Negative Effects Of Mass Media

In Steven Johnson's persuasive essay “Watching Tv Makes You Smarter,” he defies what our culture teaches us about television. Our society teaches that television is making our youth “dumb” and that our culture enjoys the “simple pleasures” so that is what the media companies are feeding us with. But, Johnson states that based on what the show “24” suggests, the “exact opposite is happening: the culture is getting more cognitively demanding, not less” (1). The growing interest of TV programs with complex mental faculties involves three primary elements: multiple threading, flashing arrows and social networks (2).

In, “The Influencing Machine,” author Brooke Gladstone explains that the changing media does not change our brains if we do not let it. This goes against all the fears of technology thus far, essentially making us humans the artificial intelligence.

In the article“Mind Over Mass Media” by Steven Pinker he covers the controversial topics of the effect that the new forms of media have on our mental capabilities and moral opinions. He refutes that media has not taken a toll on our intelligence, but, in fact, it has increased it, even to the extent of raising our IQs. Although there are likely negative impacts like addiction or distraction, he indicates that these impacts can be controlled, so hence the title “Mind Over Mass Media.” Pinker’s central claim is that new media technologies increase our intelligence and through their use, more discoveries are being made. Through the powers of his persuasion, Pinker draws us in, by appealing to his audience using historical and scientific evidence,

With new technological advancements occurring more rapidly each year, it is no surprise that there is an extensive conversation about how these new progressions impact the brain’s development and cognition. One trend is evident: there is a universal acknowledgment that technology is indeed changing the way we think. Among the members contributing to this conversation, two strikingly different outlooks on how these changes will affect the future exist. Either we should be terrified, or worrying is premature. Articles written by experts specializing in psychology and the brain, such as Pinker’s “Mind Over Mass Media,” as well as "How Has the Internet Reshaped Human Cognition?" by Kee and Loh, as well as and finally “Children, Wired- for

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

In the article, “Mind Over Mass Media,” by Pinker, the author states how knowledge is increasing, and how human brain powers are not limited to information and the way they interact with each other. To illustrate, he contends, “News media caughten up for a reason. Knowledge is increasing exponentially; human brain power and waking hours are not. The internet and information technologies are helping us manage, search and retrieve our collective intellectual output at different scales, from Twitter and previews to e-books and online encyclopedias. Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart” (197). In addition, media caught on for a reason because people are able to retrieve more information and manage their daily lives with the technology people have today. People in general are lazier today, than back many years ago because of the technology people have. People are able to sit in their living room in their homes and not leave the house to socially interact with anyone else. Technology is increasing the knowledge of people because of all the media and web browsing there is for people to interact with and learn something new that they didn’t know before. Technology is advancing today’s society with knowledge and control for people to interact with others and strengthen people’s brain power by using the technology people have

Throughout the course of history, humans have made great technological advancements. During the Renaissance, the printing press had revolutionized all of Europe; the accessibility of books had become universal, and people learned how to read and write. Because of the printing press, people became smarter and humanity had made a huge advancement into the modern world. In the 21st century, however, there is a growing issue; even though humans are becoming smarter, the human brain has suffered a negative impact from the internet. In the book, "The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains," by Nicholas Carr, Carr discusses how the internet completely changes the way people think. Because of the internet, our ability to think deeply,

According to the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, the Internet is beginning to change how people’s brains work. He states that reading articles online can remap how the brain functions. It has become harder for people to read a lengthier article due the brain’s capacity of obtaining the information. Minds begin to drift away after reading only a couple of pages and some people would not even bother to read a long article. The reasoning for all of this is that the media, including the Internet, is giving them all the answers that they need. Due to this, people are relying more on the Internet to obtain their information instead of their intelligence. Nickolas Carr argues in “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” that the ability to focus and understand is being reduced by the Internet.

In Steven Johnson’s novel, Everything Bad is Good for You, Johnson makes the bold statement that today’s popular culture has increased our brain functions, and made our society more intelligent as a whole. He concludes that everything that has negative connotations in our society is actually beneficial to the expansion of our minds; mainly television, videogames, movies and the internet. His two main claims are “all the standards we use to measure reading’s cognitive benefits – attention, memory, following threads, and so on – the nonliterary popular culture has been steadily growing more challenging over the past thirty years.” and “the nonliterary popular culture is honing different mental skills that are just as important as the ones exercised

Does the Internet lessen our ability to think for ourselves? Not just the ability to think for ourselves, but the capacity for deep, contemplative thought. Nicholas Carr’s article Is Google Making Us Stupid?, which was first published in The Atlantic on July 1, 2008, asked us to consider this controversial question. Ease of access to information can provide enormous advantages, that can’t be denied. While Mr. Carr does admit that there are numerous benefits that technology brings us, he argues that the cost may be more than we had previously considered. Among the authorities that he references, he pits the views of Wired writer Clive Thompson against the famous media theorist Professor Marshall McLuhan. Mr. Thompson states that the Internet “can be an enormous boon to thinking.” On the other hand, Mr. McLuhan questions the extent to which the media impacts the thought process. As far back as the 1960’s, he theorized that various forms of media are not merely passive tools used to obtain information, but that the media is, in reality, shaping the thought process. What Mr. Carr is asking us to consider is that the Internet is leading us away from independent thought, as opposed to steering us towards enlightenment. Initial research into this does appear to give

In modern day, television is very prominent in many people’s lives. This brings attention to the question of whether or not watching television makes you smarter. Some argue that because of complex shows such as 24, the culture is getting “more cognitively demanding, not less” (278). However, some believe that mass culture “follows a path declining steadily toward lowest-common-denominator standards, presumably because the ‘masses’ want dumb, simple pleasures and big media companies try to give the masses what they want” (278). In Steven Johnson’s article, Watching TV Makes You Smarter, he asserts that exactly what his title suggests. He believes this because of something he calls the Sleeper Curve. The Sleeper Curve is the concept of cognitive intricacy improving due to mass media influences. Johnson does an exceptional job at convincing myself and other readers that watching television can, in fact, make you smarter. He does this by using the rhetorical features such as presenting dissenting opinions fairly, using relevant examples, and using personal pronouns.

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.

In Watching TV makes you smarter, published in "The New York Times" on April 24, 2005, Steven Johnson argues for the multiple threads, fewer flashing arrows and social networking that make modern Television nourishing cognitive food. In answer to Johnson's article, "Carrie" posted Does watching TV make you stupid? on May 1, 2005. Carrie presents further blogs on May 3rd and May 7th, 2005; however, the gist of her arguments are contained in her first blog. Comparing the logic of Johnson's argument for and Carrie's argument against Television as cognitive food, I believe that Johnson presents the more convincing argument.

Like many people my age, media is a huge part of my daily life and is prevalent in all my memories. Media such as photography brings to life memories I otherwise would have forgotten, while the internet allows me to connect with others from across the world and gives me access to resources like Khan Academy to aid me in school. Media also has more negative impacts, such as interfering with family time. Whether its effect is positive or negative, media has influenced my life since the start and this reflection helped me realize that.

The media and technology impacts socialisation by becoming a determining factor that sets trends on how communication and knowledge sharing is processed. I have conducted a research using a questionnaire to analyse how media and technology affects socialisation between generation x (born 1965-1976) and generation z (1996-2009).