We have welcomed digital technology into every corner of our lives, celebrating its ability to connect us and provide instant access to information. In our embrace of this constant stream of data, however, we have overlooked what we are losing: our capacity for deep, sustained and focused thought.
Our brains are being systematically rewired by the relentless drumbeat of notifications, hyperlinks, and endlessly scrolling feeds. We are becoming masters of skimming and multitasking. Still, we are sacrificing the ability to engage in the very kind of contemplative thinking that leads to true understanding, innovation, and wisdom. This is not a small loss; it is a fundamental threat to our intellectual culture.
The neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf refers to this as the “pancake people” phenomenon—we are spreading our attention ever wider and thinner, like a pancake, without any real depth.
The act of reading a dense book, following a complex argument, or simply sitting in quiet reflection has become an act of rebellion against the default state of our digital environment.
The algorithms that power our favorite platforms are designed to keep us engaged by constantly feeding us novel, bite-sized pieces of information, creating a neurological addiction to stimulation. This process actively discourages the kind of mental state required for deep work. It fragments our attention spans and erodes our patience for complexity.
The consequences are profound, affecting everything from our educational systems to our political discourse. We are losing our shared ability to grapple with nuance and ambiguity. We must consciously fight back against this tide, carving out sacred, tech-free spaces and times in our lives to allow our minds to wander, to connect ideas slowly, and to simply be present. The future of our collective intelligence depends on it.
