Is digital technology making us dumb?
Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid” questions the motif of technology and if it is making us smarter or if it has made us so dependent on technology and its facility to do things that we are losing our own ability. Carr asserts “my mind expects to take in information the way the net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles… The more they use the web, the more they have to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing,” to emphasize the detriments technology has created and its constant environment of perpetual interference. Though because of technology, and the internet, people have become more efficient and are able to attain information faster. Carr concludes that some people tend to forget is that information is not knowledge, that knowledge is the transfer for short memory to long term memory, and the problem is that people tend to take in too much too fast, and overload the short term memory with constant new information and push out other short term memory to make room. But
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And the internet, allows avid readers to find the top ten books of 2015 so they can go buy them and read them, instead of wasting, possibly days, trying to find a book that sounds interesting. Technology has created a source of unfathomable information where many can find more information on an article they read and spend hours reading up on them. Technology does not cause distractions but it gives a vibe of impatience because people are working quicker and more efficiently and therefore move on to the next
“Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicolas Carr, argues that using the internet to read is less thought inciting then reading books. Carr has focused on the various claims that support the argument above. The writer claims that the Internet causes lack of concentration as it is full of ads, hyperlinks, and other media which is meant to distract us. This he gives the example of someone reading the latest headlines in a newspaper site when suddenly a new e-mail messages announces its arrival with a tone of some sort. He says that the “The result is to scatter our attention and diffuse our concentration.” The next claim he makes is that the way we read on the Internet is changing how we use our brains to think; therefore making us less contemplative. Carr mentions Maryanne Wolf who works as a developmental psychologist at Tufts University. Wolf believes that when we read online we become “mere decoders of information”. I believe that Carr uses this example to give the illusion that when we read online we don’t truly gain knowledge but instead we just gather more information.
From beginning to ending, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” written by Nicholas Carr implements a scene from A Space Odyssey, where Bowman disconnects HAL’s circuits as it repeats, “I can feel it. I can feel it” to underscore the notion of humans becoming more robotic than a robot itself as we continue to rely on technology. Carr portrays this notion through several examples when he, his colleagues, and an individual like Friedman experience a shift in their style in writing or reading as they use certain technological tools. These resourceful technologies force individuals to make adaptations to “patterns” that ultimately influence their lifestyles. Carr consistently provides significant amounts of evidence for his argument and in depth information
The essay Is Google Making Us Stupid by the author Nicholas Carr, was originally a cover article of The Atlantic in 2008. The purpose of his work is to warn the technology users of the negative effects that these devices have in humans. Carr starts the essay with a scene from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in which one of the characters describes how his mind and the way he reads is changing by the time since he has been using a computer. He is no longer able to spend hours reading, describes how to get concentrate in a long paragraphs is difficult to him. The fact of how fast the internet works, forces his brain to process information the way Net does.
Nicholas Carr's Atlantic Online article "Is Google Making Us Stupid," talks about how the utilization of the PC influences our point of view. Carr begins discussing his own particular experience as an author and how he felt like "something had been tinkering with his cerebrum, remapping his neural hardware and reinventing his memory". Since beginning to utilize the Internet his exploration strategies have changed. Carr said before he would drench himself in books, protracted articles and long extends of composition permitting his "brain to become involved with the story or the arguments"(July/August 2008, Atlantic Monthly). Today Carr has found that "his fixation floats away from the content after a few pages and he battles to get once again into the content". His reason is that since he has put in the previous ten years working internet, looking and surfing and composing substance for databases" his cerebrum hardware has changed. He shows that some of his kindred scholars have encountered the same sorts of changes in their perusing books and looking after fixation. Some of them said they don't read books as effortlessly on the grounds that their fixation and center has get to be shorter.
In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicholas Carr the thesis of the article is internet technology is altering our thought process. His article was featured in the Atlantic in 2008. In the article, Nicholas Carr says that he is not thinking the same and he cannot read like he used to. Now he loses concentration after reading two or three pages. He thinks this is happening because he has been spending a lot of time online. People can find things easily with Google so they do not have to look for it as much. Before people had to go to libraries to search for information but now they can just look for it online. His friends and acquaintances also said they are having similar problems. He says the longer people use the Web the harder it is for them to concentrate.
