[dieterrams]

> The problem isn’t the fluff we read online. The problem is that when you go long periods without reading novels, it’s harder to pick up a novel and enjoy it. Reading fluff online doesn’t make you stop reading novels, though, any more than watching TV makes you stop reading novels. It’s entirely possible to do both, with the caveat that everyone’s time is limited. But there’s nothing about browsing online that intrinsically makes it hard to read novels.

First, the issue isn't that what's being read is "fluff", but rather that online reading promotes that "grafted, spasmodic" style of attention.

Second, you're completely wrong that the media formats we consume don't affect the other media formats we consume.

[dpark]

> Second, you're completely wrong that the media formats we consume don't affect the other media formats we consume.

Provide some evidence for this claim. People have been decrying the short attention span that “new media” creates for as long as there has been anything that could be described as “new media”.

[hudibras]

>Provide some evidence for this claim.

This is exactly what Reader, Come Home, by Maryanne Wolf (i.e., the book being reviewed here) does.

[dpark]

Does it? I don’t have the book, but it sounds from the review that this is a pet theory with no scientific backing.