The following is a 2 part series on the effects of the internet on my brain and the steps I’m implementing to try and preserve an un-fractured mind. Also, in honor of The Shallows, I will be posting any links in this article at the end, so as not to fracture your attention any further while reading.
Two days ago, I was sitting in my local coffee-shop, sipping my espresso and chatting with a fellow third place dweller. He’s a marine biologist, very soft-spoken and intelligent man. And, he gives me hope that intelligent life does exist in this coastal community (along with my other coffeeshop dwellers and baristas). Come to think of it, 95% of the friends I have down here came from my coffee-shop addiction, but I digress.
We were talking about our Macs, and controlling the influx of emails and inundation of information produced by the internet. He’s a professor at a local university and his inbox is out of control. I told him of my recent foray into social media, and while I was excited about building a community and driving readers to my stories, I was concerned about this overwhelming volume of information that accompanies the social media journey and my lack of focus.
Information Overload!
When I sit down at my computer now, I’m immediately sucked into the icons in my dock- the little blue bird, the blue F and the endless conversations that are happening on these platforms. Most of the conversations seem interesting, and they are being conducted around topics that I’m passionate about, but I’m overwhelmed by what to do!
So, instead of writing and producing content (which I’m used to doing o the computer- between multimedia production and blog writing) I’ve been fluttering between my social media accounts like an insane teenager screaming, “look at me, talk to me, what are you talking about, should I be in on this conversation?? Has anyone emailed me, have they tweeted my name, have they commented on my blog, have the RT my latest article, has anyone commented on my recent status update?”
Damn it, I’m exhausted! And I haven’t really DONE anything.
At this point you’re thinking, “shit, woman- get a life” and I’m thinking the same thing actually. Maybe this is the combination of living in a community with limited social opportunities for someone like me (someone who doesn’t watch Nascar or drink mad quantities of Budweiser for lunch) and the need for approval and a lack of structured work time (i.e. I’m a freelancer so I am the time keeper and in charge of my own discipline).
But, since diving into social media, I’ve seen real results with my blog and I’m starting to gain an audience and I truly am blessed and excited that people want to read what I am publishing. And, if I want to start a movement, well, this is how it gets momentum.
Back to the coffeeshop conversation. My friend recommended a book called “The Shallows- What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Nicholas Carr. So, I drove up to Barnes and Noble, bought a copy and have been sucked in ever since. Or I’ve tried to be- given that my brain is all fractured from over-internet usage.
The book takes a look at the methods and research behind the development of our brains and the effects that media, and more specifically- the internet, are having upon the way our brains function. Both mentally and physically. I’m only at the beginning of this book, so I’m still in the historical grounding of the research and the means of communication and its evolution over time. But, I’m already reassessing my internet habits and becoming acutely aware of how my brain is functioning now.
The author notes that since the internet is filled with small bits of information, and that information is fractured with links, ads and multiple forms of media (videos, pictures and audio), our brains are losing the ability to focus for longer periods of time. We are losing the ability to read books and long articles. It truly is a fascinating read!
The beauty of this book, is that the author is an avid computer user and author of a blog as well as a traditional journalist and writer. He’s analyzing himself and his own brain’s degradation through prolonged internet use. Which makes the book even more fascinating because its not preaching to the reader- it’s an act of self-analysis as much as a gathering of research and historical fact.
“Our ways of thinking, perceiving and acting, we now know, are not entirely determined by our genes. Nor are they entirely determined by our childhood experiences. We change them through the way we live–and, as Nietzsche sensed, through the tools we use.”
“Experiments show that just as the brain can build new or stronger circuits through physical or mental practice, those circuits can weaken or dissolve with neglect.”
For a person who grew up immersed in books and values the sheer amount, and cost, of the knowledge I have put into my brain, the fact that I am damaging all those years of intellectual growth by using the internet is scary. But, I can see it in the way my brain functions in front of the computer now and even when I’m offline. I can see it in the way I habitually check my inboxes, my TweetDeck and my cell phone. I even cut off my Blackberry last month in an effort to lose the chains that attach me to the internet- yet I replaced the Blackberry obsession with a social media one.
So, what the hell should I do? I make a living off of the computer. Granted, most of my income comes from production and I’d like to keep it that way, but social media and internet use is a strong component in my work.
Major conundrum!
These are the steps I’ve taken to try and moderate my internet use.
1. Rescue Time. I installed rescue time in an effort to actually track my internet/computer usage. Rescue Time logs the time spent on all computer programs and tasks and you can set your preferences to notify you when you’ve reached a time limit for activities that you deem distracting, such as social media, news and entertainment. This will be my first week tracking the time, so we’ll see.
2. Leech Block. This is a Mozilla Extension you can install on your browser and it will block the websites you tell it to block. So, I’ve blocked my time-suckers- Twitter, Facebook, Craigslist (I search endlessly for Airstreams some days) and a few news sites- from 10 am- 11pm. If I’m still up at midnight, I can go there. Leech also lets me set a limit of times visiting this site in a day and for a certain number of minutes for each visit. I’m going to try a combination of these two settings and see which one works best.
3. Ping. I’ve installed Ping in an effort to update multiple social media accounts with one shot. I enjoy sharing articles and links with my friends and followers and want to still be able to do this without actually visiting the social media site and getting sucked in. I do value many attributes of social media, but until I control my own habits, I don’t think I can use it effectively.
4. A journal. I love a big, blank sketchbook and a pencil. But, I’ve noticed the past few months that I use my journals only to sketch out website ideas or jot down quick notes. I no longer write my long, rambling entries where I debate a point in my brain or an idea on a blank sheet of paper. Hell, my handwriting is so bad now, I can barely read what i write. And I know that part of my problem is that i can type so much faster than i can write. My hand can not keep up with the speed of my thoughts, and that’s a little troubling. I’ve always been an avid journal writer. I’m hoping to rectify this with a big shiny journal.
5. Working with more analog. Yep, I’m embracing my analog self. My multimedia production work is increasing and I’m taking on more clients, and that’s 100% digital- digital on steroids!! I believe my documentary work is going to be 100% film. Good, old-fashioned negatives and film cameras. Last night, in an attempt at a little digital detox, I finally sleeved all my film shot this winter, while listening to Prairie Home Companion- nice. It felt so good to work with those negatives. And, last night, I dreamt about art, art galleries, darkrooms and woke up with art on my mind. I believe it provides the perfect balance between the exceedingly technical world I work in and the real world which I venture out to experience.
I also removed TweetDeck from my Dock, cleared off my desktop and reorganized all the information in my computer. I’m debating on incorporating an iPad, so my computer is strictly a multimedia production tool and the iPad becomes a writing/information consuming tool, but I’m still not sold on that as a solution. If I don’t control my habits now, the iPad only amplifies my problem.
And, while I’ll be finishing The Shallows, I believe I may pick up War and Peace or Jane Eyre again. Both of which I started and never finished. While I still read alot, I often read non-fiction, business oriented books. Or some serious social theory books which are intense but difficult to truly read for extended periods of time without wanting to go live in a cave somewhere and return to the stone age. Maybe a little classical literature will help work out the brain and counter-balance the internet usage and its reconfiguration of my brain.
So, that’s my conundrum and my attempt to find balance. I’ll be publishing the second part of this article shortly, where I look at the tools I use to wrangle all the data I have to work with now.
Feel free to post your challenges for data management or any signs that your brain is fracturing from social media and if it concerns you in the comment section below.
Links:
The Shallows
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Rescue Time
Leech Block
Ping
Let’s Connect!