Summary of "Is Google Making Us Stupid" by Nicholas Carr The internet has become a necessity for many people these days, it provides quick information and is a primary source of knowledge. In the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid", the author Nicholas Carr, is describing the effects that technology has on the human brain. Carr begins with a scene from the end of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, where supercomputer HAL is being disconnected by astronaut Dave Bowman who was sent to space on a deadly mission by the machine.
In “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicolas Carr he enlightens us on how he feels that the internet is changing the way we think and process information. He tells us that he has experienced this and feels the reprogramming of his brain the most when he reads. He also uses the feedback and evidence from his colleagues to show the change patterns in other people. Carr uses present examples of how he feels that the internet is changing the way we thinking but he adds examples of history for example the invention of the clock and the way it has altered our behaviors. The author also brings in scientific studies to prove that there are changes happening to us because of the internet.
He asserts the different ways and examples on how the internet has had effect in our brain and our way of thinking. First, in agreement with the author’s argument about the how the internet is fundamentally changing our lives in the way we think and process information. He is right because the internet has been the main source of information that most people use nowadays to make their work more easier and faster. People tend not to think straight anymore to do things right because of the internet which brings more easier information than for us to use our brain. According to carr, he gives the example of Friedrich Nietzsche’s typewriter to show that the prolonged use of such a new medium could have a possible result of an overall
Carr uses this period in time to positively show how the Internet has impacted people’s lives by providing statistics which also strengthens his ethos. “By 2009, adults in North America were spending an average of twelve hours online a week, double the average in 2005.” (86) Thus Carr may or may not have started writing his book in 2007 due to technology related statistics emerging. Which in the same year, Apple Inc. CEO, Steve Jobs announced the iPhone and Google released Android.
In Nicholas Carr’s article, Is google making us stupid?,” he makes an argument many people would disagree with. He claims that the internet is affecting us on how humans beings process information. The first thing that he mentions in the article is that when he is reading a book he can't concentrate due to spending a lot of time on the Internet. Carr mentions that he’s not the only one with the problem, his friends and colleges also struggle with concentrating due to being on the internet too much. Carr explains how his mind has become more inconsistent since his use of the internet.
He notes that the development of writing and the printing press led to significant changes in the way people thought and communicated. By comparing the internet to these historical developments, Carr suggests that the digital age is simply the latest iteration in a long line of technological advances that have fundamentally altered human cognition. In addition, Carr appeals to expert testimony to support his argument. He cites studies and quotes from prominent neuroscientists and researchers who suggest that the internet may be negatively impacting our ability to concentrate and process information.
The future of Internet appears clear, as it has already begun to consume many of our lives. I believe that as the Internet continues to be improved, it will continue to consume the lives of people everywhere, taking jobs, and continuing to drain our attention span. As Carr states “My brain isn’t going-so far
What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Nicholas Carr. It inform us that the internet is becoming our primary source of finding information. It is saying that it affects our ability to read books and long papers. The main points for this article are how the internet is affecting us, what we are becoming, also that we are no longer able to focus in long readings, how the internet is becoming our primary source to everything, and the evolution of technology.
Over generations and generations the world has seen many changes that has impacted the world and the lives of people. Some of those changes include the printing press, computers, and the smartphone. Have you ever realized that the internet might be affecting your brain? Well Nicholas Carr thinks the internet is bad and has an impact on our brain. In the book The Shallows by Nicholas Carr he claims that over many generations new technology has been created and it has been affecting our brains.
Nicholas Carr, What the Internet is doing to Our Brains The Shallows (2010) asserts that, “The price we pay to assume technology’s power is alienation.” He supports this assertion by saying, “They both ultimately achieve their mental and behavioral effects by shaping the synaptic organization of the brain.” Also by, “ We long to keep it activated.” The writer concludes in order for people to improve their thoughts, they will have to cope with the new technology and how they think. Carr believes that technology is taking over how people interact with each other.
The internet in the most amazing invention in the world and is still evolving in this age and getting smarter. In the shallows by Nicholas Carr he discusses that the internet allows people to work out problems, people now have tons of information at their fingertips and don’t have to work as hard, and people’s brains are being changed and are able to memorize stuff easier. One reason why the internet is amazing is that it helps people work out problems. In the book Carr says “ a network of computer therapeutic terminals, something like arrays of large telephone booths, in which, a few dollars a session, we would be able to talk with an attentive, tested, and largely non-directive psychotherapist” (Carr 205). This is important because imagine how many people with emotional problems could be helped around the world with this type of invention and how many suicides we could stop.
In 1988, the Internet was opened to the public. At that time, not many people were aware of what a huge impact the Internet would have on the lives of future generations and cultures. While it was at first widely accepted by many users because of its astonishingly convenient and unlimited access to information, the enthusiasm for the Internet has more recently diminished and even disappeared in some cases. Many people no longer view the Internet as a helpful tool, but more as a harmful weapon, attacking every area of our lives, including education, communication, literacy, attention span, memory, intelligence, relationships, politics, economics, even sleep, diet, and physical activity. The Internet is ultimately affecting and determining the
As the internet becomes our primary source of information, many people believe that it is changing or rewriting the human brain and affecting the way we think. I say that they are right. We use the internet like its backup memory and do not bother to remember, we hardly give tasks and assignments our full attention and our concentration is suffering, and we are becoming more addicted to technology. One reason we believe the internet is affecting our brain is that we use the internet like its backup memory and do not bother to remember. We do not have to remember mailing addresses or long phone numbers anymore.
Our way of thinking is beginning to change to the way that computers do. Advancements are made everyday. These new advancements are attempting to make life in general easier for everyone. Nicholas Carr makes the claim that, “as the internet because our primary source of the information it is affecting our ability to read books and other long narratives.” Carr suggests that using the internet is altering the way that our minds operate.
Carr and Turkle both use their essays to explain that although computers can lead to a lack of patience and depth, they can also increase productivity, build knowledge, and encourage acceptance of people from all different walks of life.
