The Shallows Audiobook By Nicholas Carr cover art

The Shallows

What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Shallows

By: Nicholas Carr
Narrated by: Richard Powers
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The best-selling author of The Big Switch returns with an explosive look at technology’s effect on the mind.

“Is Google making us stupid?” When Nicholas Carr posed that question in an Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the internet’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply?

Now, Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration yet published of the internet’s intellectual and cultural consequences. Weaving insights from philosophy, neuroscience, and history into a rich narrative, The Shallows explains how the internet is rerouting our neural pathways, replacing the subtle mind of the book reader with the distracted mind of the screen watcher. A gripping story of human transformation played out against a backdrop of technological upheaval, The Shallows will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.

©2010 Nicholas Carr (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
History & Culture Philosophy Psychology Internet Thought-Provoking Social Media Addiction
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“Neuroscience and technology buffs, librarians, and Internet users will find this truly compelling.” ( Library Journal)

“Cogent, urgent, and well worth reading.” (Kirkus Reviews)

What listeners say about The Shallows

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    674
  • 4 Stars
    400
  • 3 Stars
    265
  • 2 Stars
    64
  • 1 Stars
    29
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    590
  • 4 Stars
    340
  • 3 Stars
    149
  • 2 Stars
    36
  • 1 Stars
    16
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    537
  • 4 Stars
    326
  • 3 Stars
    185
  • 2 Stars
    48
  • 1 Stars
    25

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting, but has a misleading subtitle

First, let me clarify my headline. Carr's data is not out of date, it's the topic that is (or perhaps subjects that are). If you're seeking to discover "what the internet is doing to our brains," you will not be disappointed. We must, however, know that he is writing about what the internet is doing to OUR brains, not the brains of the youth (or even some older "digital natives"). Research is showing that the youth are "wired differently," and while interesting, this book does not apply to the young generations.

I appreciated that Carr does not make judgments about the positive or negatives associated with these "changes" - I probably would have liked this book far less, had he done so (following the flaw in the description). I perceive that most listening to this book are seeking validation of their own feelings about the internet's effect on humanity. You will be presented with a large amount of information, and left to make your own decisions.

I actually found this book interesting, but I have rated it so low for the performance. I drive while I listen, and this performance was the slowest, most drawn out and boring performance I have EVER listened to - so much so that I nearly quit the book. Instead, I listened at 1.5x speed, just to make it tolerable (but even then, it was questionable).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting content, reader mispronounces terms and names.

The content of the book is interesting. The performance is fine, except for the chapter on neuroscience in which the reader mispronounces terms and names.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book

Good story, thats what I needed to listen to. I will probably need to read it again to Understand it fully

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great. Extremely challenging

This was exceptional. My wife keeps asking, “What are you going to change?” Unfortunately lifestyle change is one of the hardest. But this book gives some positive examples on how to do it. Great book. Will Listen again for sure.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

1%

1% of this book is very interesting, provocative and eye opening. The author briefly addresses the wide spread distraction of society caused by technology and how our brains arent capable of keeping up with the flow of information we take in on a regular basis. As a result, our memory suffers, we dont retain new information, our brains have begun to crave multitasking and our attention spans have gotten much shorter. I was hoping this book would be a deeper dive into this topic, like the subtitle states. However, the other 99% of the book is an assortment of mildly related digressions and history lessons that are largely unnecessary and in some cases, completely without a point. This is ironic considering the topic of the book. I gave it 3 stars because the 1% portion was very good. If you can find a summary online somewhere (again, ironically), that will be a much better use of your time. Also, it is written over ten years ago, so the technology references are very dated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Definitely Not Shallow

This book really opened my eyes to how the online world has affected so much of the way I think, act and live. While interesting, there is a lot of human history covered into this book that at times is cumbersome to listen to. He goes into a good deal of scientific things also when talking about the brain processes that I didn't really hold on to, but the message is clear.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Wish it were abridged

The chapters 10 and 11 answered the actual question, I thought. 13 is also worth a listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great research, but too much extraneous info

Overall I learned a lot from this book, however my only issue is that I feel Carr went on too many irrelevant tangents that I did not care for. Some examples of this were the chapters on Larry Page, history of writing, etc.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Somewhat underwhelming references and studies

I agree with the overall sentiment, although mostly from a gut feeling, of this book. It’s hard to take criticism of digital/online media when a number of the referenced studies were published online via blogs. The irony is not lost on me in regards to listening to this book on an app and reviewing for future listeners instead of suggesting the paperback.

SPOILER ALERT

I was completely gutted when the author, after hours of listening to how devastating the technology is to our intake and processing of information, admitted to continuing a fully digital life after preaching the benefits of luddite “old school” learning.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Internet is shrinking the brains of people

Where de advice: electronics are a meant for work or necessity. They are not for pleasure in addition to work and necessity.

TV shrunk many people‘s brains. As if the Internet is not doing worse.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!