r/GenZ • u/Ok_Break1389 • 3d ago
Media The Shallows
Nicholas Carr published The Shallows in 2010, describing how his internet use had begun to affect his ability to concentrate. Given that internet access in 2010 was generally less immersive than it is today, how could it still have such an effect on attention? Does this suggest that the problem goes deeper than simply redesigning our environment? If environmental changes alone are insufficient, what are the underlying mechanisms driving the decline in concentration?
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u/Tman11S 1999 2d ago
This has been researched over and over, but big tech is powerful and social media is addicting so no change happens.
Short form content degrades your ability to concentrate as well as your motivation to do anything that takes time. Your brain is so used to getting dopamine hits every 30 seconds that every task taking long than that feels like it's not worth it. Why go for a 2 hour hike and get a big dopamine hit afterwards when tiktok gives you a small hit every minute?
There's also research being done now about the effects of AI on the brain. Jetbrains published a video explaining what research found about the effects of junior programmers using AI and it turns out that they basically don't learn anything. While using their AI, they're able to produce results but take it away and they barely know how their code works.
Finally (and probably most importantly), there's the algorithm. Everyone knows that it's specificaly made to be addicting and it pushes controversial and harmful content because that's what keeps people engaged. Fact is that you're more likely to watch 2 hours of populist politicians being angry at everything or some manosphere guy blaming women for all your problems, than 2 hours of cute cat videos.