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Summary Of Is Google Making USupid By Nicholas Carr

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How does the Internet affect your attention span? Nicholas Carr argues that the Web is detrimental to your ability to focus on literature. He focuses on his personal experiences and what other scholars say about this phenomenon. I believe that having the Web at your disposal makes it easier to focus, considering you can clear up anything you come to be stuck on while reading. With the Internet comes the ability to read something that may be out of a person’s education level since they can search any terminology that is more in depth. Being able to read text from those who devote their lives to changing and developing that field, makes it easier to trust. When a person reads an author’s work it is nice to know whether they take that article …show more content…

The invention of the Internet is no different. Think about the amount of time that could be spent in a library, looking through book after book for a single, possibly not too important, piece of information. Due to the Internet, this will likely not be a scene that humanity will endure any further. Although, this is not the topic in question. The question is whether or not this source has affected our ability to focus on literature. This question is something that is prominent throughout Nicholas Carr’s essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, which he discusses in detail the accounts he, as well as other scholars have encountered. Carr argues that the method of skimming through articles for important information is leading us to do the same with books, or other longer texts. Although there may be a level of disconnect due to the method used on online articles, Clive Thompson, author of “Smarter Than You Think”, words it well with “We tolerate their cognitive hassles and distractions for the enormous upside of being connected, in new ways, to other people” (Thompson 356-357). The “their” he is referring to in that quote is our digital environments. This simply means that you must deal with the hardships that come with the Internet to enjoy what it has to offer. Although Carr shows some of the downsides, I believe the upside is more …show more content…

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. They all cite numerous sources of statistics, but Thompson draws attention to the fact that Carr only cites one brain-scanning study. The fact that he only cites one of these studies leads me to believe that it is not a study backed up enough to be a redeemable source. Thompson also talks about he has seen the effects how the Internet eats at a person’s attention span. Considering Thompson is one of the opponents against the accusation that the Internet is a factor to our deteriorating focus, leads to the sense that there is credibility behind Carr’s main argument. The main argument for Carr being that the Internet is detrimental to focus. Su’s article is littered with statistical evidence showing how hard he

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