Internet's messing with your brain?
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains
by Nicholas Carr
Science & Technology
TL;DR
This book is a wake-up call that your brain isn't just passively consuming content; it's actively being reshaped by the internet's constant demands for speed, multitasking, and superficial engagement. It explains how neuroplasticity works against you in the digital age, turning your deep-thinking brain into a shallow, easily distracted information-hopper. The core approach is to understand this cognitive erosion and then consciously fight back by re-training your focus and attention, essentially giving your brain a digital detox to reclaim its capacity for deep thought.
Action Items
Read a physical book or a long-form article (at least 1000 words) for 20 minutes straight without any distractions. Put your phone in another room, seriously.
For your next work or study session, close all unnecessary tabs and put your phone on 'Do Not Disturb.' Focus on one task for at least 45 minutes.
Pick a complex topic you're genuinely interested in and spend 30 minutes researching it using only one or two long-form articles or a chapter from a book, without opening new tabs or checking your phone.
Designate one hour tonight as 'no-screen time' – no phone, no TV, no computer. Do something analog like reading a physical book, drawing, or just chilling with your thoughts.
Unlock the full book to see more action items
Key Chapter
Chapter - The Brain's Play-Doh: How Our Minds Get Rewired
Your brain isn't some static, unchangeable lump; it's more like a constantly evolving blob of play-doh. This concept, neuroplasticity, is super cool because it means your brain adapts to whatever you throw at it. The catch? The internet is throwing a lot at it, constantly. Every time you jump between tabs, scroll endlessly, or get pinged by a notification, you're literally training your brain to be a master of superficiality and distraction. It's building neural pathways that prioritize quick hits over deep dives. So, if you feel like you can't focus on a book for more than five minutes, it's not just you being 'bad' at reading; your brain has been physically rewired to crave constant, fragmented stimulation. Understanding this is the first step to taking back control.
Key Methods and Approaches
Your Brain's Play-Doh Effect
(AKA: Neuroplasticity)
Description:
Your brain isn't a fixed hard drive; it's constantly changing based on what you do with it.
Explanation:
Imagine your brain is like a muscle, or better yet, a TikTok algorithm. The more you feed it short, flashy, jump-cut content, the more it gets really good at that and really bad at, say, reading a whole book. It's literally rewiring itself to be a scroll-junkie, optimizing for speed and superficiality over deep thought. It's not just a habit; it's a physical transformation.
Examples:
You can't read a long article without feeling the urge to check your phone or open a new tab.
You find yourself skimming everything, even things you want to understand deeply.
You feel restless or bored if there isn't constant new information or stimulation.
Today's Action:
Read a physical book or a long-form article (at least 1000 words) for 20 minutes straight without any distractions. Put your phone in another room, seriously.
End of Preview
Want to read the complete insights, methods, and actionable takeaways? Unlock the full book experience with Pro.
Your daily 1-minute insights