Digital Addiction By Jim Solisch Summary

Birkerts provides three effects that will occur as a result of moving away from the printed word to the electronic media. The first effect is the language erosion. He explains the reader that transition from books will lead to the “complexity and distinctiveness of verbal and written communication, which are deeply bound to transaction of print literacy, will gradually be replaced by a more telegraphic sort of plainspeak” (9). In the future our language will start to become more simple and dumb. Whereas, by reading books and printed materials people are able to dig more depth and understand and imagine the contents. But, soon this will start to disappear as people will no longer be able to understand the complex language of the literature and intelligence level of people will start to decrease. The second effect of electronic media is the flattening of historical perspectives. This means that due to the electronic media the history will start to recede because the “printed page itself is a link” and when this link is broken the past will gradually diminish (10). Birkerts explains the audience that the past is best represented in the books and libraries. Therefore, moving away from the printed word means moving away from the past and its history. The last effect is the waning of the private self. Birkerts worries that in the future people will forget how to live because of the electronic

Carr identifies how reading a book is different from reading online because when you read online, you don’t think deeply about what it is you’re reading, and you don’t have to concentrate nearly as much. Carr also mentions that the Internet is something people find themselves going to more often than books because it is more time efficient.

With the rise of technology and the staggering availability of information, the digital age has come about in full force, and will only grow from here. Any individual with an internet connection has a vast amount of knowledge at his fingertips. As long as one is online, he is mere clicks away from Wikipedia or Google, which allows him to find what he needs to know. Despite this, Nicholas Carr questions whether Google has a positive impact on the way people take in information. In his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Carr explores the internet’s impact on the way people read. He argues that the availability of so much information has diminished the ability to concentrate on reading, referencing stories of literary types who no longer

Lauren Shinozuka wrote “The Dangers of Digital Distractedness” for a class assignment. She is a college student that lives in the world of technology and internet. Her idea to address how dependent the world has become on technology without even realizing it. Lead her to her own evaluation of her life and how technology has changed how she deals and interacts with people.

Communication with our society and the aptitude for reading has been transformed by the Internet as we, no matter who we are or what we use, adapt to the mechanism of technology and become a less intelligent, shallow community. Due to the many hours we spend on our electronic devices and the fast-paced reading we’ve adjusted to, our brains have become psychologically less perceptive of how the Internet is affecting our everyday lives. We need to make note of our daily habits and how much time we spend online, for the Internet will continue to affect generation after

The passages “Plugged-In and Tuned-Out: The Dangers of Teenage Virtual Addiction” by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras and “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury both approach the same topic through different perspectives. Kardaras, an addiction specialist, consistently provides examples of ways technology can impact a child’s life for the worse. However, Bradbury takes his readers to the future, showing the world as if technology took over human lives. The central idea conveyed through both pieces of writing is the potential dangers posed by technology to both individuals and societies.

Browsing the internet contrasts sharply with reading from a book. The internet is not intended to be read; it is meant to be scanned hastily for relevant information. In Nicholas Carr’s book, The Shallows, Joe O’Shea, a Rhodes scholar, writes that reading books “is not a good use of my time, as I can get all the information I need faster through the web” (Carr, 9). O’Shea believes books are “superfluous” because of the efficiency of the internet (Carr, 9). They must be read carefully in order to find relevant information, but the internet allows one to, “cherry-pick the pertinent passages using Google Book Search” (Carr, 8). Carr writes, “we’re no longer guided toward a deep, personally constructed understanding of the text’s connotations” (166). Internet users do not have to think deeply about the meaning of an online text

Nicholas Carr’s article is directed to an audience that should realize Google and today’s technologies are hindering our societal progress. Carr proposes that reading online is less thought provoking than reading an actual book. In his opinion the Internet was created to distract us, therefore, changing the way we think. Carr suggest that the value of reading online is associated with efficiency and information gathering rather than knowledge and understanding. To support his claim he references blogger, Scott Karp, who admits to having stopped reading books all together. Karp states that his reason for reading online is “I’m just seeking convenience.” (511) Carr goes on to argue that we read online because we feel the need to be efficient.

In response to Mitoko Rich, “Literacy Debate – Online, R U Really Reading?” In the 21st century, children are learning via many different sources, whether through textbooks, internet, blogs, etc. Therefore, it was not surprising to read what was mentioned in this article. Reading in the digital age is causing a debate, especially in regards to students. After reading the article, I began to wonder; is it possible that digital text can cause more harm than good? Can digital text take away the value of reading books? And what is happening psychologically to a child when they are using digital text?

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

“Reading on the Web is not really Reading” by Susan Jacoby explores how a younger generation does not take in as much information as generations that did not have as much technology. Jacoby tries to persuade the reader to believe that a generation with technology around every corner is not as intelligent or hardworking as a generation without any technology. She does this through logos and pathos but fails to use credible sources,contradicts herself and in the end does not prove her main argument. Jacoby hesitates to prove her point that reading on the web is not truly reading but instead tries to intimidate the reader to believe that technology in the younger generation has caused intelligence to decrease.

Carr’s premise is that the Web is interfering with our ability to focus on lengthy material. On the contrary, the internet is actually aiding our ability to focus on reading. This holds true for younger children, who are known as the digital natives in our generation. In a research conducted by The National Center for Education shows that “by altering the mode of reading material from traditional paper-based reading to online reading,” the interest of elementary school children increased (Wright 367). Because children of the 21st century are surrounded by technology, they are more likely to gear towards digital media for their mode of learning. Contrary to Carr’s view that the internet “is chipping away [the] capacity for concentration and contemplation,” these children are more likely to read and focus as a result of

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?

The article, “Digital Literacy Is the Key to the Future, But We Still Don’t Know What It Means,” is written by Marcus Wohlsen. He writes his article, to explain to the public what digital literacy is. Wohlsen knows that the increasing there is an increasing usage of technology in the public life, and to adapt to this they are going to need to be literate is using it. In his article, he explains to the public what this literacy is, and how much one needs to be literate in technology. Wohlsen effectively uses multiple viewpoints of experts and relatability to engage the reader and explain to them what digital literacy is all about.

Now days with the rise of digital technology many physical items such as pen and paper are slowly being replaced by computers and smart phones. But is this really a good thing? I read books and of course so do many other people in this class and around the globe. But since the creation of ‘e-readers’ more and more people have been converting to the technology based side of reading. Although technology is slowly becoming more predominant in this era we should not rely on it to always entertain and keep us occupied.