Is the Internet dumbing us down? Time to take personal responsibility for how we use the web.

There was a problem with the network at the University today, which has meant no email, internet, or Tweetdeck for me all day.  Although the University is generally a quiet place during the students’ summer break, it has felt particularly so today, with only the telephone or a face-to-face conversation to connect me to colleagues.  Of course, there was plenty of work to be getting on with - not least the stack of reading I have to catch up on - but without the constant backdrop of regular email checks, browsing my Twitter feeds for industry news, or Googling, I have felt strangely uncomfortable.

Part of me welcomed the opportunity to focus intently on the close-reading of a journal article, thinking carefully about the issues raised and forming a personal response, but I admit I also found myself out of practice in terms of holding my concentration for a long period without any of my usual distractions. Thinking about this feeling of discomfort I asked myself ‘Do I have an Internet addiction?’
 
A new book by Nicholas Carr – ‘The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember’ explores the impact the Internet has had on our brains, raising some important issues for those of us in academia.  Carr posits that the Internet has changed the way we read and comprehend texts; that it has changed our cognitive process, enabling us to take in an enormous breadth of information quickly, but to the detriment of the depth of our understanding and thinking (Carr, 2010).

The close-reading and interpretation of complex texts are key skills students at degree and postgraduate level are expected to master and demonstrate in their assessment.  As Universities we may reward breadth of research (i.e. a long list of credible references is often viewed positively by those marking academic assessments) but only if the student demonstrates a genuine understanding of the texts referred to.  Carr suggests that this ability to concentrate on the reading of a single text is one of the cognitive abilities being eroded by the Internet.  If this is indeed true, it raises a number of questions and concerns both for society as a whole and more specifically for those of us engaged in teaching and learning.

Carr is one of a growing number of writers (notably of physical books) expressing concerns about the impact the Internet is having on our lives  (e.g. Bauerulein, 2008; Jackson, 2009; Lanier, 2010). It is important that these voices speak out, and that we are aware of both the benefits and difficulties the Internet can bring in order to make a balanced judgement.

My view?  The Internet may be a runaway train, but it’s something we have to take individual, personal responsibility for.  It’s a revolution we can, and must, adapt and adapt to.  We are co-creators of the Internet and, as adults, we have to accept that we are responsible for our own relationship with it.    

Has the internet changed the way you read and think? 

References
Bauerlein, M. (2008) The Dumbest Generation, New York, Tarcher/Penguin.
Carr, N. (2010) The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, London, Norton.
Jackson, M. (2008) Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, New York, Prometheus.
Lanier, J. (2010) You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto, London, Allen Lane.