>Another example of what I mean is all the articles that pop up on HN about how the modern internet is destroying attention spans. How do we address that best? I'm not sure.

Assuming that "modern internet is destroying attention spans" is actually true. http://www.xkcd.com/1227/

> Another example of what I mean is all the articles that pop up on HN about how the modern internet is destroying attention spans. How do we address that best?

I realised this was a serious problem about 3 years ago, after reading The Shallows. (I knew I'd had the problem before, but didn't realise how serious it was). I feel I've pretty much solved it now and I'll happily spend my free time slowly reading 1000-page ancient tomes.

The only thing to do, really, is to try and maintain awareness of why you're reading any particular thing and what you hope to get out of it. E.g. - say you have many tabs open on a topic. You remind yourself that you initially had one simple question to answer, and decide - do you still just want to get a quick answer, or do you now want to research this topic in depth?

If you just want a quick answer, close all but the 1 or 2 most reliable looking sources.

Otherwise, make a note to schedule time to research the topic properly. For me this means creating a note in Evernote, jotting down what I think about the topic beforehand and my key questions, finding the best sources for answers to those questions, and possibly saving documents to read offline if they look like they merit careful study. This is actually more enjoyable, which is important - you need to train your subconscious to associate slow reading with pleasure, and skimming with anxiety and frustration.

For certain hot-button topics (like politics), I often do my own research, decide what I think, and then note how most discussion (even intelligent-sounding discussion) seems ignorant and shallow. I can also now see the huge value in well-edited writing - with the best writing, you can tell the author has chosen each word carefully, and simply by asking why they used a particular word over a near-synonym can reveal insights.

I could say more, but that's the basic idea. You really need to take responsibility for your own reading habits.

> Unfortunately, I don't know what "wise use" of social media looks like.

No one did. Well, possibly we had a very strong clue when looking at the impact of Television on society, on family, and on the individual. Wisdom, I suggest, would have counseled restraint given the preponderance of evidence that immersive technology had already proven disruptive.

> Another example of what I mean is all the articles that pop up on HN about how the modern internet is destroying attention spans. How do we address that best?

I've found having a narrow timeslot for being on the net works wonders. My schedule is somewhat extreme, usually limited to morning/afternoon email checks and a grab bag of open tabs to filter when disconnected. And of course, my mobile phone is just for that: phone calls. The benfits? In the past 4 years that I've adopted this, I've rediscovered the immense pleasure of being curled up with a book somewhere, etc.

Technology has always been a double edge sword for humanity, starting with Fire ...

I don't think it's passé, just that we view the wisdom of previous ages in a generous light because we see them at their wisest.

That's how it works, though; it gets refined by time. The wisdom is not from "wise people", it's the stuff that survives, regardless of source.

I think the concept has gone passé [1] because ~60 years ago we flipped to a youth-focused culture, and youth generally have little respect for wisdom.

However, I'm not slagging on anybody for not knowing how to wisely use technology, because it does take time, and we haven't had much time! The best we could possibly be doing today is just considering the question, which is still better than not considering the question. I think there are a lot of people who would find the idea that there could be features of a social network that are "unwise" to use still a foreign concept. (Though I feel like certain aspects are starting to get into popular culture. The idea that Facebook can literally be depressing is starting to get out there, for instance.) And I wouldn't expect even tentative answers for another few years, minimum. It's a hard problem.

[1]: Hey, if you're going to make it easy to copy & paste I will :)

I'd say the "flip" to a more (relatively) youth-focused culture ~60 years ago was responsible for many of the positive cultural changes of the 20th century. If we accept that youth generally have little respect for wisdom, I would add that the older generations generally confuse experience, age, and tradition with wisdom, when they are profoundly different.