The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains By Nicholas Carr

The internet was originally created in order to advance human society and to make information more accessible to others. Originally created as a resource to share classified information, it has now grown into a widespread network that transports arbitrary information across multiple platforms. This creation brought new forms of communication and interaction to the public. While this resource has produced several benefits, it has also had a detrimental impact on the lives and the intelligence of many members of society. The internet is making people less intelligent because it weakens one’s ability to understand information, to create meaningful relationships, and is contributing to a decrease in intelligence. The way people absorb information

A very vast amount of information can now be accessed at the press of a button, but this digital version can at times be harder to comprehend. According to a 2020 update to The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas Carr, an acclaimed writer whose work focuses on technology, economics, and culture, dictates that “When the brain is overloaded by stimuli, as it usually is when we’re peering into a network-connected computer screen, attention splinters, thinking becomes superficial, and memory suffers,” (Pro 2 2). If attention and memory become weaker, more stress is placed on the mind, and being subjected to prolonged periods of stress can cause damage to the mind. When an amount of input that is too great to register is received into the mind, cognitive thinking weakens and the effectiveness of understanding and retaining information becomes debilitated. The internet initiates exposure to a wide variety of information, which can impair one’s

Such heavy reliance on the internet causes people to become dependent on it. A Norwegian study conducted in 2018 recorded a decrease in 7 IQ points, which has been believed to be caused by the internet (Pro 2 2). The internet has been suspected to be a direct cause for a decrease in intelligence. For the internet to be considered a purposeful resource, it should be making people more astute, not causing their minds to regress. This change is most prominent in the age group of teenagers, for example, those of British descent. A 2009 study showed a drop in the IQ of British teen boys. In this study, James R. Flynn stated, “that the youth culture is more visually oriented around computer games than they are in terms of reading and holding conversations,” (Pro 2 3). Because they have the internet directly at their disposal, many teenagers no longer feel the need to interact with others face-to-face. Usually, if these activities are balanced and are done in moderation, it should be fine. But many youth misuse the internet in excess while using many different applications. The internet weakens the ability to be able to complete numerous tasks at once in an efficient manner. When trying to complete multiple tasks at once, performance degrades greatly (Pro 2 5). The internet has made a long-lasting impact on the way that people complete individual tasks and the quality of the results that these