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It was difficult to dismiss the ominous words spoken by author Nicholas Carr at his recent lecture at ΢��Ȧ. He said, “For the first time in human history, we have technology that is influencing the way we think, from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to sleep.”

We check and recheck our cell phones, which perform many of the functions of a computer. We are constantly sending and receiving information. Through automatic notifications, our devices are constantly tapping us on the shoulder, saying, “Look at me.”

The invasiveness of computer technology has even eclipsed the television, Carr said. Yes, the TV fixates our attention, too, and can keep us channel surfing for hours, but we don’t carry our TVs around with us like we do our smartphones, laptops and IPads. This kind of constant stimulation is unprecedented in history, said Carr.

In his provocative and intelligent lecture on Oct. 13, sponsored by Open Books – Open Minds, Carr discussed his recent book, “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.” This book was selected as this year’s common book by the ΢��Ȧ community to be read and discussed by students of all disciplines, as well as faculty and staff.

The lecture drew a standing-room-only crowd, the majority of whom were students. One student commented that this whole idea of technology turning us into shallow thinkers sounds suspiciously like the older generation trying to scare the younger generation into shutting off their phones and going to one of those rare and endangered places called the library to read books.

Though that would be a good way to balance our lives (leaving our phones home for a few hours), Carr said he is not anti-technology and he warned against extremism on either side of the debate – he neither supports nostalgia for the past (the good old days before technology) nor an idealized view of the present. Rather his desire is that we become “thoughtful critics of technology,” looking at what we’ve gained and at what we are losing.

What are we losing? Our ability to concentrate, and therefore our ability to store information long term, which is critical to knowledge building, Carr said. Technology controls our attention by continuously shifting our attention from one thing to the other on the screen. We skim an article, click on links, scroll our email, post on Facebook, listen to YouTube, respond to notifications, and on and on. “Technology discourages any type of thinking that requires us to screen out distractions and interruptions and engage in deep, attentive, concentrated thought,” Carr said. 

“Businesses that design the technology and the apps – companies like Facebook and Google and Amazon – very much want to keep you distracted, looking at lots of different things on your gadget, because that’s how they collect information about you, that’s how they put ads in front of you and encourage you to click the ads. Their whole business is built around keeping you distracted,” Carr said.

Books, on the other hand, have the opposite effect. Books keep distractions out. “Books teach readers to pay attention, to resist distractions and allow readers to think deeply and to concentrate,” he said.

“My biggest fear about our reliance and dependency on a technology of distraction and interruption is that, instead of us deciding individually what we think about, what we pay attention to, we’re letting technology make that decision for us,” he said. “If your phone vibrates in your pocket, that’s what you’re going to pay attention to, and the companies that design the technology are at risk of taking over this fundamental element of our lives. If we sacrifice our ability to be in control of our minds then maybe we’ve sacrificed too much.” 

Open Books – Open Minds (OBOM) was created to generate intellectual and social engagement throughout the campus and to foster a sense of community through college-wide book discussions and other programs related to the common book. “One of the benefits of OBOM events,” said OBOM Co-chair Anita Duneer, “is that it offers opportunities for students and faculty to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue about issues that matter to us all.”

For more information and interactive content on “The Shallows,” click on the following links.

, “The Shallows: This is Your Brain Online” on “All Things Considered,” June 2, 2010​