This time in Britain, where Oxford University neuroscientist Susan Greenfield fears that the overstimulation caused by technologies such as television, video games, and the social-networking website Facebook can “rewire” the brain, “infantilising [it] into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.” Take it or leave it, but it might be some good food for thought for those out there who can’t decide what to give up during Lent.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
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If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
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