Summary: Is The Internet Dumbing Us Down

With the rise of technology and the staggering availability of information, the digital age has come about in full force, and will only grow from here. Any individual with an internet connection has a vast amount of knowledge at his fingertips. As long as one is online, he is mere clicks away from Wikipedia or Google, which allows him to find what he needs to know. Despite this, Nicholas Carr questions whether Google has a positive impact on the way people take in information. In his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr explores the internet’s impact on the way people read. He argues that the availability of so much information has diminished the ability to concentrate on reading, referencing stories of literary types who no longer

In this new age of technology, information is becoming more readily available to practically everyone. This revolution has raised one major concern for the students of our generation: that we will not be able to think at all. That this generation will rely so heavily on the ability to access information immediately that we subsequently lose the ability to think for ourselves. This will not happen, however. Although many believe the internet is spoiling our generation, the fact of the matter is that the internet actually enriches our education and aids us in coming up with more educated solutions.

Nicholas Carr’s Is Google Making Us Stupid? explains the impact the Internet is having on his (and others) patience with in depth reading habits, and possibly the way their brain is processing information. The old days of having to spend hours researching a subject are long gone because of the Internet. Having such a powerful tool available at any time can be a good and bad thing wrapped up in the same package. Over the last couple decades, home computer and smartphone ownership has been on a steady rise with most homes now having multiple devices. Therefore, having unlimited information available at all times has become a reality.

The internet is an excellent place to explore our mind and put our thoughts together; however, it also has a negative effect to our brains, and the more we use it the more it decrease our intelligence. In this essay “Does the Internet Make You Smarter or Dumber?” by Nicholas Carr, he argues about the immoral side of the internet. According to Carr, “When we’re constantly distracted and interrupted, as we tend to be online, our brains are unable to forge the strong and expansive neural connections that give depth and distinctiveness to our thinking” (22). Carr’s pint of view about the internet is that it does not make us smarter in any way; if anything it make us dense and slow. Scientific study have shown that most people who stayed on the internet quit a lot are more likely to damage their brains mentally. According to Carr, the internet is also a place to waste our time. Carr backed up his arguments with studies from scientists, researches and even books. In these essay, Carr’s appeals to logic and understanding is the strongest; whereas his appeals to ethos and his appeals to pathos are finite.

In “ Does the Internet Make You Smarter or dumber?” by Nicholas Carr, Carr argues that not only is using the internet for education not necessary but that it is also harmful. Carr’s thesis says that the internet is bad because it distracts us, affects our cognitive thinking, and can have long term effects. Carr supports his argument by citing professional psychologists and many studies, creating scenarios in the reader's mind of robotic people, and uses logical arguments against the use of the internet.

According to Nicholas Carr, the internet has had an effect on how we read, think and live. He provides examples of this throughout his essay. In one of his statements he says “the net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information [we receive]” (732) He gathers this information from other colleagues and friends he knows. People can access the internet and in a few clicks to have all the information they need and more. We are no longer limited by local sources to gather our data. At the speed of light, the voices of millions can be heard by all. It is the quick access and our human desire for knowledge that feeds the need for the internet. It has damaged our level of patience and causing our minds to wander. “And what

There is no denying the incredible library of knowledge the internet has made readily available for all to use. Having such a resource is transforming modern society in many ways, as it brings insight and news across the world at a moment’s notice, all the while enhancing educational and technological advancements. However, according to Sven Birkets, an American essayist and literacy critic, in his essay, “The Owl Has Flown”, it is not without fault as observations are to be made on how this new resource has transformed people’s intelligence and wisdom. The author theorizes that the large, almost unlimited, library that is now being offered by services such as the internet, reshapes the public’s knowledge. Knowledge is transformed to be horizontal or insubstantial compared to the much deeper lateral understanding pertaining to older generations because of the amount of time they spent dwelling on a much smaller set of resources. This observation made by Birkets in the late 90’s is expanded upon, and modernized by Nicholas Carr, an American writer and author, in a more inflicting and self-reflecting article for The Atlantic magazine entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains”. Carr does not just blame the Google search engine in this claim, but the internet as a whole on how it impacts concentration and our ability to contemplate. These cognitive impacts are observed and explained in more scientific terms by Eric Jaffe, a regular Observer

Technology has allowed young Americans to transform the way they think and learn. According to a 2008 study by Mizuko Ito, the internet has allowed the flourishing of self-directed learning. The enormous possibilities the internet offers, allows people to delve into topics or research a variety of areas that interest them. People can now explore their curiosity endlessly. Researches have also noticed a change in literacy among the younger generation. The daily texts, tweets, and emails people send, keep them writing. According to Andrea Lunsford, all of these little writings add up and is pushing

Since the rise of technology and smart devices, the public has seen controversy over the benefits and drawbacks of internet usage. Nicholas Carr shared his opinions in the article “From The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.” In the text, he claims that it seems to be “chipping away” his “capacity for concentration and contemplation” (Carr 5). In addition to that, he does not hesitate to state how “some worry they’re becoming chronic scatterbrains” from using the web (Carr 6). His views are painted purple in this piece of writing, as any reader could infer that Carr possesses a slightly bitter tone when it comes to the interwebs. He displays his dislike for the way it is reshaping our brains and mental function, even going

