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How will be the technology in the near future essay
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In I live in The Future & Here’s How It Works, Nick Bilton effectively explains how new technologies are shaping our future; Bilton effectively points out some of the advantages and possible future uses of technology. He successfully shows how technology is evolving to better serve the “me” centric consumer and does a good job of pointing out Web 2.0’s many benefits for its users. However, Bilton understates the adverse effects of the Internet and multitasking on the brain; which is to say that he downplays how the way we learn, comprehend and remember are being disrupted. When Bilton states that “‘Internet searching appears more stimulating than reading’” he implies that more stimulating is better, which is misleading because a brain being more stimulated does not mean that it learns, comprehends or retains more.
In The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains Nicholas Carr writes that when it comes to firing neurons more isn’t always better (Carr 123). When Bilton cites studies showing more brain activity present during reading online than linear reading, he concludes that Internet readers showed twice as much stimulation; this may be misunderstood to mean that the brain benefited more from reading online. In this context the word “stimulation” can create confusion. Neurologically, when we speak about “stimulation” we refer to the neurons that are actively engaged; in an MRI these parts light up when scanned and so can be measured. In neurology it is a mistake to think that more “stimulation” is better as it is not a measurement of learning. Actually, it is the Internet’s very stimulation that distracts. According to Carr the extra burden of decision-making that hypertext demands of readers impairs reading performanc...
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...lnesses has yet to be seen. In the mean time, an understanding of how the Internet affects our minds could lead to a minimizing of its damage. At the very least people who read online or opt to buy an e-book version of their favorite paperback should be aware of the tradeoffs that they are making. Perhaps e-readers could come with warning labels like ‘warning: reading on this device may cause hypertextism’ or ‘warning: reading on this device may make you a bad listener at dinner parties’ so that at least people could know what they’re sacrificing when they read Crime and Punishment on their iPads. Of course the Internet has made that much less of a problem because very few people now have the concentration and patience necessary to read and understand a Dostoevsky novel; at least people of my mother’s generation felt embarrassed enough to lie and say that they did.
In Is Google Making Us Stupid, Carr concerns about spending too much time on web, making people lose the patient and ability to read and think and changing people’s thinking behaviors. He gives so many points: he can not read lengthy article used to be easy; many author begin to feel that too much reading online let them hard to read and absorb a longish article; we put efficiency and immediacy above understanding when we read; The circuits in brain has been altered by reading habit.
“Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of our Era”, “‘Plug In’ Better: A Manifesto”, and “Your Brain on Computers”: A Critical Analysis of the Efficacy of the Methods by which the Authors Convey Their Ideas Technology and our exposure to it are changing our lives; of this there is no doubt. The issue regarding what form that change will take and the effects of it on our physical and emotional health, however, are more contentious, and experts’ opinions on it run the gamut. In “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of our Era”, neurologist Dr. Richard Restak examines what effect technology has on our brains, and posits that technology, as well as the increasing demand on our brains to perform multiple tasks at once, is causing a decrease In “‘Plug In’ Better: A Manifesto”, technology writer and commentator Dr. Alexandra Samuel states that she believe that there is a middle ground between completely “plugging in” and “unplugging”. She states that we should approach our online interactions in the same ways we approach our offline ones.
The internet is our conduit for accessing a wide variety of information. In his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” Nicholas Carr discusses how the use of the internet affects our thought process in being unable to focus on books or longer pieces of writing. The author feels that “someone, or something, has been tinkering with [his] brain” over the past few years (Carr 731). While he was easily able to delve into books and longer articles, Carr noticed a change in his research techniques after starting to use the internet. He found that his “concentration often [started] to drift after two or three pages” and it was a struggle to go back to the text (Carr 732). His assertion is that the neural circuits in his brain have changed as a result of surfing endlessly on the internet doing research. He supports this statement by explaining how his fellow writers have had similar experiences in being unable to maintain their concentrations. In analyzing Carr’s argument, I disagree that the internet is slowly degrading our capacity for deep reading and thinking, thereby making us dumber. The Web and Google, indeed, are making us smarter by allowing us access to information through a rapid exchange of ideas and promoting the creativity and individualization of learning.
