The Kindle Chronicles discussion

As many have already said, reading on the Paperwhite is much less distracting than reading the same Kindle book on the iPad or iPhone. But even then, usually just after finishing a chapter, I'm drawn to check email, grade papers (I'm a college instructor), or look through my Publishers Weekly digital version so I can find EVEN MORE Kindle books to order in advance and have them magically appear in the future while not-so-magically dinging my credit card.

In fact, as one critic of Rushkoff's book said, in another Goodreads discussion, the book is not one coherent argument from start to finish, but more anecdotal presentation (I haven't read it yet). He replied that linear narrative is maybe part of the old way of looking at things and that we've entered a new world where the long-form, linear presentation is left behind (I'm paraphrasing and exaggerating here).

If that's the case, then I've eschewed chronos (clock time) and embraced kairos (timing), flitting from one thing to the next as seems "timely."

But if I'm part of this new world, why don't I feel fulfilled? It's not about feeling guilty, but feeling that at a deep level something is broken inside so that I'm no longer capable of taking in that long-form argument. (I see it as well in my students who over the years have had an increasingly difficult time making sense of a short but book-length philosophical argument.)

Maybe it's old age. Though apparently Len and I are about the same age, I'm older (i.e., saggier) than he is, and complex arguments I embraced decades ago are more difficult now to hold on to. So there's that. But still there's that haunting sense of something having been given up. My digital life has become snippetized.

Taming my digital distractions? Maybe it's less about them than about ME. I've become a distraction to myself. Maybe thinking about THAT has come along at just the right time.

Dan

Len, just like eating, where I practice portion control, I practice portion control with my digital life. I choose not to use Twitter. I choose to have a Facebook account for the purpose of checking up on postings from my friends once in a awhile. I have no interest in posting a running commentary on my daily life. I do use my phone and email to keep in touch with friends and family. I find both of these provide a more thoughtful way of communicating.
I find that my Kindle Keyboard e-ink reader is my best and most pleasurable defense against all forms of “Present Shock”. I seem to recall that in an earlier podcast you mentioned that even something as basic as reading the news feed at the bottom of your television caused the voices of the news readers to fade into the background. How much more effective is immersion into the reading experience with the Kindle. My reading time allows me to decompress and tune out “Present Shock” in all its many forms.

Thanks for a great interview!