the internet has made me jumpy

i completely identified with nicholas carr's atlantic monthly article. over the last 24 months i've deepened my involvement in social media by creating a google reader that subscribes to 130 unique blogs, launching a twitter account, and two separate blogs of my own. along with these new methods of absorbing and sharing information has come a noticeable impatience and restlessness.

i've noticed my attention span has shrunk considerably and that in order to get through my google reader on a daily basis, i skim posts with great speed often ignoring those without pictures and even going straight to the pictures and grabbing just a few words, enough to grasp the context. i find myself needing to jump from screen to screen, tab to tab, during my work day and have observed a difficulty in sticking to research-based reading (a professional necessity) for any length of time.

i'm not sure whether to find solace or growing concern in carr's arguments. i do know for the time being that i continue to be an avid reader-for-pleasure (currently working my way through kathryn stockett's "the help") and reader-of-textbooks for at least the next year and a half (thanks, kogod!). hopefully that will keep me from any further derailment or loss of brain cells...