Ever feel like your brain is stuck in an endless scroll? Two new books, Superbloom by Nicholas Carr and The Sirens’ Call by Chris Hayes, dive into how technology is exploiting our attention and reshaping our lives—for the worse.

Carr’s Superbloom builds on his earlier warnings in The Shallows, where he argued the internet is rewiring our brains. This time, he’s taking aim at social media. Carr explains that these platforms aren’t just addicting us; they’re feeding on our natural curiosity. “They give us what we want,” he writes, but at a cost: emotional chaos and fractured relationships.

Hayes, meanwhile, focuses on how Big Tech has turned attention into a commodity. In The Sirens’ Call, he maps out how companies profit by keeping us glued to our screens. From viral posts to divisive content, the goal is simple: keep us scrolling, no matter the toll on our minds or society.

Both authors agree: our human instincts make us easy targets for these digital traps. We crave new information, but the endless stream of updates, notifications, and outrage leaves us overwhelmed and disconnected. Carr even draws a parallel to the Titanic disaster, where unregulated radio waves caused confusion and delayed rescue efforts—showing how tech mishandled can have real consequences.

So, what’s the solution? Carr suggests regulation might help, but he also warns that blaming the tech giants lets us off the hook. The problem, he says, is partly in us—our tendency to get “vain, careless, resentful, and cruel” when left unchecked.

These books aren’t just critiques; they’re wake-up calls. If you’ve ever felt like your phone is running your life, these reads might just make you hit pause—and rethink your relationship with tech.