Technology is advancing very rapidly, but that does not necessarily mean it is benefiting society. In the article, “ Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Nicholas Carr explores how the internet alters people’s mental abilities. Malcolm Gladwell writes an article titled, “ Small Change”, in which he draws attention to how the internet has changed the engagement of social activism. Carr’s argument that the internet alters mental abilities, changes thought processes, and destroys concentration, complicates Gladwell’s thesis that the internet loses the meaning of social activism, changes how activist are defined, and takes over activism on a social level. The arguments presented are similar but the outcomes of the internet vary between the two writers. …show more content…
“Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore” (Carr 32). The internet has taken a personal toll on Carr, in which he cannot even look at a long piece of writing, because it has become so unfamiliar to him. He has become accustomed to the internet, and therefore replaces his passion of reading. “But there is something else at work here, in the outsized enthusiasm for social media. Fifty years after one of the most extraordinary episodes of social upheaval in American history, we seem to have forgotten what activism is” (Gladwell 44). Gladwell strongly feels that the internet has created this loss of social activism in the world, in which the internet has redefined what protesting used to stand for. Protests during the civil rights movement, was a method for people to bring about change, but since the creation of the internet people use it as a way to replace protesting. Carr believes that the internet creates a loss of reading while Gladwell thinks it creates a loss of the meaning of social activism. Though they both can agree that the internet creates a loss, they see it as two different losses, in which Carr’s argument complicates
Every day new technology is advancing to makes its way into the world where it is used more efficiently. In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,”, Nicholas Carr claims that human are no longer able to focus on longer texts due to the rise of digital texts. Nicholas Carr includes strong evidences to support his statement; and through the usage of ethos and pathos, he is able to convince his readers that “the Net is becoming a universal medium” (Carr). Examples of Ethos are evident throughout the article making Carr’s argument deductively valid. Nicholas Carr is known for his reputation as someone who has written influential pieces and earning many awards for his accomplishments.
Torreblanca 1 Tied to technology In Nicholas Carr’s essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” the writer states the importance of how the internet has a huge impact on people's life in different ways. Carr explains how it's so easy for anyone to search anything with just a click of a button. He reveals that one can't stop reading books altogether instead they read online changing the way they think.
In “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” Nicholas Carr argues that Google is deteriorating the human mind. He mentions that people no longer want or even need to deeply read information and retain it because the particular information that they are looking for can just be Googled. In fact, he argues against this by stating that everything is not available on Google, and things that are available on Google are not necessarily true. Another con of this, he states, is that it is extremely difficult to read off of a computer screen. Carr argues that people’s brains are not programmed to read something in depth if it is off of a computer or phone screen.
He attempts to show us in his essay how our minds have changed due to the use of the Internet. Summary Nicholas Carr examines in an essay how digital technology affects our intelligence. Nicholas was educated at Dartmouth and Harvard and is a member of Encyclopedia Britannica’s editorial board of advisors. He has written a book name “The Big Switch: Rewiring the World from
In “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr expresses his idea that, due to mankind’s constant use of the internet, people are losing their ability to read long pieces of literature. He says the internet may offer a faster answer to a question one might have, but the experience of actually having to research a topic for days at a time lessens the actual knowledge that is gained. Carr speaks of his own way of thinking being changed as his use of the internet became greater. He also states that he is not the only one being effected; offering up instances where his friends’ thought processing has also begun to dwindle for their constant use of the internet. Carr even references how Friedrich Nietzsche’s writing changed after he began to use
In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” by Nicholas Carr, Carr claims that the internet changes how we think as humans and as a society. His claim comes from his observation that he was losing his capacity to read large amounts of text, after having been spoiled by the immediate nature of the internet. Though he seems to believe that the internet will negatively impact society, it is unclear what his intentions are. Whether he is trying to persuade us that the internet is negative or whether he is just trying to get us to think about the effects of the internet, Carr utilizes literary devices such as rhetorical appeals--ethos, logos, and pathos--and procatalepsis in his argument to effectively critique the internet. Carr starts off
