The Internet Is Closing Our Minds

Seife illustrates the internet to be a trap for close minded people. He states, “With news and data that is tailored to our prejudices, we deprive ourselves of true information. We wind up wallowing in our own false ideas, reflected back at us by the media. The news is ceasing to be a window unto the world; it is becoming a mirror that allows us to gaze only upon our own beliefs (299). This happens when individuals avoid ‘negative information’ that doesn’t coincide with their own beliefs just to be comfortable. Which in other words, would put individuals in a state of cognitive dissonance. The internet is supposed to be a place where people explore new things, take on new

As Carr continues, he speaks of his extended use of the internet over the last decade, explaining that all information that he once painstakingly searched for is done in minutes with the use of search engines. In doing this, Carr places blame on the internet for breaking his ability to concentrate. Carr presents his arguments in a way that his readers could easily agree. He gradually works up to the idea that the internet has weakened his ability to focus, and as he does this he makes several general statements about the internet’s nature. These points on the net’s nature are so basic that any reader of his article would be inclined to agree with them, and this lends itself to help readers believe the argument Carr wishes to propose. Because it would be hard to provide factual evidence to support his claims, Carr effectively uses logical reasoning to convince the reader.

In this paper, I will be arguing against the text by Lawrence Lessig by providing evidence and reasoning that proves that complete internet regulation would never be implemented on a global scale due to the privacy concerns that the United States would face while minimal internet regulation, like what Lessig suggests, would be unable to coexist with countries like China and Saudi Arabia who morally conflict with a global majority. Internet regulation will never be consistent in a global scheme and would require constant revision which makes it not provide enough utility to be considered when judging from Utilitarianism.

Many people believe that the internet and other advances that have come from modern technology are the best things that have ever happened to them, and they may be right. However, according to Seife, the internet only makes things worse. Through his use of diction, especially in his opening statement “opinions are stubborn things” Seife clearly embodies a bitter and mocking tone (223). Seife’s tone, though well backed, puts his readers off from what he claims because most, if not all, people spend lots of time on the internet scrolling through a feed full of things they believe in. He isolates those who use an online community to strengthen their beliefs. In this way, Seife uses his diction poorly and ends up chasing his audience away, which is not ideal, especially in the first paragraph.

Furthermore, Carr's appeal to ethos is accomplished through the vast amount of research he has done, which present evidence that support his argument. His research increases his credibility, showing the reader that he knows the subject at hand. Lastly Carr uses a mix of anecdotes and facts in his article that appeals to ethos, allowing Carr the to emotionally hook, and successfully persuades the reader. Carr’s argument is backed by multiple writers and researchers who share the same idea, that the internet us changing the way we think.

Carr makes his case by using his own personal experience at the beginning of the argument. Using his own personal experience with internet has helped to reinforce a solid argument. This anecdotal evidence is also used to make a convincing argument. He uses names of individuals and experts’ opinions to illustrate that other persons had the same experience and also feel the same way about the internet. These testimonial evidence makes the argument more credible. The use of historical evidence strengthens his argument based on the fact that some of examples are actually occurring today. This allows the readers to stand on the author’s side of reasoning. Carr also uses factual information about the company of google to convince the readers that

Finally, after reading this article, I think regulations should be created for the internet. Children today have more access to the internet than they did years ago. Parents have the obligation to educate their children about the dangers of the internet and to be cautious. However, it shouldn't be only the parent's responsibility, the government should take some responsibility also. Cleaver did a great job with her points. Her points were very persuasive and shocking; I am positive that she convinced her audience the day she gave this speech. Parents would do anything to protect their

Analysis 1: I will use this in my first body paragraph as a example of the rhetorical choice appeal to expert opinion with the expert expressing the internet affects the brain in a positive way. The majority of the article and the overall rhetorical choice used by Naughton is the use of different opinions of experts and writers to strength the article’s credibility. Naughton displays the statements of both arguments which can pursued the reader to form their own opinion depending on which experts point of view appealed to them. In this quotes case, the writer of this statement is Ed Bullmore, a liscenced psychiatrist. His job title alone lets the reader know he has a academic background regarding the argument in a psychological stand point. His statement that “the impact of the internet has

Our group’s topic is net neutrality. The reason for choosing net neutrality as the focus of our project is because it is a current topic in our country that is being debated about, thus making it controversial. Because the recent repeal on net neutrality affects the majority of the people living in the United States, the action cannot simply be ignored. Our group had many intentions in choosing our topic. First off, we want to explain what net neutrality is in order to get rid of any misconceptions about it. Then, we want to illustrate the effect of repealing net neutrality would have in our country. Most importantly, we feel the need to express our opinion on net neutrality and let the audience know that the repeal on net neutrality was a

In this article, Nicholas Carr attempts to explain how the way information is presented on the Internet has changed our way of thinking. He uses many different methods to do this, playing on the audience’s emotions as he uses anecdotes, research, and his own observations to try and convince the audience that the Internet has been detrimental to our thinking and learning processes. For the most part I believe his argument is ineffective because of his organization, his choice of sources, and his tone.

Propaganda is just as reverent today as it was during the 1930’s, persuasive techniques are regularly applied by politicians, journalists, advertisers, radio hosts, and others who are interested in persuading people to their side of the room. Propagandistic statements are used to achieve constructive societal advancements such as campaigning to reduce drunk driving, or used to succeed in political elections. Along with the advancement of the Internet, the outpouring of persuasive information has been greatly increased (Delwiche). For the first time in history the public can participate in uncensored discussions with their neighbors from around the world. The Internet phenomenon has two-part consequence attached. The development of fast and wide range information is an excellent advancement, but has driven society into network overload.

The internet is a resource with ever expanding content and applications for everyone to use however, net neutrality rules on the free use of internet remains a debated topic. The “Point/Counterpoint: Network Neutrality Nuances” presents Barbara van Schewick’s supportive argument on the applications of net neutrality rules, and the consequences of failing to do so. Schewick’s engaging justifications are well researched with arguments containing significant amounts of examples, strong and simplistic diction to reach her audience, and clean and smooth transitions to move between ideas.

There is nothing more potent than an idea. Presently, broadcasting an idea has never been easier and a large audience never so reachable. The Internet represents the most efficient means of mass communication – a place where information is readily available and millions can be reached with the click of a button. The incalculable enormity and accessibility of the Internet means that we are constantly bombarded with messages and ideas that are often misleading and incomplete.

I am Aric See and I am a senior in the Weidner School of Inquiry at Plymouth High School in Plymouth Indiana. Net Neutrality is a very important issue facing the United States, with many Republican members of Congress opposing the FCC’s Open Internet Order and the reclassifying of broadband to Telecommunication Services from Information Services. The members of the GOP who are completely against the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) reclassification, and attempts to keep the internet free, give many reasons that are simply not true, such as the FCC’s regulations will destroy the free nature of the internet. Because of the attempts by Congressmen with the GOP to fight the regulations, many Americans, especially small business owners that use the web as a base, feel that their equality and freedoms on the internet will be

Theorists contend that representative government is headed for direct democracy by way of the Internet. Essentially what will happen is that representatives will no longer be needed because citizens will be able to use the Internet to make decisions. Grossman contends that “the more power [citizens] have to control their government and to involve themselves in making its decisions, the better” (41). Over the years citizens have been obtaining information through the media, newspapers, and other forms of mass media. The issues that arise with obtaining information through these sources are that the government can easily censor them. With the Internet comes “vastly expanded capacities for data collection, for computation, and for automation” (Kamark & Nye 22).