In his writing originally published in the Atlantic “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr demonstrates that our increased internet usage is impeding our ability to concentrate and read deeply. Carr begins his writing by bringing in a reference from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey which highlights the contrast between a cold human and a computer who is able to feel its mind going. Similar to the computer, the author can feel a change in his mind because he is no longer able to read deeply; a skill that used to come easily to him. Another thing that has changed in the past few years is his internet usage. He now spends more time online doing research or looking for entertainment. The vast expanse of information found on the internet comes at the expense of the author’s “capacity for concentration and contemplation” (315). After talking to others, Carr found that they also attribute their decrease in concentration to the internet. The author includes studies on internet habits that indicate that people do indeed jump from page to page, never really reading deeply into the content. Carr summarizes the findings of experts that demonstrate that the internet promotes a type of reading that does not …show more content…
Carr explains that because our brains are constantly changing, the technology we use has an effect on us. He uses the invention of the clock as an example. It caused us to rely on time to tell us when to do things instead of our senses. The author writes the many tools being replaced by the internet now include various distractors. He has noticed that the influence of the internet has extended into traditional media, which has become shorter to rival the convenience of the internet. As demonstrated, the internet plays a great role in the author’s life, yet there is little information about its
In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, the author suggests that modern technology is changing the way him and other people think. He argues that, in the past, it was much easier to engage in long readings. Now, he claims, reading is more challenging and people are more likely to skim a passage rather than fully absorb the information due to excessive use of the internet (313-314). Carr uses Friedrich Nietzsche’s relationship with his typewriter as an example to express that with every new technology, he warns, the human mind is vulnerable to a change in structure (319). Carr observes and suggests that the more people use and rely on computers, the more the human mind essentially becomes a form of artificial intelligence
In the essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr expresses his concern that the internet could be negatively affecting the way people think. He begins to argue his point by explaining his own issues of not being able to immerse himself in a book like he could before. Carr then reveals his suspicion that it’s the internet’s fault, and supports that by comparing his own experience to others. Reading is a common hobby for most of the people Carr compares experiences with. Like Carr, they found it difficult to read longer pieces of writing, and some blame the internet as well.
The purpose of Carr’s essay is to raise skepticism of the internet and the influences it has on the mind. The internet has become a part of my daily regimen. Online is where my homework
Vargas 1 Internet In the essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” the author Nicholas Carr suggests the idea of the internet can make people concentrate less on reading two or three pages. Carr senses his attention span decreases whenever he tries to read an article. He believes it's because the internet is making us slothful. The internet can be significant to our life making it easier for people to find what they are looking for, but it's making us have trouble reading lengthy articles.
Harvard Writer, Nicholas Carr, in his Advocacy article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” Describes the altering effects of the internet and search engines on our brains. Carr´s purpose is to get the reader aware of the impact the internet has on our everyday life. He adopts a informative tone in order to appeal emotionally and logically to his audience. Carr begins his advocacy for the internet by acknowledging that in ¨A Space Odyssey¨ when they rely too much on Artificial Intelligence it could get a human killed, in this example the supercomputer HAL almost drifted astronaut Dave Bowman into a deep space death by the malfunctioning machine; Showing that the astronaut is superior than a machine. He appeals to the emotion of sadness by admitting that “I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something has been tinkering with my brain” he is “not thinking the way i used to.”
The article by Nicholas Carr: “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is Doing to our brains” (2008), explains the effect that the internet has on the way people go on about their daily lives and how it influences their habits and thoughts. He uses easy and not-strictly academic words along his article to argue that people’s concentration skills have reduced because of their high use of the internet to find information. He does so with the use of literary elements such as diction, tone and poetic devices. Therefore, by using these strategies, Carr creates a homespun persona with which he transcends his message to approach his readers.
