Superbloom was an excellent read. The writing was propulsive and very detailed. I would read more from this author.

This covered a lot of history but did it in an accessible way especially for readers who have lived through most of it and left the read with lots to consider and think about.

Comedic YouTube commentator Drew Gooden recently posted a video in which he discussed the myriad ways that “technology isn’t fun anymore,” and he has some very valid points. The days when even the most minor of advancements and announcements felt like something to get genuinely excited about have definitely passed us by, as evidenced by the lack of rabid fans lined up outside of the nearest Apple store the last time a new iPhone went on sale. Recent “next big things” like the blockchain, cryptocurrency, and the metaverse disappeared from the mainstream public consciousness almost as quickly as they arrived. Now AI, with its lightning-paced advancements having seemingly plateaued is poised to face a similar fall. It won’t go away, much like the others haven’t, but the public will begin to question exactly what it’s even good for? As it gets scrutinized even closer, without the hype-driven, rose-colored glasses, the potential harms become clearer and we start to wonder if this is something most of us even want.

In Superbloom, author Nicholas Carr makes the case that perhaps we should have aimed that same critical eye at social media and even the internet as a whole quite some time ago, as now they are so fully ingrained into modern life that it’s too late to effect meaningful change, despite the harms they’ve inflicted on us as a species. To be fair, he doesn’t believe that Facebook or the web are inherently bad or even solely to blame for the ills of the twenty-first century. Rather that after decades of the world seeming to be improved by advancements in mass communication, we perhaps took a naively optimistic stance at where tools like these would lead us, thereby allowing them to avoid any real scrutiny until the cat was fully out of the bag.

The first part of the book walks us through that history, from the telegraph up until today, and while there are some interesting tidbits here, this section will be at least a little tedious to anyone who already has a passing familiarity with the knowledge presented. It’s useful in elucidating his overall point, but it can still sometimes feel like extraneous padding. Once Carr gets to the modern era and begins exploring the ways that our own brains are not developed to properly handle this level of connection and how social media companies willfully take advantage of it, things get far more interesting.

According to Carr, it’s our own chemistry that is truly to blame for the way apps like Facebook and X have turned out and he has the receipts to back up the claim. That people can behave tribally isn’t anything new, but he has compiled results from several other, lesser-known studies as well. One posits that while people are statistically more likely to develop friendships with their neighbors than people who live miles away, they are even more likely to develop resentments towards them. Familiarity by proximity may foster an environment in which we get to better know and befriend someone, but it is a greater possibility that it will allows us to learn what we dislike about that same someone. By seemingly bringing the world to our doorsteps, the internet allows us to more easily do the same to people we otherwise might never have given a second thought or even met at all. Combine that with the sense of security and anonymity that we can feel when behind the keyboard and it’s not difficult to see how the modern web has become a cesspool of vitriol.

What is to be done about it? According to Carr, not much. Any steps that governments might be able to take to remedy the situation would almost certainly be met with hostility from the public and are unlikely to be seriously considered. The companies themselves have little interest in fixing things, as they make too much money the way things are. Therefore, it falls to us to handle it ourselves in the ways that make the most sense in our own lives. I personally deleted my accounts on X, Threads, Instagram, and TikTok and honestly, I don’t miss them one bit. Facebook may be too entrenched to give up entirely at this point and I am too addicted to Reddit to give that one up yet (if ever), but I moved both off of the home screen of my phone and buried them in a folder that I need to swipe to get to. This little bit of extra difficulty actually has reduced my usage some, if only by at least making sure that I am not immediately reminded of them as soon as I turn on the phone. Additionally, we can try to remember that we are (probably) talking to a real person and should attempt to treat them with at least a degree of kindness and respect, though that can sometimes prove sadly challenging.

While I felt the history lessons could have used some trimming, this was otherwise a fascinating book that has left me with a lot to think about. Audiobook narrator Jonathan Todd Ross does an excellent job, with a voice that is equally soothing and engaging, like that of a favorite teacher. Whatever you think of the world in 2025 and how we got here, you will come away from Superbloom with a new perspective and will probably find yourself examining your own behaviors just a little more closely.

Superbloom is a fascinating book that answered so many of my questions and made me think about countless new ideas and perspectives. And of course, the imagery of the superbloom in my home state of CA to drive his point home sealed the deal of my five-star rating.

