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How Digital Technology Shapes Us
- Narrated by: Professor Indre Viskontas
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Lecture
- Categories: Computers & Technology, History & Culture
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Publisher's Summary
Most adults are concerned that children have much too much technology in their lives these days and are spending way too much time on screens. But as Professor Indre Viskontas points out in How Digital Technology Shapes Us, we are not the first to worry that new technology will harm our children and future generations. At least since the beginning of recorded history, we have been underestimating the capacity of the human brain to adapt to and take advantage of emerging technologies. In this course, Professor Viskontas shares some of the most exciting research into this relatively new topic, providing a scientific approach to judging the true pros and cons of our interaction with technology in the digital age.
Many of us believe we are adjusting well to this new digital technology with its constant demands on our time and attention by increasing our multitasking. But multitasking cannot save us because our brain is not capable of true multitasking. What we experience as multitasking is actually our brain flitting back and forth from this task to the next to the next to the next. That we can do, but in the process, we could be losing the ability - and opportunity - to perform deep work, the opportunity for deep reading, and the empathy that builds up when we think deeply about people who are different from us, to truly expand the tribe rather than reinforce tribalism.
The good news is that just recognizing the significance of deep work and deep reading, we can make it a priority and arrange some time to focus on just that without distractions. If we do, those pathways that lead to deeper cognition can become reinforced. We can also help our children focus on the positives of digital media, empowering them to connect with others to find purpose, motivation, and support. We can spend time with them to encourage them to find opportunities for deep reading and deep work in age-appropriate ways.
Digital technology definitely shapes us. But once we learn how it does so, we can make good decisions for our ourselves and our children.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about How Digital Technology Shapes Us
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- nonrachitect
- 2020-12-19
Beyond my expectation!!!
I’m usually (not always) impressed by the great courses audio programs. But this one, I didn’t expect much. All I wanted was to learn more about digital technology and how I might have some knowledge to talk to my colleagues about it. But as it turned out, the professor is so good at explaining difficult things in such a way that anybody can understand. I am forever indebted to this professor and this amazing audiobook. Thank you.
11 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 2020-11-15
The Hidden Costs of Our Digital Lives
Professor Viskontas does a fine job guiding us through the growing body of research assessing the social and psychological consequences of our online lives. As you might expect, there’s a wealth of conflicting data, so conclusions are hard to reach. Silicon Valley would like us to believe in the utopian promise of digital technology, but Professor Viskontas’ balanced critical analysis raises some serious questions. I appreciated this course because it made me aware of how the screens in my life are conditioning me (and, even moreso, my children) in ways I had never imagined. The second lecture on distractibility and the downside of multitasking was itself worth the cost of the entire audiobook. Ditto lecture 17 on how the internet reinforces in-group/out-group associations, contributing to the polarization we see in contemporary Western politics.
8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marcos Nolasco
- 2021-10-03
Up to date, highly informative and captivating
Professor Viskontas does an excellent job of critically summarizing a large amount of data from high-level research. Her diction is excellent, and she masters rhetoric very well, characterizing an excellent teacher. The course is worth every minute, providing highly relevant knowledge on a subject of capital importance.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Siri
- 2022-05-06
The content is okay
I don’t want to recommend this course to anyone, the lecturer is so ableist that it hurt to listen to her inexperience about anyone that is not a Nero typical with USA citizen.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Spitfire
- 2022-03-01
Perhaps a book for expectant parents
Another academic writes a book without any meaningful content. Time to get out of the classroom and find the real world.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Patrick Mullane
- 2022-02-26
A slanted snapshot of IT/Society
Positive: Provides a precis of what are the key Computer / Societal issues which the general reader should be aware of.
Negative: A bias progressive academic viewpoint that for instance seems unaware of the irony of decrying bias in AI/Machine intelligence yet the author spends much of the course decrying opposing worldviews as unworthy to be on social media.
In summary: worth a listen if free but not worth a credit.
