What have we lost in a world of constant connection?
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.”
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