Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

What have we lost in a world of constant connection?

Jenny Ament Sep 19, 2014
HTML EMBED:
COPY

What have we lost in a world of constant connection?

Jenny Ament Sep 19, 2014
HTML EMBED:
COPY

There was a moment, a few years ago, that Michael Harris felt digitally overloaded.

So Harris quit his job and went offline.

Harris explores this experience in his new book “The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We’ve Lost in a World of Constant Connection”.

“Soon enough, nobody will remember life before the Internet. What does this unavoidable fact mean?

For future generations, it won’t mean anything very obvious. They will be so immersed in online life that questions about the Internet’s basic purpose or meaning will vanish.

But those of us who have lived both with and without the crowded connectivity of online life have a rare opportunity. We can still recognize the difference between ‘Before and After.’ We catch ourselves idly reaching for our phones at the bus stop. Or we notice how, mid-conversation, a fumbling friend dives into the perfect recall of Google.”

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.