Capacity for Concentration

Studies show that a third of a high school graduates, and 42 percent of college graduates, never even read a book after they are done with school. Is the internet a cause for this? Is our generation becoming an era where people don't read books anymore? 

In the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", Carr addresses the issue of the influence of internet on our brains and activities. Carr revealed that "the Net seems to be ...chipping away [his] capacity for concentration and contemplation." He explains how his "concentration starts to drift after two or three pages. He "get[s] fidgety... [and] begin[s] looking for something else to do." Apparently, the more people use the Web, the more difficult it becomes to stay focused on long pieces of writing. It then becomes a question of whether or not reading on the web not only affects our reading, but our way of thinking. The way we read becomes a "form of skimming activity" because we are '"just seeking convenience." According to Carr, it isn't just "a different kind of reading," but it is also a "different kind of thinking."  

Does this mean that America is illiterate? In the article "America the Illiterate", Hedges identifies two different Americas that we currently live in. One, the minority, "a print-based, literate world," and the other, the majority, "a non-reality-based belief system." Hedges addresses similar issues as Carr does. He says that in our world, there is "a need for constant stimulus." All of the aspects of our society- the "news, political debate, theater, art and books are judged not on the power of their ideas but on their ability to entertain." We are no longer able to sit and stay still for longer periods of time if we are not interested. We have to be doing something interesting, watching something interesting, listening to something interesting, etc. "The change from a print-based to an image-based society has transformed our nation." 

It's crazy to me how much I related to both of these articles while reading them. In Carr's article, I kept thinking to myself, 'oh my goodness, I do that. This is scary accurate.' I identified with the statement on "skimming activity" because I do that so often when reading on the web. It actually made me very sad to realize and acknowledge that I agreed so much. I could even relate to Hedges stating that he doesn't read books much anymore. I enjoy reading, but aside from textbooks, it isn't very often that I sit down to read a book. Before high school, I did not have my own laptop. In high school, I did not read as often for leisure, and my reading speed may have possible decreased. Is this a correlation = causation situation or simply just a coincidence? I think both Hedges and Carr are pointing in the direction that more hours on the web causes different thinking. 

What did you all think? Can you relate?