1KHO 236: Rescuing Attention in a Distracted World | Nicholas Carr, The Shallows

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Ginny Yurich

Parenting, Kids & Family

4.9 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2024

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Join host Ginny Yurich in a riveting episode of the 1000 Hours Outside Podcast as she engages in a profound conversation with Nicholas Carr, renowned author of "The Shallows." Carr shares insights into the genesis of his book, which began as a personal exploration of the challenges he faced while spending excessive time online. The realization that constant connectivity hindered concentration and fueled distraction led him to delve deeper into the transformative impact of technology on our minds. The discussion unfolds with Carr drawing inspiration from Neil Postman, emphasizing that technology is not merely a tool but an ideology that shapes our environment and influences the way we think and interact. The conversation explores how our communication tools create a new ecology, molding our perceptions and interactions. Carr highlights the inherent distractibility of human beings and how modern technology exacerbates this issue, hijacking our minds and affecting our ability to focus. The episode delves into the ways screens, particularly on computers and phones, alter the reading experience. Carr contrasts the shield of a paper with the distractions surrounding digital words. He discusses the steady stream of information bombarding us, making it challenging to screen out distractions and maintain focus. The impact of technology on attention spans is a central theme, with Carr addressing the addictive nature of smartphones and the constant mental presence of our phones. He shares personal experiences of losing the ability to concentrate and immerse oneself in a book due to excessive online engagement. The conversation expands to societal implications, exploring how technology has changed our perception of time, eroded patience, and altered social dynamics. The influence of screens on reading habits, promoting skimming and scanning, is examined, highlighting the fundamental shift in the way we consume information. Carr also touches upon the societal shift towards instant gratification and the desire for quicker stimuli, evident in the rise of AI companions. The episode concludes with a reflection on the value placed on measurable outcomes, leaving listeners with a deeper understanding of the profound impact of technology on our minds, attention, and societal behaviors. ** Learn more about Nicholas Carr here >> https://www.nicholascarr.com/ Get your copy of The Shallows here >> https://amzn.to/3HmBpAK ** Downloads your free 1000 Hours Outside trackers here >> https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/trackers Find everything you need to kick off your 1000 Hours Outside Journey here >> https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/blog/allthethings Order of copy of Ginny's newest book, Until the Streetlights Come On here >> https://amzn.to/3RXjBlN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. My name is Jenny Eurech, I'm the founder of
0:04.4	1000 Hours Outside. And Nicholas Carr, the author of so many books, but The
0:09.3	Shallows, what the internet is doing to our brains, which I'm sure so many people have heard of and read it and a bunch of other books is here.
0:15.6	Welcome!
0:16.6	Thanks a lot, my pleasure.
0:18.1	So you are the author of Incredible Books, The Shallows, what the Internet is doing to our brain has been translated into more than 25 languages, Pulitzer Prize finalist, wow, and then you also have all sorts of other books, the glass cage, U utopia is creepy that's the most recent
0:34.3	one right right and also the big switch and does it matter a lot a lot of books written
0:40.4	for newspapers magazines you've been on all sorts of television and
0:43.5	radio programs. What an honor! I'm so excited. I love this book. I think it's just
0:48.9	such an important topic for parents. Interesting book that you wrote in 2007. The staying power is there. Isn't
0:56.8	that wild? Yeah, it's, I mean when I wrote it, it came out in 2010, but I started writing in 2007, so 2007 through 2009, so quite a while ago, and it started
1:08.3	off as kind of a book about my own personal experience because I had spent a lot of time online and I realized I was
1:14.9	having trouble concentrating and was distracted all the time and wanted check email and everything.
1:20.3	When I wrote the book I didn't know if this was just kind of a personal story or if it was something broader,
1:26.0	but unfortunately I think everything we've seen since then with the explosion in smartphones and social media apps and everything else.
1:34.4	It's kind of made the situation worse.
1:37.2	My worries have, as I say, unfortunately kind of come true and I do think that all the time we spend online gathering information, being
1:45.7	distracted, being interrupted really does kind of undermine our ability to pay attention and
1:51.1	to think deeply and to read deeply and do anything that requires kind of sustained concentration.
1:57.0	Mm-hmm. You talk about in this book and I'd never heard about it before except for in amusing ourselves to death which is one of my
2:06.1	favorite books by Neil Postman and he's passed on so I'll never get a chance to talk with him
2:11.6	but similarly the both of you were able to
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