Like Gladwell, Nicholas Carr believes the internet has negative effects. In his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Carr attempts to show as the internet becomes our primary source of information, it diminishes the ability to read books and extensive research. Carr goes on to give a very well researched account of how text on the internet is designed make browsing fast and profitable. He describes how the design for skimming affects our thinking skills and attention spans. He wraps up his argument by describing what we are losing in the shift toward using the internet as our main information source. Carr suggests the learning process that occurs in extensive research and through reading is lost. While the learning process can be beneficial to scholars and intellectuals, not everyone has the capability to follow through with it. The internet offers an education that anyone can have access to and understand. Also if Carr believes the learning process is better, this option is always available for people who want to learn according to this scholarly principal. However, for the rest of the population the quick and easy access has allowed the average population to become more educated, and to expose themselves to aspects of academia that previously is reserved for
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 have the capacity to sit down and read a book, as well as his own personal experiences with this issue. The internet presents tons of data at once, and it is Carr’s assumption that our brains will slowly become wired to better receive this information.
Steven Pinker and Nicholas Carr share their opposing views on the effects that mass media can have on the brain. In Carr’s Atlantic Monthly article “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” it explores his viewpoints on how increased computer use affects our thought process in a negative manner. Carr critically analyzes that having widespread access to the internet via the internet has done more harm by disabling our ability to think complexly like it is the researching in a library. On the other hand, Pinker expresses how the media improves our brain’s cognitive functions. Pinker expresses that we should embrace the new technological advances and all we need is willpower to not get carried away in the media. Although both authors bring very valid arguments
Although the Internet has increased how much we read, it has deteriorated our concentration level. We are no longer able to read long passages and stay interested. We have resorted to skimming or finding a shorter version. It has also affected our ability to take an analytical approach to what we read. We no longer go beyond comprehending the information we take in. Outside of using the Internet to “enhance” our mind, Carr has also made the point that it is a daily involvement. We incorporate it in our everyday lives, because it is a source of entertainment or serves as some type of convenience for us.
Using technology can have certain effects on the brain. Nicholas Carr’s magazine blog, “The Web Shatters Focus, Rewrites Brains,” tells us an experiment from a ULCA professor, Gary Small. Gary Small
The internet damages us, people have lost their ability to read full articles and don’t fully understand what they read and because of this,our natural intelligence will never be the same with the internet around, thinking for us.
In response to Mitoko Rich, “Literacy Debate – Online, R U Really Reading?” in the 21st century, children are learning via different sources, whether through textbooks, internet, blogs, etc. Therefore, it was not surprising to read what is mentioned in this article. Reading in the digital age is causing a debate, especially in regards to students. After reading the article, questions came to mind such as; is it possible that digital text can cause more harm than
Author Nicholas Carr’s 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”(313). Basically, he is acknowledging that since he started using the Internet his research techniques have changed. Carr believes that 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
First Carr tells us about Friedrich Nietzsche, “His vision was failing, and keeping his eyes focused on a page had become exhausting and painful...The typewriter rescued him.” (Carr 318). Carr claims that the typewriter changed his writing style, but having a slightly different style does not take away from the fact that Nietzsche can still put his ideas onto paper. If Nietzsche had not bought the typewriter then he would not be able to write anymore, so clearly any small downside of the typewriter is outweighed by the the typewriter allowing Nietzsche to continue writing. Carr also claims at one point that the internet uses “a style that puts ‘efficiency’ and ‘immediacy’ above all else” (Carr 317). Carr argues that the efficiency and immediacy of the internet limits our ability for deep reading. Thompson claims that “Every new tool shapes the way we think, as well as what we think about” (Thompson 348). Every tool humans have ever created has shaped our brains, so we should not be scared that the internet is changing the way that we think. Especially considering it is causing us to think and learn more
Carr provides us scientific information that proves his point. ““We are not only what we read,” says Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University and the author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. “We are how we read.” Wolf worries that the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged” (Carr 3). Carr gives us information from Tufts University, that contribute to his point. This information tells us that the internet weakens our capacity for reading. That is what Carr is saying, that’s the point of all of this. Carr wrote this so he can inform us how google in affecting
He states how he used to spend hours reading, but his concentration started to drift after two or three pages. He backed up his theory with stories from others who say they’re experiencing the same thing. But they still await the long-term neurological and psychological experiments that will provide a definitive picture of how the internet affects cognition. After a brief history lesson, Carr starts to incorporate Google into the article. He tells us about Google’s history and their mission.
For example, it has become a new medium for play and entertainment for children, but is this a healthy alternative to older forms of play? And what about parents who use technology just to keep their kids quite? As with all new technologies, there are pros and cons. Although, it is unfair to blame a technology because of the content people put on it. Greenfield, Patricia, and Zheng Yan put it best when they say, “Just as we cannot ask whether a knife is inherently good or bad, we cannot ask whether the Internet is good or bad; we can simply document how it is used.” So, as much as some may blame the Internet for its problems, the real war is against the substance within the Internet (Greenfield, Patricia, and Zheng Yan 390-93). And thus comes the main argument against the Internet, is the composition of the Internet harmful to