Quick Hit: The Internet and Deep Reading

In an opinion piece published today in the Guardian, author and journalist Steven Poole argues that the Internet isn't responsible for a decline in "deep reading," but rather it helps to foster it. It appears to be a direct response to this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, which attributes a waning attention span and growing inability to read long form text to the Internet. I would be interested in hearing from our readers on their opinion of both pieces. Does the Internet foster a superficial approach to text that relies heavily on skimming and skipping? Or does the Internet provide a new forum for a greater number and more variety of long-form pieces that cater to a broader wealth of interests? Are both true?