Analysis Of From The Shallows: Is The Internet Changing How We Think?

In the Atlantic Magazine, Nicholas Carr wrote an article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr poses a good question about how the internet has affected our brain, by remapping the neural circuitry and reprogramming our memory. Carr states, “My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell-but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the say way I used to think.”

In his essay “Does the Internet Make You Dumber?”, Nicholas Carr argues that technology leaves us unable to be as thorough in our previous mental abilities and distracts us, through changes to our mental pathways and biological mechanisms. Nicholas Carr uses the appeal of data, the frightening effects of living in the digital age, and his own conclusions from his exhaustive research to structure his examination.

The Internet is something that some consider their lifesavers, while others believe that it takes their life away. The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr is a novel that explores the different areas of how new technologies affect humans in different ways, regarding multi-tasking and distractions, to how new technologies make us lose a little part of ourselves. Throughout the book Carr puts forward very strong arguments, but then loses creditability with his use of fallacies in argument.

It is true that people are becoming more and more reliant on the internet to do everyday tasks. I feel that Carr addresses the issue perfectly in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid”. If we continue to use technology for everything, we will eventually lose all ability to deep read and make those critical connections that are necessary for true comprehension and application. He indicates that “the more [he] uses the web, the more he has to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing” (736). Knowing how difficult it was to read and analyze Carr’s article myself, I fully agree with his claims. Having grown up in a world that has always had technology, I must be hyper-cognizant of the task at hand when it comes to something such as reading, particularly if it is something that I deem less than interesting. When I was finally able to get through the entire essay, I started to think about how much I use the internet. I must admit that

Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, questions the impact the technology has upon our lives. He argues that the internet prevents our ability to engage in deep reading and thus restricts our ability to think critically. He says this is due to the idea of neuroplasticity, which is where our brains change in order to adapt to the different stimuli it encounters. When books were first introduced, our brain had to rewire itself in order to achieve the ability to focus for long periods of time on text and to think deeply about it. This resulted in a literate deep thinker. However, the internet has forced our brain to rewire itself again. Carr says that “there is evidence that the cells of our brains literally develop and grow bigger with use, and atrophy or waste away with disuse” (22). Our brain has many structures that perform specific functions and the structures associated with deep thinking can decrease and eventually will serve no function if we don’t use it. We are much better thsn our ancestors. According to Carr, “the oral world of our distant ancestors may well have had emotional and intuitive depths we can no longer appreciate” (56). In other words, Carr believes that people in the past engaged in focused, immersed thinking. I believe that Nicholas Carr is right when he says that the internet is changing the way we think, however I don’t believe that we need to turn off the internet in order to reduce the chances of losing

Nicholas Carr’s Atlantic Online article “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” discusses how the use of the computer affects our thought process. Carr starts out talking about his own experience as a writer and how he felt like “something had been tinkering with his brain, remapping his neural circuitry and reprogramming his memory”. Since starting to use the Internet his research techniques have changed. Carr said before he would immerse himself in books, lengthy articles and long stretches of prose allowing his “mind to get caught up in the narrative or the arguments”(July/August 2008, Atlantic Monthly). Today Carr has found that “his concentration drifts away from the text after several pages and he struggles to get

In the book, The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr, they talk about ways the internet has changed the way we think and how we take in information. The internet is the space where everyone can be connected in one way or another. It has many positive effects but like anything with positive effects, it has some negative effects. The internet can be a great source of news, information, entertainment, and much more. But the way it is presented sometimes can have some negative effects on our brain. I do agree with the statement that the internet is affecting how we think and how we perceive things, but it isn’t always in the most negative way. In the book, The Shallows: What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr, he talks about how the brain functions and how the internet affecting us in a negative way. But later on, he goes on to state that it has in some ways made people smarter than they were before. I’d have to say that I do agree with everything that Nicholas Carr has to say about

Since the rise of technology and smart devices, the public has seen controversy over the benefits and drawbacks of internet usage. Nicholas Carr shared his opinions in the article “From The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.” In the text, he claims that it seems to be “chipping away” his “capacity for concentration and contemplation” (Carr 5). In addition to that, he does not hesitate to state how “some worry they’re becoming chronic scatterbrains” from using the web (Carr 6). His views are painted purple in this piece of writing, as any reader could infer that Carr possesses a slightly bitter tone when it comes to the interwebs. He displays his dislike for the way it is reshaping our brains and mental function, even going

