmed for me that brains can't run out of memory， something I've always wondered about。 Heh hehLots of references and a further reading section in the back。 This book gave me more to think about。People always talk about how we are influenced by what we see online but we are also influenced， and maybe even more so， by the medium we see it on。 。。。more
Renae
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There are a few animal experiment descriptions that were difficult to read， but otherwise I really enjoyed this book。 It certainly inspired me to read more。
Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller
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Too much repetition and reiteration。 And repetition。 And the author kept saying things over and over again in different ways。 He’d say something and then say it again in different context。 It was repetitious。 And I just got tired of hearing information more than once。
Florian
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Starts slow， but finishes strong。 Must read for the modern city-dweller。
Sikandar Khan
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Read this book twice and the summary once。 Without a doubt one of my favorite books really drives the point home on what the internet is doing to our brains。
Derek Henderson
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Starts off well but quickly loses focus。 The second half becomes highly repetitive。
Jennifer
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This was an accessible， excellent read that I did for class but will likely keep returning to。 Insightful on how our brains work and how we are changing that due to our dependence on the internet。
Brooke
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This book is fairly fascinating。 I found the first 20-30% the most interesting as it laid out the history of human communication and information sharing as we transitioned into civilizations with written language。 Many of the pieces of information about modern technology and it's potential impact on our brains were very surprising。 Just as many made me shrug and say， "so what？"Considering it's a second edition， I felt like more effort should've been extended in updating facts/figures， incorporat This book is fairly fascinating。 I found the first 20-30% the most interesting as it laid out the history of human communication and information sharing as we transitioned into civilizations with written language。 Many of the pieces of information about modern technology and it's potential impact on our brains were very surprising。 Just as many made me shrug and say， "so what？"Considering it's a second edition， I felt like more effort should've been extended in updating facts/figures， incorporating new research， or annotating with additional data。 As the book only really changed in adding a fore and afterward， that left me a bit unimpressed。 By and large， super interesting with if not a bit dated。 。。。more
Rishabh Surana
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The book and the content is good。 It is a little boring though。
Sherry
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Reading this book made me glad I’m addicted to reading BOOKS！ Use internet very little compared to how much other people， especially the young who are on the internet and social media constantly。 Little do they know they’ll get ever more “dumbed down” as they age。 They’ve been programmed to accept where this is going。I was expecting something different， but was pleasantly surprised to be completely impressed with Carr’s ability to organize the long history of books and developments on brain res Reading this book made me glad I’m addicted to reading BOOKS！ Use internet very little compared to how much other people， especially the young who are on the internet and social media constantly。 Little do they know they’ll get ever more “dumbed down” as they age。 They’ve been programmed to accept where this is going。I was expecting something different， but was pleasantly surprised to be completely impressed with Carr’s ability to organize the long history of books and developments on brain research throughout history。 Frankly， I would have expected so much focus on information to be delivered in a “dry tone， like a long lecture，” whereas it’s entertaining as well as informational。 I’m going to consider this book to be “deep reading” to flatter myself that I was able to focus and enjoy it。 I admit to being long fascinated with history in general， and specifically how the brain works with human behavior， to how the changes affect behavior for better or for worse。 A satisfying read， indeed。I’m already fed up with “instant gratification” and “groupthink。” To have to see it getting worse， as authors and readers go down this dark road， is nothing short of destructive on so many levels。 It’s sad to see we are searching for ways to forevermore dumb down people through social- and anti-social media to the point where we are producing media-induced， virtually comatose， clones who will not take time to think for themselves -- to consider their personal thoughts before just blurting out “one-liner” comments that merely mimic those in the groupthink category so they can “fit in” for public acceptance。 We hear too many people simply parrot what they hear of someone else’s sound bites。 Current political climate combined with enforcement of Coronavirus groupthink is a prime example today。 “Sheeples” get slaughtered in the end。 （Note that spell-check accepts that newish non-word。）It's only 224 pgs。 If you read it， too， please share with me your reaction！ Maybe you’ll disagree。 。。。more
