As a TBI survivor, I live the “use it or lose it” reality every day. But 39% memory decline from 10 minutes of TikTok? That number hits different when you’ve had to rebuild your brain. Never touched the app. Don’t plan to.
I’ll choose a good book in my hand any day over a scroll. Beautifully written, thank you for this.
As I sit I have a stack of books beside me and a coffee table filled with books to read. If my library card gave travel points I'd be around the world a few times. I love the feel of the book, the turning of the pages, and seeing how far yet to go and how far I've read. Deep reading, deep thinking, deep work- all down for it.
Brad, THANK YOU for this reminder. In this chaotic world we are living in, your post is a great reminder how reading can pull us away from the madness. I currently have five books on my nightstand just begging to be read. I’ll restart my practice tonight. Thank you!
Well said! All of this. I'm not sure I agree with #4--keeping a notebook for passing thoughts. Just my opinion, but with me, if I write down a passing thought, then it's not passing anymore. It's active, and yet another excuse to get into something other than the book.
I'm a big fan of reading the physical thing! even posts like this, I'd rather print out ALWAYS and sit down and read on my bed or on the couch. I find too many distractions on the many tabs I have open on my browser, this is me of course. It is a muscle to train, so you need to prepare accordingly and keep doing it at least for the 20 minutes...every day!!! needs to happen every day! and after a while, if you don't do it...you miss it!! again, like a work out!! also, I try to read from many different topics...I think that's also important and here in Substack, well, so many brilliant minds, many topics to choose from!
I launched my first publication 8 days ago, on Monday — five substantive articles, first time writing for a genuine public audience rather than a consulting client or a lecture hall full of management students. By Wednesday I was checking GA4, Substack, and LinkedIn stats every ninety seconds. Not exaggerating. The dopamine hit on a new impression, the spike of anxiety when nothing moved, the compulsion to refresh again immediately — all three running in parallel, constantly.
What you call "internet brain" has a precise mechanism underneath it: variable-ratio reinforcement. The same schedule that makes slot machines impossible to walk away from. The interval between checks wasn't long enough to allow any new signal to accumulate, which meant every refresh was almost always a null result — which, paradoxically, made the next refresh more urgent, not less. The loop is self-amplifying by design.
I forced myself to stop on Friday. The compulsion lingered through Saturday. A full day Sunday without screens or communication — nothing — and I felt normal again by Monday.
One week. That's all it took to re-enter a state I hadn't been in for years.
What you identify as the deeper cost is exactly right, and it's the reason I won't repeat it: the ability to hold a complex thought for an extended period isn't a soft skill or a personality trait. It's a capacity built over years of deliberate practice and protection. It erodes fast and rebuilds slowly. An asymmetry that badly — fast to destroy, slow to restore — changes the calculus entirely. The extra hour a day of stat-checking simply isn't worth what it costs.
Your point about reading as the antidote resonates. I'd add: it's not just what reading gives you. It's what it refuses to do to you.
Love your term 'Internet Brain'; it's pervasive, and reading is the perfect vessel to fight it and counter it. Though I think that if we could leverage the same intentionality it takes to read and apply it to the rest of our lives, they would benefit greatly.
If we could be intentional about the internet as we were when it first started, we would be so much better off as a society. But alas, we get sound bites. At least it was made fun of during the Oscars, which I thought was hilarious.
Extremely important nowadays. I had a similar goal (of engagement and outreach for 1 hour in the mornings) and it was doing numbers on my attention span and overall enjoyment of my mornings. I'm back to meditating, writing, and reading in the AM. My socials are not growing as much, but that's a price I'm willing to pay.
Brad, Great post. I am a voracious reader and can feel the change in my demeanor when I have fallen out of my regular reading habits. I found your suggestion to read a physical book and the accompanying research confirmation to what I feel like I knew but didn’t have a way to articulate. Thank you.
As an independent business owner, I keep reminding myself that I am growing my business at a human pace. The essence of my work is to encourage people to take the time to get curious with themselves, get to know themselves. Reading physical books is a complimentary activity.
Stay well and thank you again for your thoughtful posts.
The way you explain "internet brain" is so spot on. Great post.
Thank you for this. It’s wonderful advice that comes at a good time for me.
