I really enjoyed Harris' extensive pondering on what it means to be the last generation who will ever know what life was like pre-Internet. I appreciated the fact that he wasn't being prescriptive. There were no hard-and-fast rules, no advice, no massive a-ha moments saying "THIS is the right way to live your life in a world that's as hyperconnected as ours."

The truth is, we do live in a world of constant connection. Our phones are always available methods of distraction. But those phones are also tools. They're brought incredibly positive elements to our lives, and yes, there can be downsides to their use as well. I particularly appreciated Harris' willingness to be non-judgemental about the people who choose to live their lives in constant connection.

I think the audience for this book is limited, as not everyone born in our generation cares about, or wishes to return to, a time pre-Internet and pre-connectivity. Harris brings up some interesting points and offers plenty of food for thought, but I admit at times my eyes started to glaze over. The book reads as a meditation on the world in which we live, with strong storytelling and solid research. ( )

I could only make it through about 50 pages of this book. I agree with the basic thesis--we don't have enough unstructured time in our lives--but we also don't have enough editors!!!! This author had the unfortunate habit of restating the same relatively straightforward thought about 3 times on each page. ( )

Interesting rumination but, despite what the goal of the author might be, the argument is a little soft. ( )

This book presents a lot of interesting ideas about our reliance and constant connection to the internet (social media, email, etc.). It's neither negative not positive, and the author concludes that it's not about good or bad, but about finding balance and using these tools wisely. ( )

The author takes a look at Internet culture, and asks what we have lost in return for constant connectivity. He researches his topic well, and is able to back up many of his claims with research. He writes very well, but I will admit that it is disconcerting at times to hear someone born in 1980 wonder what happened to the years of his young adulthood before the Internet. I have to say, he is about the age of my son, and he had no adulthood without the Internet. I expect he is thinking more about the constant barrage now, mainly with smart phones, of never leaving any part of your world behind because you are carrying it all with you, but it is still able to induce a skeptical snort from an old timer like myself who really does remember the world before the Internet...in fact, I can still remember rotary phones, I am that old. There are also some places where his youth leads him down some questionable alleys, such as assuming when his friends hand their toddler in a high chair a tablet to keep him quiet at a restaurant - what choice do they have? Uh, the same choices we had when you were young...pick the damn kid up and pay attention to him for five minutes. So, other than some moments of silliness, and the assumption that the world will continue going this way for ever (hello? have you heard of the environmental catastrophe we are headed for?), he does a good job with his subject, and does in the end advocate for at least some time of silence, of loneliness, of just being in the world, rather than detaching from it, or accessing it only virtually. He does not suggest he has the answers, but he is willing to ask the questions. ( )