Is Google Making Us Stupid?

739 Words2 Pages

Nicholas Carrs article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” makes points that I agree with, although I find his sources to be questionable. The article discusses the effects that the Internet may be having on our ability to focus, the difference in knowledge that we now have, and our reliance on the Internet. The points that are made throughout Carrs article are very thought provoking but his sources make them seem invaluable. Carr discusses the effects that the Internet has on our minds and the way we think, as well as the way media has changed. Our minds no longer focus. When in conversation with people we are constantly distracted by the technological advances our era has brought. Text messages, emails, pop culture drama has all taken over thoughts. Our minds have changed from being able to focus and read a lengthy paper, to distracted and skimming for the little highlights to give us information. Media used to be lengthy pages full of information. Now it has turned into short snippets of the bold points in the articles, “Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, and magazines and newspapers shorten their articles, introduce capsule summaries, and crowd their pages with easy-to-browse info-snippets” (Carr 5). Media has played on our short attention span and constantly wondering mind by adding bright colors and bold prints to the many stories all around us. The days of one-page articles are over. Now one page turns into five to ten links, three sub-links, and twenty other sidebars. Although Carr’s sources may be highly praised in their field or study, they are not experts in the effects the Internet has on our minds. Bloggers are often very opinionated and do not pose as reliable sources for information. The fact tha... ... middle of paper ... ... to the point where we can no longer hold true to natural human characteristics, we are surely dooming ourselves. Although the Internet is very helpful and has created many technological advances, we as humans are not created to function like a computer. Our minds require deep thought, human interaction, and thorough knowledge of things so we can remember and fully understand concepts. The Internet in itself is a very helpful tool. The advances that have fallowed are truly amazing, along with vast array of information available. Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” is very flawed and does not provided adequate resources to back up his claims. That being said, Carr points out things that might otherwise have been looked over and accepted as normal. His question is sincere, thought provoking, and one we all should be asking ourselves before its too late.

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