Throughout his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr uses several terms and phrases that enhance his argument. One key term that is central to Carr’s argument is the word “reprogramming”. Carr uses this word several times throughout his article to assert his claim that the Internet is “reprogramming” or changing our minds in a way that alters our thinking and memory. By using this term, it seems that Carr adds gravity to the possibility that the Internet is changing our minds for the worst. Likewise, Carr mentions that the Internet is interfering with our “concentration” and causing it to “drift” from certain activities such as deep reading. He argues that our brain is scattering with frequent use of the Internet. It is hard
In “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, by Nicholas Carr, he describes the correlation between Internet usage and common reading abilities. While informing the audience about the decreasing reading habits and the power of the Net.
The internet is a technology which has had a significant impact on the way many people conduct their lives. Information once contained in massive volumes at libraries or in private collections is now available by typing words into a search engine and clicking “search.” One must no longer pick up a phone to call a friend, relative or colleague; e-mail, instant messaging, Skype and the like, have enabled people to communicate in non-traditional ways and across boundaries previously inaccessible. Nicholas Carr addresses the wonder that is the internet in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The general direction of the article is a discussion of how intelligent thought patterns seem to be changing; attention spans and critical
In Nicholas Carr (Is Google Making Us Stupid?) he expresses his thoughts of the internet, and how it is effecting our minds. He goes in on how it becomes hard to comprehend long articles and books. It seems as if our brains start to become unfocused as we try not to skim the words; yet, or brains do as they please causing us to become distracted from the writings in front of us.
In his essay, “Is Google Making us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr discusses societies dependence to easily accessible information. Since the inception of the internet and search engines, information has been accessible to us instantly. Although instant access to information is a desirable advancement in technology, it comes with questionable consequences. From his own personal experience, Carr explains that since this invention, his brain feels as if it has been tinkered with. Carr explains that his brain does not work the way it used to, that it’s very hard for him to become engrossed in books, articles, or essays. As he continued to try to become engrossed in these readings, he found that his thoughts would wander and he would become restless after just a few
Nicholas Carr, in his article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?," questions whether or not Google is benefitting society or destroying the ability of people to concentrate and think for themselves. In this day and age, Google is a lifeline, and it can be argued that without it, society would fall apart. Carr gives Google adequate credit for its positive benefits and revolutionary developments in the recent years, but he also points out how it may also be detrimental to this generation and future generations to come.
Most Americans use the internet daily. Although it is very useful, it is also very hurtful to the brains of everyone. Nicholas Carr goes into detail about why he feels this way in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”. This article mentions researches and opinions from not only Carr, but from outsiders as well. Carr explains his reasons on why he feels the internet has limited the knowledge of everyone. The main reason that Carr argues is that our brains have the ability to reprogram themselves due to the use of the internet and I agree with him because we do not dig into books like in the past, we get on our social medias instead, however, I disagree with him because computers and the internet have helped the world tremendously with technology
Some ten to fifteen years ago, people were already experiencing the feeling that the internet may be influencing us in an unhealthy manner. As we have continued on with our progression of technology, it seems that we have become more and more dependent on our newly developed electronics. This is exactly the argument made by Nicholas Carr in his article—which became the cover story of the Atlantic Monthly’s Ideas issue back in 2008—entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid.” In this article, Carr explains what he has observed of our modern evolution of technology. His main point being that the internet has simply become too easily accessible. What may have taken days to research can now be accomplished in a couple hours at the most. This is dangerous as it develops
Over history technology has changed mankind’s overall culture. From clocks to computers the use of electronics and tools is occurring every day in almost all situations. In Carr’s article “Is Google Making us Stupid?” he introduces the idea how the internet is changing our lives by making us mentally process information differently from the past, based off previous changes in history. Carr explains how we think less deeply and rely on quick facts, versus using critical thinking and research. Also he explains how our brain is malleable, and may be changed by the internet’s impression. Lastly Carr talks about what the
Technology negatively effects the way our brains process information. In Jeffery Sachs “A Nation of Vidiots,” Sachs states that many neuroscientist believe that “TV is rewiring heavy viewers’ brains and impairing their cognitive capacities.” (113) In his writing, he describes how reliance on TV has impaired our ability to think critically and become engaged in conversation. The less we use our minds to analyze and think about topics, the harder it becomes to engage in deep thought for a long period of time. Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” lists a few examples of people they know, who now find it hard to focus on a text for a long amount of time. (96) These people, Carr stated, used to be avid readers themselves, but after relying on Google and internet searches for a long amount of time, find it difficult to become immersed in a book or article like they used to.