ROBERT A MCINNES
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A good perspective even for today
Jay Atlas ~ •
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I so desperately wanted to finish this book， because it started off so strong - but I felt it diverged from its original point （neuroplasticity and how the internet is changing our brain）， for such a long time， that I eventually lost interest。 Three stars for now， but if I return to it。。。that may change （which is unlikely， since there is a plethora of good books out there， that I have yet to read）。
Maya Yeoman
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this was really interesting， lots of studies mentioned， and proposed some really important questions
Mac
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Informative， thorough， and balanced。 Carr manages to explain his concerns about the re-wiring of our brains without sounding like Chicken Little。 I really wish he’d write an update or a new foreword since the digital landscape has changed so much in the decade plus since this book came out。
Pamela
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This book made me aware of many nuances of change that have accompanied technologies over time， culminating with the saturation of personal and social media in our lives today。 Carr starts， at the beginning， with oral history and speech， and the impact of the printing press on the world。 I appreciated that while this book was written in 2010， there is a portion at the end updating the research for republication after the initial book launch。 It was a slow read and required the attentiveness that This book made me aware of many nuances of change that have accompanied technologies over time， culminating with the saturation of personal and social media in our lives today。 Carr starts， at the beginning， with oral history and speech， and the impact of the printing press on the world。 I appreciated that while this book was written in 2010， there is a portion at the end updating the research for republication after the initial book launch。 It was a slow read and required the attentiveness that Carr says we must strive to recapture， as we are fractured by overexposure to stimuli。 The presentation of brain research regarding how humans respond and interact with inventions / technologies was enlightening。 Carr's persuasive argument that these inventions / technologies， born of human thought and creative endeavor， may in some way， replace those very gifts， is a caution for me personally to ponder。 The insight into many aspects of memory， its workings and development was impactful， as well。 As a result of reading this well-researched text， I resolve to consciously choose to rely less on my I-phone and experience more contemplative activities that encourage memory， empathy， and discernment。 。。。more
Mia
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The Shallows dives into history and the functions of human brains looking at how we've changed。 The Internet is one of the many technologies that have changed our brains， making them different brains than our ancestors。 Did you know that since WW2， our overall SAT scores have gotten lower？ But our IQ test scores have gotten higher。 Why？ You may ask。 Go read The Shallows and learn fascinating things that our very brains can do。 Let your brain learn about brains。 The Shallows dives into history and the functions of human brains looking at how we've changed。 The Internet is one of the many technologies that have changed our brains， making them different brains than our ancestors。 Did you know that since WW2， our overall SAT scores have gotten lower？ But our IQ test scores have gotten higher。 Why？ You may ask。 Go read The Shallows and learn fascinating things that our very brains can do。 Let your brain learn about brains。 。。。more
Carmen
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Stunning！
Socrate
，
