Book Review: Superbloom by Nicholas Carr

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. ★★★★