Life is a lot more fast-paced as technology allows for people to expand horizons that were once sought impossible, as they are able to communicate with someone across the globe in a matter of seconds, that, and a vast storage of information is readily accessible with simple taps into a search bar on the internet. As heavenly as that sounds, Carr criticizes this aspect as this medium contains “[injections] of hyperlinks, blinking ads, and other digital gewgaws,” all to “scatter [people’s] attention and diffuse [people’s] concentrations,” so, really, as the internet gives people an immediate result, it quickly shifts a person from what they are doing to other sources of mind-boggling information, that may or may not be essential to their specific task (Carr par
The internet is one of the most powerful and complex pieces of technology ever to be assembled. With this power, the internet can radiate some seismic waves into the way we live our lives. In “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, he illustrates and explains his personal opinion and evidence from others to display the changes and effects the internet has on the world and the people in it. He goes into and explains how the internet is changing the way we read and take in information using his own personal experience with reading books today. He also shows that the internet itself is causing the world to change and adapt to its presence, causing essentially any aspect of the world to be engulfed by the internet and transform according
In The Atlantic “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr notifies us on the ways that technology is effecting our brains in a negative way. This article starts off by talking about the internet and how it is and can be the source for almost anything. That being said, we are becoming defenseless on technology in things like work, reading, and writing. This article demands that this technology is a very big disturbance in our lives. We practically live off of this technology and commonly this media has to live up to the expectations, which us, as the audience have everything handed to us.
In the book The Shallows author Nicholas Carr explains how he believes that technology is taking over everything and changing the way we think and process information. As a reader I also believe that technology is changing the way we process information because of all the examples he uses to prove his point. In the different chapters he gives examples from past historians and psychologists to explain why he believes the things he does, Carr also interviews college professors and doctors to see if they have noticed a difference in themselves or in patients of theirs with the same problem, and lastly throughout the book and on the internet there are multiple reviews on the opinions of the technology. In the Shallows Nicholas Carr gives examples from past historians and psychologists to explain why he believes the things he does.
With an abundant amount of internet usage, studies show the development of implications in our brain such as short-term attention spans and scattered thinking. When we work online, our brains are constantly pressured to take in vast amounts of information. Think about when you are reading an article on the internet and then all of the sudden that really interesting ad pops up, you just totally forgot about what you're reading. “We are becoming mere signal-processing units, quickly shepherding disjointed bits of information into and then out of short-term memory” Carr explains that the internet is considerably reducing our ability to concentrate which is developing scattered thinking. Continually being exposed to these things are negatively affecting the way we process and interpret the information we are obtaining through the
Is the internet the ultimate downfall of society? Many believe that this technological advancement is dumbing down civilization. Both Nicholas Carr and David Wolman have written an article on how people's lives have been affected by the use of the internet. Nicholas Carr, author of the article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" explains how the internet is decreasing an individual's concentration and learning process. Whereas, David Wolman, author of "The Critics Need a Reboot" argues against those who believe that the internet is leading society into the “dark age”.
Tecnogey and Us Today With in “From The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” Nicholas Carr, the author of this article, prompts us to think deeper about how exactly the technology we use so freely today is affecting us as a consumer. While in this article Mr. Carr shows that he notices and appreciates how much the internet has helped others as well as himself, as shown when he states “The Web’s been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes” (Carr par. 3), we can also gather from this article that he is extremely concerned for the very way he thinks.
As the internet gains popularity, people have begun changing the way they read their books. Rather than reading printed copies of books, people have begun reading electronic copies of books or simply listening to audio books. While these forms of reading seem more convenient, could these new forms of reading books impact the way books are read? As explained in The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr, the internet has changed the way books are read, therefore negatively impacting the way books are interpreted by making it harder for modern readers to follow story lines and truly capture main ideas as writers intended. Reading online may seem easier, but it also creates distractions that pull readers away from the story.
As mentioned before, the medium plays an important role. When using the internet, it is tempting to go to Youtube, play a game, or switch to a different website. The internet, as a medium designed for efficiency, scatters an individual’s attention and diffuses their concentration. With the advancement of software and the internet, people don’t feel the need to read and reflect critically. They become accustomed to the internet giving a summary, or the most important points to a specific topic.
Going to the library to look up information in an encyclopedia is almost unheard of. The internet has become a resource and source of entertainment so addicting that few people can spend less than an hour without checking it. Whether the internet is doing more harm than it is good is questioned. In the novel The Shallows Nicholas Carr writes
This is showing us the problem that writer Nicholas Carr believes in. The internet can harm our ability to think deeply because our brains are adaptable. The second piece of evidence from this document is “"... what the Internet seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation," Carr wrote.” The internet is so powerful that even Carr himself has noticed that his
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.
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.
The Influence of Technology In the essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr argues that utilization of the internet has an adverse effect on our way of thinking and functioning in everyday life. Whether it be reading a newspaper, or scrolling through Facebook, internet media has forever stamped its name in our existence. Carr explains to us that the internet is a tool used every single day in today’s society, but also makes most of us complacent with the ease of having the world at our fingertips.
Nicholas Carr's argument against the internet was very strong, and it persuaded me. It is very difficult for me to go against his opinion. I agree that the internet is changing us, but not in ways we think. There are long-term effects of using the internet as often as we do. He states that the internet is changing the way our brains function such as having a shorter attention span, negatively changing the way we critically think, and negatively changing our reading skills.