„Un nou medium nu este niciodată un adagiu la unul vechi"， scria McLuhan în Understanding Media， „nici nu-l lasă netulburat în pace pe cel de dinainte。 El nu încetează nicicând să oprime mediile mai vechi până când găsește noi forme și poziții pentru ele。""Toate confirmă descoperirea lui Merzenich。 Ele mai dezvăluie încă ceva: plasticitatea creierului nu se limitează la cortexul somatosenzorial， zona care guvernează simțul nostru tactil。 Este universală。 Practic toate circuitele noastre neuronal „Un nou medium nu este niciodată un adagiu la unul vechi"， scria McLuhan în Understanding Media， „nici nu-l lasă netulburat în pace pe cel de dinainte。 El nu încetează nicicând să oprime mediile mai vechi până când găsește noi forme și poziții pentru ele。""Toate confirmă descoperirea lui Merzenich。 Ele mai dezvăluie încă ceva: plasticitatea creierului nu se limitează la cortexul somatosenzorial， zona care guvernează simțul nostru tactil。 Este universală。 Practic toate circuitele noastre neuronale - indiferent dacă sunt implicate în pipăit， vedere， auz， mișcare， gândire， învățare， percepție sau memorie - sunt supuse schimbării。 Știința moștenită este aruncată la coș。" "Cândva prin 2007，（。。。）netul exercita asupra mea o influență mult mai puternică și mai vastă decât o făcuse vreodată vechiul meu PC。Nu era doar faptul că stăteam atât de mult timp holbându-mă la un monitor。Nu era doar faptul că atât de multe dintre obiceiurile și rutinele mele se schimbau pe măsură ce deveneam tot mai（。。。）dependent de serviciile de pe net。Chiar felul în care funcționa creierul meu părea să se schimbe""În decursul ultimelor cinci secole，de când tiparnița lui Gutenberg a făcut din cititul cărților o preocupare populară，mintea liniară，literară s-a aflat în centrul artei，științei și societății。Pe cât de suplă，pe atât de subtilă a fost mintea imaginativă a Renașterii，mintea rațională a Iluminismului，mintea inventivă a Revoluției Industriale și chiar mintea subversivă a Modernismului。" 。。。more
Jenny
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Generally speaking very good and prescient considering it was written in 2009-2010。 Has the occasional tendency to wander into moral panics or draw totally unsupported conclusions for the sake of emotional resonance， which only undermined the strength of the evidence presented。 The internet is doing enough bad shit to our brains without exaggerating to make it seem even more pernicious。 Also， the “suggested further reading” section seems to feature all of three women amid multiple dozens of reco Generally speaking very good and prescient considering it was written in 2009-2010。 Has the occasional tendency to wander into moral panics or draw totally unsupported conclusions for the sake of emotional resonance， which only undermined the strength of the evidence presented。 The internet is doing enough bad shit to our brains without exaggerating to make it seem even more pernicious。 Also， the “suggested further reading” section seems to feature all of three women amid multiple dozens of recommendations， which probably explains why the book totally lacked any sort of socially contextual lens。 。。。more
Srinivasan Nanduri
，
A good read that emphasises key points on the pros and cons of the internet and digital age。 The key take away is to keep a close attention of the deep focus that we are losing with the never ending navigable pages and distractions that are impacting the brains。
Yanina Patricio
，
La primera parte del libro es densa y compleja llena de términos científicos y médicos que explican cómo el cerebro se adecua a los cambios externos de nuestra búsqueda de información y conocimiento。 Al final， terminas convencido que nuestro cerebro es otro gracias（ culpa， no lo sé） al poder de internet。
Arista
，
Oh， this book scared the bejesus out of me， as I’m sure it was intended to。 My first impulse was to give up technology and just be Amish。 Surely that would be better than slowly pickling my brain with trips or TMZ。 That’s faded but now I’m HYPER aware of how （and why） webpage design and technology platforms reward quick scanning rather than deep reading and how that has negative follow on effects to memory， comprehension， and deep thought。 It also makes Google seem straight-up creepy。 So there’s Oh， this book scared the bejesus out of me， as I’m sure it was intended to。 My first impulse was to give up technology and just be Amish。 Surely that would be better than slowly pickling my brain with trips or TMZ。 That’s faded but now I’m HYPER aware of how （and why） webpage design and technology platforms reward quick scanning rather than deep reading and how that has negative follow on effects to memory， comprehension， and deep thought。 It also makes Google seem straight-up creepy。 So there’s that。One quick warning- the first 1/3 of the book is on the history of reading and books。 I really enjoyed that and found it helpful for putting the rest of the book in context， but it might be a little dry for folks looking for the meat of the book’s argument。 。。。more
Ghizlane Eddiba
，
Internet is a tool that makes our access to information easy， but it does not make us smarter。 Most of the information remains in our working memory without being transferred to the long-term memory。 We don’t give our brain time to process， create schemas and reflect on the information。 As a result， we get shallow knowledge， a distracted and anxious mind， and we will not be able to build our singular intelligence。