Not only is the way we view the world being altered, but also the way in which we receive information. Because the internet makes finding the answer to a question so easy, humans are beginning to want everything in an instant. I think the Internet has changed our expectations of comprehending text by reading and analyzing the text, to get it quickly and with giving little to no effort, or as some call it, “brain sweat”. Although it may seem that there is nothing wrong with taking a more efficient way, computers can only do so much. We must be able to recognize social ques and communicate with others. I agree with Carr’s statement that “if we lose those quiet spaces, or fill them up with “content,” we will sacrifice something important not only to ourselves,

Over the years, technology has developed into something that we cannot live without. Society is constantly being dictated and reshaped by the newest technology. In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, he expounded on the uncomfortable sense that someone, or something was tinkering with his brain. He realized that he’s not thinking the way he used to. Additionally, he explains how our brains aren’t familiar with critical thinking anymore. He also introduces the idea that the Internet is doing more harm to us than good. I believe Carr’s ideas on the negative effects of the Internet are well founded. The validity surrounds us daily.

In the book The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr he argues how the internet is changing our brains or the worse. With the exception of the alphabets and the number systems, the Net may well be the single most powerful mind-altering technology that has ever come into general use. At the very least, it’s the most powerful that has come along since the book. Carr explains how powerful the internet is by its ability to change the development of the brain, how people think, and the ability to remember.

Nicholas Carr published The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains in 2011 as a result of his own personal experiences and observations of his own behavior. The book was published by W.W. Norton & Company with ISBN 978-0-393-33975-8. Carr began working on the book after he noticed that since the birth of the internet, he did not think in the same ways that he used to think; he was easily distracted and had trouble concentrating on tasks requiring a lot of thought (2011). This effect, he noticed, was not unique to him. Many of his colleagues reported that they too had lost a lot of interest in reading books, had trouble concentrating and were easily distracted (Carr, 2011). What if, Carr wondered, everyone doesn’t just prefer to do their reading on the internet for its inherent convenience and speed but rather, what if the internet was actually changing the way we all think?

Is the internet making us smarter or dumber? People continuously argue whether this rise of electronic use and internet in our lives is a negative or positive aspect. In June 5, 2010 Wall Street Journal article, Nicholas Carr raises and answer the intriguing question,“Does the Internet Make You Dumber?”Nicholas Carr argues that the internet has bad effects on our brain. He says that the internet makes it harder to remember anything, and that is harder to move memories into long term memory. Those who are continually distracted by emails, alerts, and text messages understand less than a person who can concentrate. Nicholas Carr points that the internet can change the way our brain acts. He states that those who use the internet are shallow, and the internet is causing irreversible damage to our thought processes and making us stupid. A week later, Steven Pinker counters Nicholas Carr’s assertions in his own New York Time article,“Mind Over Mass Media.”He argues that electronic technologies are not as horrible as some may make it seem, and he starts his article by addressing how“New forms of media have always caused moral panics”(199). Throughout his article, Pinker explains why critics, who accuse electronic technology as harming to human intelligence, are wrong. He suggests that,“these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart”(200). Through media and social networking, the internet brings people closer together and provides convenience for people’s life.

The internet has been around for a few decades now and several people are accustomed to using it in their everyday lives. Recently however, an author named Nicholas Carr published a book arguing that the internet is not good for us, and our brains. He claims that the internet is making us into shallow individuals, hence the name of his book, The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains. After reading this book, I must agree with Carr’s argument that the internet is altering our mindsets.

“Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think.” These daunting words were echoed by Nicholas Carr, author of the non-fiction , “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.” His work has received both acclimation and criticism for exploring the extent of the internet’s influence on cognition. While Carr argues that the internet is indeed responsible for rewiring our brain leading to negative implications, others believe that the internet can be tailored to generate long-term benefits, and some believe that it there isn’t enough experimental evidence to support either side.