In the narrative “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr, writer of technology and culture, argues that the instinctive animal that we are, are becoming more equivalent to robotic forms. To support this main idea, Carr suggest internet technology is exerting our animal like brains once processing in old media clock style, to the use of new technology which is awakening our “plastic like brains” to fold and shape not only in cognitive ways but also neurologically. Nicholas Carr emphasizes this through his own distractions while reading on the internet to researching how people’s adaptation and interactions with this technology is remapping their process of viewing text to their methodology of thought through notable personage’s experiences
He explains that people who use the internet more often most likely have a lack of concentration. The author points out how the human brain is constantly changing and since using the internet makes searching for information very simple and quick, over time, our brain gets used to taking in information this way. He tells us about how Google is like the Internet’s church and how their end goal is to turn the internet into an artificial intelligence. The author argues that even though the internet may be beneficial, deep reading rather than skimming over words written on the internet gives a much more different and better outcome. He explains that our intelligence will slowly but eventually be crushed and turn into artificial information.
Previous generations used encyclopedias or went to the library to gather information for schoolwork or any reports that needed written. Carr states “the faster we surf across the Web – the more links we click and pages we view – the more opportunities google and other companies gain to collect information about us and feed us advertisements” (Carr 325). Therefore, google is getting us to buy into its advertisements and spend money on products that we do not need. Carr also states, “it almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense” (Carr 317). With there being so many distractions on the Internet, people are not able to absorb the information they are reading.
"The net is designed to be an interruption system, a machine geared to dividing attention," - Carr argues that the internet is designed to distract us and prevent us from engaging in deep and focused thinking. "The more we use the Web, the more we train our brain to be distracted... we’re losing our ability to concentrate," - Carr suggests that the constant distractions and multitasking involved in using the internet are making us less able to focus and concentrate. "The depth of our intelligence hinges on our ability to transfer information from working memory to long-term memory," - Carr suggests that the constant bombardment of information and lack of deep focus on any one topic is hindering our ability to remember and retain information. " The Web's cacophony of stimuli short-circuits both conscious and unconscious thought, preventing our minds from thinking either deeply or creatively," - Carr argues that the internet's constant barrage of information and distractions is preventing us from engaging in deep and creative thinking. "We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration,
Since the of creation the internet, we now work between the realms of technology and reality, in which indulge our minds into on a daily basis. Nicolas Carr, the author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” tries to reveal to society that although the use of the internet has simplified multiple factors of our daily life, the complete indulgence of our attention in the internet is causing our once information thirsty minds to become completely uninterested altogether. Our minds are becoming simple and confined shells that can no longer think on their own, create their own ideas, or even interpret meanings without the help from the internet. I strongly agree with Nicolas Carr’s thoughts on how the internet has practically spoiled our brains to the
Nicolas Carr, an acclaimed writer in both business and technology, argues in “"Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published in 2008, that the internet is altering the way humans focus. In his article, Carr states “Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages” (Carr). Using first person personal experience this permits readers to presuppose that everyone is justly and effortlessly exposed to the impacts of the internet. Additionally accrediting himself, a prosperous and educated writer, Carr adds reliability and support towards his argument demonstrating that a literate, knowledgeable man can be susceptible to the effects of the internet. Scientific studies have been done which support the theory that the internet is deteriorating
Meredith Weese D. Ballenger ENGL – 112 10 March 2023 Evaluation Essay Nicholas Carr’s article in The Atlantic magazine July/August 2008 issue titled “Is Google Making Us Stupid” purpose is to inform the readers. With the way the internet and its vast amount of information at the tip of our fingers has altered our ability to dive deep into readings. Whether it is for educational purposes or pleasure our ability to spend hours in a book have changed. Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” achieved its purpose because the examples he used from himself and others, the writing is clear easy to follow as he makes relevant references to the way other technologies have changed our way of thinking, his writing is objective.
The Influence of Technology In the essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Nicholas Carr argues that utilization of the internet has an adverse effect on our way of thinking and functioning in everyday life. Whether it be reading a newspaper, or scrolling through Facebook, internet media has forever stamped its name in our existence. Carr explains to us that the internet is a tool used every single day in today’s society, but also makes most of us complacent with the ease of having the world at our fingertips.
Nowadays, the internet is the biggest marketing and media tool that people can use today. It can have various effects on people’s daily life ranging from bad to beneficial. In the essay “Is Google making us stupid” by Nicholas Carr writes about how internet usage in the 21st century is changing people’s reading habit and a cognitive concentration. Particularly, he emphasizes on Google’s role in this matter and its consequences on making people machine like. Carr also stated that the online reading largely contributes to people’s way of reading a book.