Kevin Whitaker
，
I read this book because I heard it was a classic take on how the internet is changing us， and because it was written before social media， which I don't think anyone has a good levelheaded perspective on yet。 But I was a bit disappointed -- this book wasn't bad， but there wasn't a lot that seemed useful， and maybe too much has in fact changed in the last decade。 The few-page epilogue written recently was more compelling than the rest of the book in making it seem like there was a problem。 The ba I read this book because I heard it was a classic take on how the internet is changing us， and because it was written before social media， which I don't think anyone has a good levelheaded perspective on yet。 But I was a bit disappointed -- this book wasn't bad， but there wasn't a lot that seemed useful， and maybe too much has in fact changed in the last decade。 The few-page epilogue written recently was more compelling than the rest of the book in making it seem like there was a problem。 The basic argument is: technology doesn't just help us think， it changes how we think。 And the internet in particular is making us read more shallowly: providing infinite alternatives to read instead， providing hyperlinks and other distractions to take us away from what we read， and showing pop-ups and other distractions to overload our senses and reduce our ability to think deeply。 But although the facts behind those arguments are roughly right， it felt too much like someone asserting there is A Problem and then selecting arguments that support it。 The internet is always compared to the deep reading of books， but curiously newspapers are almost never mentioned， when they have always invited a lot of the same shallow reading。 And as cliche as this objection is， there are real benefits from having lots of information immediately available， which aren't explored at all。None of which is to say the premise is wrong -- I certainly feel overwhelmed by how much content is on the internet， and I don't retain most of what I read （aside from a few newsletters that I love and read closely， or things I save to process later）。 It just didn't feel like I learned much that I didn't already know here。 Random facts I did learn: - Writing didn’t have spaces between words or punctuation until around 1000 CE。 Adding those things changed writing as much as reading - by making reading and writing more logical， authors could now write their own books which meant they could do more controversial stuff and revise more frequently。- People reading content online usually read in an “F-shape” - they read the first couple lines， jump down the page， read a couple more lines more quickly， skim down the page some more， and then move on。 （Not mentioned in the book: newspaper reading is probably the same way， right？） - The Flynn Effect denotes the well-known pattern that IQ scores have been rising over time， but this is only happening in a few sub-areas of IQ （mental rotation of shapes， analogies， logical sequences） - not vocabulary， arithmetic， or memory。 - After people pull up information online， they feel smarter （as if they knew the fact themselves already） 。。。more
Amy
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2。5 grudgingly rounded up to a 3。 I think the author has some good points and there are things to consider， but I think that the extremism he warns others against comes across in his own words， which makes what he has to say more suspect than it would be otherwise。 It makes him sound more like a zealot and less like the social scientist I think he intends to be。Only in the introduction， but the words this author chooses to use。 I can say I have never thought of the internet as a "moveable feast， 2。5 grudgingly rounded up to a 3。 I think the author has some good points and there are things to consider， but I think that the extremism he warns others against comes across in his own words， which makes what he has to say more suspect than it would be otherwise。 It makes him sound more like a zealot and less like the social scientist I think he intends to be。Only in the introduction， but the words this author chooses to use。 I can say I have never thought of the internet as a "moveable feast，" but I have thought of it as increasingly accessible over time。 I don't use a smartphone to access the internet while out and about， but I know lots of other people do。 We all have information at our fingertips。"We are welcoming the frenziedness into our souls。" That's how the author chose to end the body of the book （only the epilogue after that）。 Again， sort of extreme for a non-fiction book。 。。。more
Fatemeh
，
برای کسی مثل من که به مباحث نوروساینس علاقه منده و تصمیم به ترک شبکه های اجتماعی و استفاده بهینه از اینترنت گرفته، تا اینجا به شدت جذاب بوده。 امیدوارم تا آخرش همینجوری جذاب بمونه！
Caleb
，