Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo The Shallows...
I feel like I spent a healthy amount of time in class (and on my own) ridiculing Carr for his approach and for an argument that, for me, seemed to have no call-to-action. I found myself consistently upset by how he laid out his argument. But did I ever admit that, for the most part, he's right?
I guess my inability to decide how I feel about the book is because it gives me too many conflicting emotions. I do believe that the internet is removing our ability to hold attention to longer materials, and that it's making younger generations more reliant on media and technology than on actual human emotions and interactions, and that books are starting to become obsolete. So perhaps it's not that he's wrong, just that he overlooked some other important things. Like, for instance, the fact that I can go online and learn about basically anything I want to. Or how I can plan a trip to Morocco with a friend that lives in Ireland--thousands of miles away yet talking in real time. Or how I can see pictures of my friends as they go on life-changing adventures (or as they simply go to class and notice something oddly beautiful on the way). The internet is a tool for us to use. Carr is right in saying that it can destroy us, but not if we use it correctly. And we're still learning. What more can he ask of us?
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