According to the United Nations Agency, approximately 3.2 billion people have used the Internet since 2015, which has made a drastic increase since 2000 with there only being 738 million internet users then. That is almost 43% of the world's population that uses the internet. A controversial topic that is commonly being brought up in today's arguments is the use of the internet and how people believe it is becoming such a detriment to our society, because nobody in this generation acknowledges the value of books, or even prefers to use an actual copy such as a paperback. The internet, such as Google, is being classified as lazy or ignorant, but reading a book is labeled as literate or being knowledgeable. Thesis:“Teaching in the #Age Literacy” by Jennifer L. Nelson and “Is Google Making Us stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, both analyze the pros and cons to having the internet and information at our fingertips, how it is affecting the way we read and analyze text and different scientific experiments that have been put to use to decode why we think the way we do now and how to improve our intelligence.

Nicholas Carr argues in his essay for The Atlantic “Is Google Making Us Stupid” that the internet is changing the way we think. Mr. Carr began his essay with the closing scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey movie by Stanly Kubrick when Gary Lockwood “Dave” taking apart the memory circuits that control HAL 9000, the computer that controls the ship. Carr introduces us in his essay on the idea of how the internet is changing us by making our minds process information differently from the past. Carr can’t focus or contemplate any article on the internet anymore, he points out the story of two bloggers Scott Karp and Bruce Friedman who also have the same problem and they feel the internet is responsible. A recent study has been conducted by University College London which suggests that there may be some evidence which proves that the internet is affecting our brains in a negative way. Even though we know the internet is useful and we use it for almost in every aspect of our lives but it is also changing the way our brain process information. Maryanne Wolf the developmental psychologist believes that our ability for deep reading is being weakened by the way the internet provides easy access to unlimited information. Wolf believes that reading is not an instinctive skill and therefore we have to train our brains so we can understand and interpret symbols into a language we can understand. A study shows that our mental system is performing a function differently depending on the

Carr’s premise is that the Web is interfering with our ability to focus on lengthy material. On the contrary, the internet is actually aiding our ability to focus on reading. This holds true for younger children, who are known as the digital natives in our generation. In a research conducted by The National Center for Education shows that “by altering the mode of reading material from traditional paper-based reading to online reading,” the interest of elementary school children increased (Wright 367). Because children of the 21st century are surrounded by technology, they are more likely to gear towards digital media for their mode of learning. Contrary to Carr’s view that the internet “is chipping away [the] capacity for concentration and contemplation,” these children are more likely to read and focus as a result of

Is the internet making us smarter or dumber? People continuously argue whether this rise of electronic use and internet in our lives is a negative or positive aspect. In June 5, 2010 Wall Street Journal article, Nicholas Carr raises and answer the intriguing question,“Does the Internet Make You Dumber?”Nicholas Carr argues that the internet has bad effects on our brain. He says that the internet makes it harder to remember anything, and that is harder to move memories into long term memory. Those who are continually distracted by emails, alerts, and text messages understand less than a person who can concentrate. Nicholas Carr points that the internet can change the way our brain acts. He states that those who use the internet are shallow, and the internet is causing irreversible damage to our thought processes and making us stupid. A week later, Steven Pinker counters Nicholas Carr’s assertions in his own New York Time article,“Mind Over Mass Media.”He argues that electronic technologies are not as horrible as some may make it seem, and he starts his article by addressing how“New forms of media have always caused moral panics”(199). Throughout his article, Pinker explains why critics, who accuse electronic technology as harming to human intelligence, are wrong. He suggests that,“these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart”(200). Through media and social networking, the internet brings people closer together and provides convenience for people’s life.

When it comes to the topic of technology, most people will readily agree that it has been growing non-stop at a significant pace. About 16 years ago, technologies, such as computers were not a necessity in mainstream life. Since then, technology has progressed and people have become extremely reliable on. In the essay “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” by Amy Goldwasser, she talks about the positive aspects of the Internet. According to Goldwasser, “Twenty-plus years ago, high school students didn’t have the Internet to store their trivia”(Goldwasser 238). By stating this, Goldwasser explains that over the years the Internet has become a necessity in the lives of the majority of students today. Although the Internet provides sufficient

In contemporary times, the technological advancement known as the Internet, has revolutionized the way in which society is educated. This tool greatly impacts not only the field of education, but every aspect of society. Indeed, Lewin documents, “those ages 8 to 18 spend more than seven and a half hours a day” (A1), connected to the Internet. This citation illustrates the extensive amount of time today’s youth are online. To that end, the Internet is prevalent in many homes throughout the world and continues to influence the way in which people are educated both in the classroom and even while performing homework. The impact of the Internet becomes evident when one begins to examine similarities and differences between the slew of