The Pros And Cons Of The Internet

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

Although its intention was to nourish our minds with an instant unlimited source of valuable information, the internet has caused some people to lose their appreciation for long texts and their ability to concentrate. Within the essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, the author feels that someone has been tinkering with his brain and that he can no longer enjoy reading a book of any length because he cannot sustain concentration on the book (Carr 1). This is a result of the fact that when people use the internet to find information, they habituate themselves to skim along the lines to quickly allocate their answers and once they have gotten what they needed, they close the browser without any further analysis of the information.

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’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.

“Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicolas Carr, argues that using the internet to read is less thought inciting then reading books. Carr has focused on the various claims that support the argument above. The writer claims that the Internet causes lack of concentration as it is full of ads, hyperlinks, and other media which is meant to distract us. This he gives the example of someone reading the latest headlines in a newspaper site when suddenly a new e-mail messages announces its arrival with a tone of some sort. He says that the “The result is to scatter our attention and diffuse our concentration.” The next claim he makes is that the way we read on the Internet is changing how we use our brains to think; therefore making us less contemplative. Carr mentions Maryanne Wolf who works as a developmental psychologist at Tufts University. Wolf believes that when we read online we become “mere decoders of information”. I believe that Carr uses this example to give the illusion that when we read online we don’t truly gain knowledge but instead we just gather more information.

In the essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” by Nicholas Carr, he stresses that the internet, as helpful as it is, is affecting him negatively. Throughout the essay, Carr expresses how the internet has changed him. His stress on the claim shows that he feels like the internet has made him a lazy reader because of how the internet is set up. Carr explains that it is so simple for people to find what you’re looking for that it takes no effort to find information. Carr believes that the internet is why he now has trouble reading lengthy articles. He feels like he is a slower reader and would often have to drag himself back to the text that he was reading.

In the essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Nicholas Carr expresses his beliefs and personal experiences on how the internet has altered our brains and how we think. He addresses the fact that, although our brains’ abilities to deep read and concentrate are suffering, the internet is extremely beneficial and convenient. Because of the easy accessibility, it takes little to no effort to find information, and therefore, a minimal amount of thinking is required. Carr highlights that people are more impatient because of the internet and that our minds are becoming more erratic. The author used research, conducted by a U.K. educational consortium, to show that a new form of reading is developing over time; rather than reading every word on a

Bruce Friedman, a blogger, has mentioned how the Net had changed his mental habits. Friedman has lost the ability to read and absorb long articles, now he just quickly scans short passages. Anything, even blog posts longer than three paragraphs are too much for him he just skims the articles. A study conducted by University College London suggests that we could be in the middle of a change, the way we are now thinking and reading. This study consisted of two popular research websites, one operated by the British Library and the other by a UK Educational Consortium. The individuals using this website only skimmed, hopping from one source to another, rarely returning to a previous source or reading more than two

The article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” by Nicholas Carr provides the argument that the internet has turned traditional reading into passive reading that prevents deep-thoughts and intellectual growth. Carr believes that being able to sift through extensive amounts of research and noteworthy articles online in a couple of minutes has turned us into passive readers. He explains that not having to spend time searching for information from books has given us a new habit where we quickly sift through information online and miss or forget many important details. Carr claims that the internet has taken his ability to stay focused and have deep thoughts. He explains that his mind expects quick and efficient passive reading to learn new information. I agree with this claim because just as Carr explains, I also feel as if “someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain.”

In his article for The Atlantic, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Nicholas Carr gives the argument of how the internet is changing the way people are now reading less than they used to a century ago. People all over are becoming less interested in reading material that is longer than a few pages sometimes they can't even comprehend to finish reading a paragraph. The concentration someone had while reading a lengthy book is now gone, one of the smallest distractions can get your attention even just boredom itself can make you drift away from your reading. The more time people spend online, the more their ability to concentrate on their readings diminish until they no longer can stay focused on reading something that is longer than three sentences. Because of the way the use of internet on a daily use has made it more efficient for people to search and find what they were looking for right away, the need to be searching through books or other types of informational mediums, is no longer something that is done as often, sense it would take less time and effort to look something up rather than read through a book to find the

In his Is Google Making Us Stupid?, Nicholas Carr contends that the overload of information is “chipping away his capacity for concentration and contemplation”(315). He admits with easy accessibility of information online, the process of research has became much simpler(Carr 315). Yet such benefit comes with a cost. Our brains are “rewired” as the cost of such convenience(Carr 316). As the result, “we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s...but it’s a different kind of reading, and behind it lies a different kind of thinking”(Carr 317). Carr argues the forming of such habits can prevent us from deep reading and thinking. In fact, he provides may evidences in the

In the Atlantic article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr discusses the changes in a human’s thinking style and concentration ability that have occurred since they start depending on the internet for information. The author begins describing the new struggle that he is facing with reading lengthy texts. He indicates that this change is caused from spending a long time on the internet. Carr noted that this universal medium does not only provide endless benefits for the public, but also shapes the process of their thoughts. The internet is affecting human cognition; therefore, controls their brains, causes lack of capacity to concentrate, and disengages their ability to read, absorb, and interpret articles. The author is not the only

In the article Nicholas Carr gives his point of view on how the internet is not only becoming a custom for everyone in the world, but also making us lose a sight of reading “It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of “reading” are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.” As the internet has expanded far beyond the level of education and communicating through web are minds are not. He believed that the internet unlike books is more glimpsing at facts therefore not really gaining the feel for what we read. I strongly disagree with his opinion I feel that the internet like books opens up your mind

“Internet, mobility, and multimedia are important technology tools that are used in education industry” (Hameed 372).Although the internet is an important tool in the classroom and out, it does have downsides. Websites have become more commercialized, and this has made searching through websites difficult since not all websites are reliable. In the Journal done by Shihab Hameed he says that statistics show that teenagers use the internet more than adults, they use the internet to play games, listen to music and meet new people. Hameed also mentions that it reduces student activity. Students are able to get solutions to homework and as result

The effects of the internet on me and this society have been rapidly changing. Did you know that approximately 3.2 billion people use the internet, about 200 billion emails and 3 million google searches would have to wait if the internet was turned off for one day. Let me tell you about something that happened when i was little, it might be off topic a little but when i was little i was born backwards, meaning i came out legs first. My hips were out of place and until i was about 2. My dad is always on the internet and loved taking pictures of his “Little princess”, the pictures can still be found on facebook along with a lot of other things from my family memories. That was when i started wanting to get on the internet, i asked for a facebook and they said no, being a rebel i made one anyways just to play the games on it. The internet can have positive and negative things about it for younger and older people, for example the internet engines are one of the best information givers out there, they bring almost everything and anything to a lot of internet users that lange from all over the world. The internet can provide ways to communicate with family and friends from a long distance, and even meet new people. Bad things about it is people sharing and storing illegal information on the internet, much like the dark web. The addiction to the internet and the online network can be disturbing a person's way of living and professional activity.