A double-header! I read these back-to-back and, while that was super fun for me, I would recommend picking one or the other.
The Shallows is a sharply-observed exploration of what the internet is doing to our brains and how that is affecting… everything. First published in 2010, author Nicholas Carr was responding to rapidly shrinking computers and laptops and how the ability to access the internet from anywhere was altering our minds and society. Smart phones were not yet ubiquitous (the first iPhone was released in 2007), but his points are salient and predictive. I expected a now standard critique of the internet and its effects on our attention spans, but I found a surprisingly lovely and philosophical history of technology and the human mind. In one chapter, Carr outlines the debate between the instrumentalists and the determinists… I’d never heard these words before, but I’m now a determinist!
“For centuries, historians and philosophers have traced, and debated, technology’s role in shaping civilization. Some have made the case for what the sociologist Thorstein Veblen dubbed “technological determinism”; they argued that technological progress, which they see as an autonomous force outside man’s control, has been the primary factor influencing the course of human history. Karl Mark gave voice to this view when he wrote, “The windmill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist.”… At the other end of the spectrum are the instrumentalists… believing tools to be neutral artifacts, entirely subservient to the conscious wishes of their users. Our instruments are the means we use to achieve our ends; they have no ends of their own. Instrumentalism is the most widely held view of technology, not least because it’s the view we prefer to be true.”
In another chapter, Carr describes how writing and printing gave us the ability to read and write alone… which changed how we relate to the world within us and around us… I found this whole chapter magical and mind-blowing:
“As soon as the introduction of word spaces made writing easier, authors took up pens and began putting their words onto the page themselves, in private. Their works immediately became more personal and more adventurous. They began to give voice to unconventional, skeptical, and even heretical and seditious ideas, pushing the bounds of knowledge and culture. Working alone in his chambers, the Benedictine monk Guibert of Nogent had the confidence to compose unorthodox interpretations of scripture, vivid accounts of his dreams, even erotic poetry – things he would never written had he been required to dictate them to a scribe.”
I had not considered how activities like reading alter our minds. Before reading The Shallows, I had thought that we read books for entertainment or to acquire the knowledge and information they contain. I had not realized, but it feels so true, how beautiful the act of reading itself is. There were so many fascinating points about technology, invention and sociology, but this chapter was my favorite.
How to Break Up With Your Phone is a breezy, delightful little self-help book that treats your phone like a toxic friend who brings you joy and help but needs some serious boundaries. The first half explains the WHY we’re so addicted to our phones (The Shallows is quoted and is clearly influential); the second half is HOW we can change our behavior. Break Up with Your Phone acknowledges that it’s offering individual fixes to systemic problems; it is always realistic and pragmatic and still light-hearted and cheerful. Sidenote: After reading this book I did some of the 30 day detox, bought a nice alarm clock, stopped charging my phone in my bedroom and now, a few weeks later, I’ve read thirteen books in 2023 and reviewed four 😊 It’s made my participation in Cannonball Reads possible, so I’m already super-indebted!