Is Google Making USupid By Nicholas Carr

In his 2008 article Is Google Making Us Stupid, Nicholas Carr, a writer of books, essays and ephemera, claims that the Internet might have negative effects on cognition which could potentially taper our capacity for concentration and contemplation, therefore make us incapable of holding a long attention span. Carr uses vivid imagery, personal examples and voices the views of fellow bloggers who also agree that our way of thinking and ability to concentrate has been altered. His purpose is to address the issue that the simple use of “.com” has transformed our critical thinking patterns and our naturally functioning mind. Carr’s arguments are more indirectly pointed towards the younger generations who have become more reliant of the Internet, however, he addresses the fact that the web is running the risk of making anyone who has access to it full of artificial knowledge. Since Carr’s arguments explicitly rest not only on the views of fellow bloggers but his own opinion as well, his argument is not as persuasive due to the simple fact that he is unable to support his claim with concrete factual data. Nicholas Carr sees the Internet as a loss and not as a gain. His own criticism is more artificial but he seems to miss the humanizing effects of the web and targets the degenerative effects instead. There is no doubt that people are spending more and more time on the

Carr not only wonders if the Internet and Google is causing individuals to become less intelligent therefore hindering our ability to think critically but also if artificial intelligence is positive or negative. Carr is rather unsuccessful in providing evidence as to whether or not the Internet is tapering our critical thinking, however, he does in fact open up the minds of his readers and forces them to assess their own experiences with the Internet and other technologies and how their critical thinking patterns are