Google Making USupid

Is technology really creating a better world for people? With all the different types of technology, it is undoubtedly a part of everyone’s life today. Not only that, but technology could be viewed as consuming the world, dispersing information and so much that not all of it can be processed. Some people argue that technology is completely beneficial to its users, allowing quick access to all sorts of resources, but it is clear Foothill High School should join in the national “Shut Down Your Screen Week” because many teenagers have never been away from their devices for very long and could easily benefit from the forced interaction with real people around, and the psychological benefits of “unplugging” are numerous and attractive. However,

Fighting for the “yes” side of the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, published in the New York Times, is Nicholas Carr; he delivers much insight on this issue including, “So even as Google is giving us all that useful information, it 's also encouraging us to think superficially. It 's making us shallow,” (Carr). Carr clearly expresses his view that Google is indeed making us “stupid”, blaming the search engine for superficial thinking and shallow persons. Everyone is reading a stream with only time to pick out keywords but then the stream already presents the next topic, creating a lack of deeper thinking. In Richtel’s article, he addresses the physical isolation that results from technology use, “Mr. Nass at Stanford thinks the ultimate risk of heavy technology use is that it diminishes empathy by limiting how much people engage with one another, even in the same room. ‘The way we become more human is by paying attention to each other,’ he said. ‘It shows how much you care.’” (Richtel). This over usage of technology creates limited contact with other people, reducing the intimacy of relationships. People will begin to care less about each other, never communicating with the real person. Also in his article, Richtel uses the example of the Campbell family, and

Aside from social improvement, Foothill should participate because of the psychological benefits from “unplugging”. Richtel connects technology to stress using a study the the University of California, Irvine, which, “found that people interrupted by e-mail reported significantly increased stress compared with those left to focus. Stress hormones have been shown to reduce short-term memory,” (Richtel). These constant interruptions often agitate people, distracting them, setting them on edge, waiting for the next alert. This constant state of poise takes away from productivity, when a person could be focusing instead and accomplishing more. In addition to stress, it has been discovered that, “...incoming information can change how people think and behave.These play to a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored. The resulting distractions can have deadly consequences, as when cellphone-wielding drivers and train engineers cause wrecks...these urges can inflict nicks and cuts on creativity and deep thought, interrupting work and family life”, (Rechtel). People are not only becoming stressed, but addicted to technology. A week away from screens will very much help break or decrease this addiction. Many people feel more productive because of technology, and their ability to “multitask”; however, Rechtel presents