Although Carr begins with addressing a question in the title, a more specific definition of the exact problem that the argument tackles is, “Is the internet changing the way we think and behave by making us read and process information differently?” (Young, Becker, & Pike, 1970, p. 92). Carr answers this “question of fact” with his main claim that yes, the internet is changing the way we think (Young, Becker, & Pike, 1970, p. 94). His grand strategy is an equal combination of “argument by analogy” and “ethotic argument”
In Nicholas Carr’s essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid” I disagree that his use of support doesn’t work to make his point in this essay because it is too biased. Carr’s article shows a lot of support to his hate towards the internet by quoting himself along with his other fellow writers who are a part of an older generation like Carr himself and only includes one study from University College London. Carr mainly focuses on his anecdotes to help support his essay which really doesn’t give the audience actual information, although he makes a compelling point that Google or the internet itself is making us stupid, but what Carr has not included was any evidence about the good parts about the internet. What Carr was lacking in his essay was that
Carr believe the internet changes the way we think. In my opinion, Carr story was to influence, not persuade. In Nicholas Carr’s essay, “Is google making us
Thompson states how it is possible to maintain mindfulness as long as there is no laziness while reading. This means that taking the time to read all articles thoroughly will be beneficial in the long run, for skimming articles leads to an unsavory habit of getting complacent while reading. Su and Thompson both display their fear when it comes to how the Internet is affecting our social behaviors. They discuss how it is leading to people becoming less sociable and more likely to dodge social events. Carr argues for his concerns involving the Internet, including how it is affecting his ability to pay attention to long pieces of literature and how other scholars alike are having similar complications.
In the article Is Google Making Us Stupid?, Nicholas Carr asserts his claim that the Internet might have negative effects on cognition, potentially tapering with our capacity for concentration and contemplation, therefore making us incapable of holding a long attention span especially while reading a lengthy text. In short, Carr is trying to argue that the Internet has shaped our way of thinking and attentiveness. Though technology may have changed our way of thinking, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are unable to understand and make connections with long texts. At one point in his article, Carr quotes James Olds as saying, “The brain has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions.”
“Is Google Making Us Stupid” written by Nicholas Carr is a great article. He attempts to help us understand that as a society the more that the World Wide Web turns into our essential source of data, it starts to lower our ability to read books. Despite the fact that reading offers information that the internet may already have, it makes the learning process slower. One of the first things that Carr makes clear in this writing piece is that he loses focus very quickly when reading. Carr felt that the web should make searching things quick and easy.
Nicholas Carr’s essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” discusses the benefits and dangers associated with technology, and the internet, or Google is the focus of the essay. He argues that technology is changing humans cognitive thought process, and not in a healthy way. Carr admits that he notices the changes in his own ability to concentrate and comprehend lengthy readings. Not only does he express concern about his own capability of reading he also mentions several other bloggers, and philosophers’ experiences with their ability to decipher long articles. Moreover, he emphasizes historical technologies that have influenced change in our intellectuality such as, the typewriter, the printing press, and the mechanical clock.
He includes quotes from large, technology tycoons who believe that advancement in technology is beneficial because it is making information more accessible and more useful. Carr counters this claim by stating that with the large advancements that technology “Is doing the work of the mind” (324). While he addresses naysayers in his argument he does not completely dismiss their ideas, instead discussing them in a calm way that builds his credibility with the reader. Though Carr believes the most important thing that technology is doing is getting close to replacing human thinking, he discusses the ideas that people believe could be a positive. His rational discussion of the opposition makes him appear knowledgeable to the reader which further builds his argument.
Gladwell illustrates his argument that social media is not an effective tool for change or revolution by giving examples from the present where social media has claimed to be helpful although it was not, and examples from the past where although social media did not yet exist activist were more successful. When presenting his argument, Gladwell’s diction and writing style allow his article to be so successful and convincing. He starts with a story, and then explains why the example supports his reasoning. This approach makes him seem extremely educated, reinforcing the strengths of his argument. Throughout his article, Gladwell also demonstrates numerous dependable qualities such as self-confidence, experience, and persuasiveness.