As a "child of the digital age," yet someone who love to read, this book was definitely something of a wake up call. Carr talks extensively about the effects of shallow observations we make on content online versus the concentrated deep reading that takes place in those you love to read on the page. If anyone would have told me about Carr's thesis, that the Internet and all that it entails adversely impact focus, concentration, and deep thinking, six months ago, I would have called them progress-fearing Luddites. I loved the internet, and failed to see how it would make me a worse thinker or reader. A few months ago, however, I "ran out of time" to read. I was too busy doing schoolwork, and any time that I didn't spend around school or friends was devoted to the world online. Over winter break, when I finally had time to read, I picked up my first pleasure reading book in 4 months. Unfortunately, I couldn't read it. Not for more than a couple pages at a time, anyway, because I found it extremely difficult to focus. I had to force myself to concentrate on reading both that book and the two that followed it before reading - not skimming, but READING to pick up themes and interpret the action's of characters - came back to me. It was chilling how quickly I had managed to lose a skill that I had previously cultivated for my entire life, even more so because I felt that it had been the Internet and it's instantaneous presentation of pieces of data that was responsible. Reading Carr's book confirmed my feelings. Carr is not an alarmist, nor is he someone who refuses to advocate change and progress. He, like most of us, loves the Internet and uses it often. What his book does is not suggest that we ignore all the benefits that the Internet gives us and go back to the "good old days," but that we take time to realize that the WWW, like all form of technology, have adverse effects. The biggest problem is that the WWW impacts our brains and how we think, process, store, and dispense information, turning our thoughts into fragmented bits of information, reducing our ability to make connections, and confusing and overloading our brains. We become shallow, non-linear, and frenetic thinkers. His thesis is supported with loads of science and research, but the book is also filled with anecdotes and bits of history that make it highly entertaining. An excellent read, this is not a book that pretends to save the world by proposing various solutions. It is merely a book that addresses that key problem that we should all be concerned and asks us to make our own choices and decisions about what we allow technology to replace and where we should draw the line. I highly recommend that everyone read it.