In his 2010 book “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains,” Nicholas Carr argued that using the internet fundamentally rewires the human brain. The internet encourages users to consume a vast spread of information, but in a rapid-fire, surface-level manner. So much information is available on the internet, but because of the nature of the medium itself, which is designed to be fast-paced and transient, we tend to skim information and jump from topic to topic, forsaking the slow, in-depth digestion necessary for genuine wisdom. Carr argued that our brains aren’t designed to deal with the internet’s distractions, nor are they able to process a vast load of information.
Podcasts have erupted in popularity over a relatively short period of time, perhaps because they provide us with something we’re starved for: slow-paced, drawn-out, in-depth conversations.
