The article in the url below makes the argument that "thinking is becoming a luxury good" and that, specifically, social media and cellphones (the absence of thinking) are driving inequality:
"The idea that technology is altering our capacity not just to concentrate but also to read and to reason is catching on. The conversation no one is ready for, though, is how this may be creating yet another form of inequality."
The cause, the article argues, is related to the connection between reading and thinking:
"Long-form literacy is not innate but learned, sometimes laboriously. … It rewires our brains, increasing vocabulary, shifting brain activity toward the analytic left hemisphere and honing our capacity for concentration, linear reasoning and deep thought."
In contrast, social media and cellphones rewire our brains and thought patterns to discourage thinking:
"The habits of thought formed by digital reading are very different. … Social media platforms are designed to be addictive, and the sheer volume of material incentivizes intense cognitive 'bites' of discourse calibrated for maximum compulsiveness over nuance or thoughtful reasoning. The resulting patterns of content consumption form us neurologically for skimming, pattern recognition and distracted hopping from text to text."
Thus, the more time people spend with cellphones and social media, the more likely they are to affect their behavior:
"… literacy and poverty have long been correlated. Now poor kids spend more time on screens each day than rich ones — in one 2019 study, about two hours more per day for U.S. tweens and teenagers whose families made less than $35,000 per year, compared with peers whose household incomes exceeded $100,000. Research indicates that kids who are exposed to more than two hours a day of recreational screen time have worse working memory, processing speed, attention levels, language skills and executive function than kids who are not."
And the long-term implications could be serious for us all:
"What will happen if this becomes fully realized? An electorate that has lost the capacity for long-form thought will be more tribal, less rational, largely uninterested in facts or even matters of historical record, moved more by vibes than cogent argument and open to fantastical ideas and bizarre conspiracy theories. If that sounds familiar, it may be a sign of how far down this path the West has already traveled."
Take care
David
David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023
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Thinking Is Becoming a Luxury Good
By Mary Harrington
August 5, 2025
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
SR10