I loved how the book provided an historical account of communication dating hundreds of years back to today; it brought clarity to my confusion regarding why people are so different nowadays. As a high school teacher for over twenty years, I’ve witnessed the change in society firsthand. Sometimes I wonder if I’m just getting old and grumpy hahah, but I understand better now how the technology superbloom has created the travesty I see today in our youth especially.

I almost wish there was a light at the end of the tunnel or a spark of hope provided in the book, but that might lend itself to toxic positivity and outright lies.

Sigh.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this wonderful audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was incredible. It was so interesting to see the growth of technology from what one would call the beginning only the 1800s. It hasn't been long at all and every thought we had that technology would bring us together, really did happen but also how its torn us apart. Mind blowing.
The audio made this so much easier to take in. Loved.

Nicholas Carr's writing needs no introduction. It always feels timely and shifts my perspective. Superbloom is no exception.

As a jumping point, the story of a California superbloom in 2019 that went viral and ultimately led to the destruction of that ecosystem, Carr paints the picture of how technology that is supposed to bring us together ultimately may cut us off from one another.

Carr starts with written communication and moves us all the way forward to our modern technologies. This book is incredibly comprehensive in scope but felt accessible and readable. Without feeling doom and gloom, Carr presents us with the question of how we can find real human progress in the quagmire of technology we've created. I loved the audio version and found the narration excellently paced and easy to listen to.

As someone who is currently hyperfixating on how the internet and communication technologies is changing society and how we interact with each other, I was stoked to get this book. This book truly started from the beginning, discussing letters and telegrams, and the evolution of privacy standards within those industries. The author examines both the positives and negatives to the environment, and really makes you think in a new way about technologies we now use every day and in our closest relationships. I really enjoyed his examination of e-mail and how the written language has evolved through different forms of text-based communications. The end explains a few ways we could change how technology is used, but also discusses the difficulties in making those changes after we have been given such limitless access to the internet. Anyone who is interested in this area of sociology would enjoy this, and I highly recommend it.

The audio format was very well done, and it was not too academic to listen to without concentrating too hard. (iykyk)

Thank you to RBMedia and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review

Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart

I really enjoyed this book.

Having really enjoyed his previous book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, I knew I was in for an interesting and important book - and that is what this book was!

Carr argues that increased communication and information sharing may not actually lead to societal progress. I found this point really set the book apart in a unique way

After reading this book, I found it really gave me a new insight to my relationship with technology and communication tools. And this is for the positive.

I highly recommend checking this book out, and I found it a really refreshing and interesting take than many of the books on technology.

Not alarmist, but cautiously thinking about your digital use can make a big change!

Check it out.

4.4/5

In Superbloom, Nicholas Carr takes a central metaphor for the way that mass communication technologies collide with human nature from the 2019 poppy #superbloom in Walker Canyon outside of Los Angeles. Initially drawing only a handful of influencers posing among the blooms, the response to the phenomenon quickly spiraled out of control, leading to descending hordes, off-trail natural spaces trampled, and a traffic officer struck by a car. Online condemnation and virtue-signaling ensued.

Returning often to this metaphor, Carr explores how digital media has rapidly achieved the opposite of its initial vision of harmony, connection, and democratization. Instead, it’s overwhelmed us with more information than our brains were made to handle, leaving us lonelier, angrier, and diminished in our ability to assess objective reality. And, Carr argues, this is nothing new. Across the age of mass media, human nature and cognition have consistently responded in surprising and not entirely positive ways to technological innovations in communication. From radio to email, we’ve generally assumed that more communication—faster, easier, more broadly available—is automatically better. However, these advances have never arrived without significant problems. The main difference when it comes to digital media is the unprecedented scale of the problems and the speed with which they’re eroding relationships, societies, and even our very humanity.

Superbloom is a compelling and fascinating book. I listened to it on audiobook, and narrator Jonathan Todd Ross does a superb job of driving the read forward with energy and understanding. That said, I’m eager to get my hands on a print or digital copy of the book, so I can give it a deeper, more focused read. This is a “thinky” book—the kind you want to spend some time with, considering the ideas it explores and making notes for further reading. And because <i>Superbloom</i> is relatively short (the audio clocks in at eight hours and change), a reread wouldn’t mean a huge detour from my TBR.

My thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for providing me with a copy of <i>Superbloom</i> in exchange for my review.