Why The Internet Is Bad For Us

I've been thinking. If the net did not exist, the business side of my creative endeavours wouldn't either, or at least it would not to the extent, and with the simplicity, it does today. I've never seen editors or writers setting up shop on the high street and I think that the internet allows us to do just that. It gives us the unprecedented opportunity to put ourselves and our work out there, for all to see, enjoy and connect with, should they wish to do so. 

Equally, we are all creating little Bloomsbury groups with members from everywhere, all sharing a passion for the creative process. The short story competition closed last week (proper update to follow, yes) and I've received entries from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Canada, France, the USA and Slovenia. Not bad for a first run, you must admit, but where would I be without the net and the ability to be seen so much farther afield than my local library?

And yet, yes, I've been thinking. My attention span used to be excellent. When I say excellent, I mean up-there-with-the-gods-of-concentration excellent, I mean so deeply excellent that I would not hear the phone ringing, so excellent that I would stay in The Zone for five hours with only one break for tea. Now it doesn't work anymore and it's funny because concentration, like electricity, is only really perceived by us when we lack it. We cannot really pinpoint the moment we have fallen into The Zone, neither can we describe the end of the trance itself. Oh no, we only ever talk of concentration when we can't find it.

Over the past two weeks, my schedule has been in shambles. I tried and tried and tried to do my work but, oh my God, what a frigging struggle. Sure, the warm weather had something to do with it, but in truth I have found that my working online has reduced the quality, not just the quantity, of my concentration. I've noted that, as I hop from snippet of information to snippet of information, my brain does not seem inclined to cope with a bona fide book. In fact, the mere sight of anything thicker than one hundred pages is sending me off the anxiety scales. I don't even pick up that book, just in case I cannot focus for longer than a few scant paragraphs and if that happened... well, what then?

I know that this state of affairs has nothing to do with reading and writing for a living. I have already said that, no matter the financial challenges associated with a life of letters (but unsalaried by a university, I should specify), I've never really been happier. Oh no, the issue is medium-related: writers and bloggers are usually told that online writing should be short and snappy (as I already referred to right here) because people have no time to read, no attention spans to speak of, no literacy beyond the 140 Twitterian characters (I am exaggerating for stylistic purposes here, but not by much). 

I've already said screw it, we can handle more than that! But in truth, many sites do not offer us anything other than that, with the result that I've noted my brain isn't so much taking a step backwards (no, I was a champion at concentrating when I was seventeen), but one sideways. It has discovered a new way to assimilate information and is working hard to re-circuit itself so that, soon, online will be the only medium through which it will accept information. 

Perish the thought dear reader: this week I shall read only books, paper books, and the entries for the competition because, frankly my dear, I don't find screens that appealing after all. No, really, I do not. 

*

UPDATE, SAME DAY, 2 PM:

Early this morning I found myself on Twitter. I came across a link that validates in spades what I wrote about concentration and the net, find it right here. If this substantiation of my preoccupations were not enough all by itself, a few hours later, as I began reading Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill, I came across this:

'Too much internet usage fragments the brain and dissipates concentration so that after a while, one's ability to spend long, focused hours immersed in a single subject becomes blunted. Information comes pre-digested in small pieces, one grazes on endless ready-meals and snacks of the mind, and the result is mental malnutrition. The internet can also have a pernicious influence on reading because it is full of book-related gossip and chatter which it is fatally easy to waste time that should be spent actually paying close, careful attention to the books themselves, whether writing them or reading them'.

There, further proof that the net really can be bad for us... As I always looooove to say: proceed with caution.

Comments

[Sophie Playle]

Such true words!

[Celise]

The Internet may be bad, but I'm sure it won't be the "only medium through which the brain will accept information." I'm up to my eyeballs in homework right now and find that I'm feenin' for a book to read. I have 5 adult romance books in my TBR pile and I am seriously getting the shakes at not being able to read any of them right now.I also still like the idea of holding something in my hand. As I writer (and now a student) I spend so much time on a computer, it's nice to get away and know that I can open a book or a magazine.

[London Agent]

Absolutely spot on. I get evidence of the problem every morning on my desk. Not only is the internet bad for our concentration levels, but it creates false certainties. I've got authors who describe themselves as 'researchers' yet cannot understand the difference between doing research online (good luck) or in a library. Guess what? It really shows on the page.

People do not read online, they skim-read precisely for the reasons you point out: bloggers are told that they need to be snappy, that they need to break information down over five lines maximum, that they need to churn out fresh content every five minutes and all that jazz. There is not much quality out there and the result is a superficial understanding of what is read. You've got an example right here where Celise says:

The Internet may be bad, but I'm sure it won't be the "only medium through which the brain will accept information."

But you did NOT say that Steph. You said that you have noted *your* brain is taking a step sideways. When you replace 'brain' with 'it', you're still referring to yours. As Susan Hill, whom you've quoted above, says: the result is mental malnutrition.

[Louis Vuitton Outlet]

Happy new year to all my love!Hope everyone has a fantastic new year!