As a TBI survivor, I live the “use it or lose it” reality every day. But 39% memory decline from 10 minutes of TikTok? That number hits different when you’ve had to rebuild your brain. Never touched the app. Don’t plan to.
I’ll choose a good book in my hand any day over a scroll. Beautifully written, thank you for this.
As I sit I have a stack of books beside me and a coffee table filled with books to read. If my library card gave travel points I'd be around the world a few times. I love the feel of the book, the turning of the pages, and seeing how far yet to go and how far I've read. Deep reading, deep thinking, deep work- all down for it.
My Dad and I talk about this often - we love the feel of a book. 🙏🏻
Brad, THANK YOU for this reminder. In this chaotic world we are living in, your post is a great reminder how reading can pull us away from the madness. I currently have five books on my nightstand just begging to be read. I’ll restart my practice tonight. Thank you!
Well said! All of this. I'm not sure I agree with #4--keeping a notebook for passing thoughts. Just my opinion, but with me, if I write down a passing thought, then it's not passing anymore. It's active, and yet another excuse to get into something other than the book.
I'm a big fan of reading the physical thing! even posts like this, I'd rather print out ALWAYS and sit down and read on my bed or on the couch. I find too many distractions on the many tabs I have open on my browser, this is me of course. It is a muscle to train, so you need to prepare accordingly and keep doing it at least for the 20 minutes...every day!!! needs to happen every day! and after a while, if you don't do it...you miss it!! again, like a work out!! also, I try to read from many different topics...I think that's also important and here in Substack, well, so many brilliant minds, many topics to choose from!
You lasted two months. I lasted one week.
I launched my first publication 8 days ago, on Monday — five substantive articles, first time writing for a genuine public audience rather than a consulting client or a lecture hall full of management students. By Wednesday I was checking GA4, Substack, and LinkedIn stats every ninety seconds. Not exaggerating. The dopamine hit on a new impression, the spike of anxiety when nothing moved, the compulsion to refresh again immediately — all three running in parallel, constantly.
What you call "internet brain" has a precise mechanism underneath it: variable-ratio reinforcement. The same schedule that makes slot machines impossible to walk away from. The interval between checks wasn't long enough to allow any new signal to accumulate, which meant every refresh was almost always a null result — which, paradoxically, made the next refresh more urgent, not less. The loop is self-amplifying by design.
I forced myself to stop on Friday. The compulsion lingered through Saturday. A full day Sunday without screens or communication — nothing — and I felt normal again by Monday.
One week. That's all it took to re-enter a state I hadn't been in for years.
What you identify as the deeper cost is exactly right, and it's the reason I won't repeat it: the ability to hold a complex thought for an extended period isn't a soft skill or a personality trait. It's a capacity built over years of deliberate practice and protection. It erodes fast and rebuilds slowly. An asymmetry that badly — fast to destroy, slow to restore — changes the calculus entirely. The extra hour a day of stat-checking simply isn't worth what it costs.
Your point about reading as the antidote resonates. I'd add: it's not just what reading gives you. It's what it refuses to do to you.
I liked the steps. I started back reading two weeks ago, and I love it. Look forward to my daily reading time. Trying to increase my focus.
Love your term 'Internet Brain'; it's pervasive, and reading is the perfect vessel to fight it and counter it. Though I think that if we could leverage the same intentionality it takes to read and apply it to the rest of our lives, they would benefit greatly.
If we could be intentional about the internet as we were when it first started, we would be so much better off as a society. But alas, we get sound bites. At least it was made fun of during the Oscars, which I thought was hilarious.
More books
Extremely important nowadays. I had a similar goal (of engagement and outreach for 1 hour in the mornings) and it was doing numbers on my attention span and overall enjoyment of my mornings. I'm back to meditating, writing, and reading in the AM. My socials are not growing as much, but that's a price I'm willing to pay.
Brad, Great post. I am a voracious reader and can feel the change in my demeanor when I have fallen out of my regular reading habits. I found your suggestion to read a physical book and the accompanying research confirmation to what I feel like I knew but didn’t have a way to articulate. Thank you.
As an independent business owner, I keep reminding myself that I am growing my business at a human pace. The essence of my work is to encourage people to take the time to get curious with themselves, get to know themselves. Reading physical books is a complimentary activity.
Stay well and thank you again for your thoughtful posts.