Last year, Nicholas Carr released his book “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains,” which details his research on how technology and the Internet have affected people’s ability to process information. This week at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Carr spoke with SmartBrief editor Mary Ellen Slayter about his work and how companies can cope with an Internet-focused workforce.
Carr’s inspiration for the book came after he began losing his ability to concentrate while reading or doing other tasks offline. He began looking at the science of how the mind adapts to technology and found that the Internet discourages a undivided train of thought.
For businesses, this means an always-connected employee might be struggling to focus on work. Smartphone technology was hailed as essential to helping business leaders stay in touch with employees, even on the go.
But constant communication might actually discourage creativity needed for products and innovation, Carr says. There are certain types of creativity that come only from undivided attention, and by losing the ability to focus, you might be sacrificing one of the most important sources of long-term innovation.
So what can companies do to foster innovation? Carr suggests:
- Assigning specific time for the Internet and for attentive thinking. To regain a much-needed balance, Carr suggests dedicating time specifically for the Internet and time specifically for focused attention on one task.
- Disconnecting your employees. Companies need to challenge the assumption that employees should always be available. Some people do their best work when they’re disconnected, and companies should create a work culture that encourages it.
For more of Carr’s insight on how the Internet affects the brain, view this video:
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Good post that helps debunk a the myth of multi-tasking. http://bit.ly/cc6Ykl For those who continue to doubt, I suggest reading Tony Schwartz's book, "The Way We're Working, Isn't Working" http://amzn.to/kKlASY
"Is the Internet making your company stupider"? With the use of such a tag line, it would seem that without a doubt, with unfailing accuracy, the answer is a resounding yes. How about less intelligent? Less Keen, Decreased Acumen. Stupider… Really? How many historical texts written by learned men and women have used such a word? When Abraham Lincoln was president the average person spoke with a 12th grade vocabulary, now our fine nation has sunk to around 3rd or 4th grade. It is a tragedy that we have allowed such to come to pass, we used to lead the world in erudition, but now we have sunk into the abyss. I fear that within a generation the average person will be lucky to string ten words together coherently.
Ron, I assumed the tagline was meant to be ironic and to get people's attention. I doubt anyone reading this Blog would actually use the word "stupider." I could be wrong.
Please provide some sort of support for the claim that "the average person spoke with a 12th grade vocabulary." In 1870, the literacy rate was 80%. (see http://nces.ed.gov/naal/lit_history.asp).
[...] a nuestro cerebro. La teoría, expuesta por grandes pensadores como Andrew McAfee, Nicholas Carr o Doris Nhan, parte de la base de que el exceso de conocimiento dificulta el procesamiento de la información. [...]