Compare And Contrast Hal And Me By Nicholas Carr

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Naturally we have been accustomed to pick up a novel and read it from left to right. An individual focusing on a career specializing in journalism is often associated with an abundance of articles and paperbacks alongside a notepad and a writing utensil. But in the modern realm of smartphones and blogging, individuals such as Nicholas Carr found themselves time and time again with a mouse in hand and a finger above the delete key (Carr, 2010, p. 355). By incorporating an individual’s infatuation with curiosity to the world wide web, it dooms them to a parallel universe of shortcuts and means of entertainment that are accessible to most. Nicholas Carr’s “Hal and Me” highlights how we have implemented the internet into our daily rituals in which …show more content…

348). Carr introduces his theory by noting the observations in which the reading habits of avid internet users such as himself began to deteriorate (Carr, 2010, p. 348). What initially prompted Carr to invest in a computer was the vast variety of applications and communication tools which benefitted him in his career (Carr, 2010, p. 348). However, he claimed the internet progressed to be a hinderance to his capability to concentrate and work efficiently, thus justifying this phenomenon has changed the way both himself and others were learning (Carr, 2010, p. 349). Drained without having his daily ounce of technology, Carr molded into the man who slowly progressed to be dependent on the internet (Carr, 2010, p. 354). In comparison to his previous rituals, Carr found it all the more difficult to concentrate on a single page, let alone an entire novel. “I used to find it easy to immerse myself in a book or a lengthy article,” Carr states (Carr, 2010, p. 347). These subtle changes in his life was not only apparent in his own, but in through others as well. Carr mirrors the lives of many readers who excrete this same phenomenon today of losing track of their bookmarks. He exemplifies how reading habits have either ceased in entirety, or minimized to skimming as shown through his friend Scott Karp, a blogger who previously worked …show more content…

I was always referred to as the “fat friend” throughout junior high and high school. Thus, I turned to the internet for security purposes. The ability to speak your mind and be completely anonymous spoke wonders to me. Of course, I did sign up to every social media site known to man: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Friendster. I was able display my personality without the judgement attached to my appearance. Suddenly, my sanctuary took a complete turn when I began to receive negative comments on my personal photos. The struggle I had has extended to both online and at home. This caused me to spiral to a minor depression, along with acquiring an eating disorder and outrageous diet regimens. At the peak of my depression, I began to realize my worth and decided to change my life for the better. I started by reading inspirational fitness blogs and engaging in workout videos off of YouTube. By implementing change in my life, I was able to better myself and I couldn’t have done it without the internet. Granted, cyberbullying is a viscous act that is still practiced to this day, but when used correctly, the internet can perform and entice an individual to feel motivated and

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