Essay 1- Thinking, Writing, Research PDF

Preview

Summary

First essay for the thinking, writing, reseasrch...

Description

Dr. Virginia Rowl Eng 1302, Section 45 2 December 2018 The Revision of “Is Google Really Making us Stupid?” Internet and media usage is rapidly increasing and has become a part of our daily lives. As this use in technology increases, questions have risen regarding the effects of internet use on our mental state. Nicholas Carr, author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” claims that the internet has trained our minds to want information faster, is reprogramming us to only skim articles and pieces of text, and has consequently given advancing technology a bad reputation due to these negative effects. I disagree with Carr’s arguments and believe that we are able to concentrate and absorb information that we are actively trying to understand, we are the main creators of the bad habit of skimming information, and the negative atmosphere surrounding technological advancements is the result of an overreaction to these solvable problems. In part of Carr’s first argument, he says that the internet has trained our minds to want information at a more rapid pace, consequently making us impatient and unable to concentrate. He says when reading, his concentration drifts after a couple of pages and he gets fidgety, looking for something else to do (Carr). While there are some instances where this is true, like when you are reading something uninteresting or passing time, these reactions fall under a certain set of circumstances and should not be generalized as an issue that always occurs when reading. I believe that we make a point to pay attention to information that we are trying to understand. There is a difference between reading an article on pollution for leisure and reading it for a reference in an academic paper. Unless you are really passionate about the topic of

pollution, you aren’t going to make a point to comprehend the article in the way you would if you were to read it in preparation of using it as a source. The internet isn’t the reason that we are unable to concentrate, the context of what you are reading is more so involved in your retention of information. He then debates the idea that the internet is re-teaching us to only take the important points out of the text that we read, causing us to merely skim over information. Carr explains that reading is not an ability we are born with- it is an acquired skill. He mentions that he was once able to read long portions of text, but now because of the internet, he `lost the ability to read and absorb [longish articles through the] web or in print” (Carr). Carr is correct in mentioning that we are not born with the ability to read, however if the internet has “re-trained” our minds, by this logic, we have the ability to revert back to before, when we were able to read full forms of text. I argue that we are the ones to blame for developing the bad habit of skimming over information, and we can correct ourselves to stop this pattern. The internet isn’t the cause of the problem, our response and reaction to this technology is the source of the issue, and we are in control of how we respond to it. The article ends with Carr mentioning that whenever any new technological device comes out, many ‘expect the worst’ from it (Carr). He explains that the thought process revolving around new technology is that more technology will further mess with our minds and cause negative effects. I argue that this reputation against these advancements stems from an overreaction to the very manageable issues that have been previously mentioned. Carr notes that even Socrates had worries in his day about writing degrading our mind’s ability to think and remember things. However, writing has ended up being one of the main factors that drives

breakthroughs in society. Socrates didn’t predict all of the good that came with writing, so I argue that those who have fears about technology haven’t considered the advantages it will have years from now and what things we will be able to accomplish with it. The use of technology and the internet has provided society with a more efficient way of acquiring information and a wider variety of information available to acquire; therefore the internet isn’t something to fear. Carr’s arguments in his article about the negative effects of the internet are arguably human-made problems that resulted in a response to increased internet usage. We are becoming impatient with the pace that information is being supplied to us at, we are creating bad habits like skimming over information instead of taking time to absorb it, and therefore we have begun to worry about the effects of further use of the internet. With a bit of effort, we are able to correct these issues like mindlessly skimming over information and not making an effort to concentrate. Fixing these problems will allow us to be able to use the internet and forms of technology that supply the internet as a useful tool for work and for fun. The internet can be beneficial when used properly. After all, how do you think that I was able to access this article?

MLA Citation Carr. Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Technology Aug. 2008. Web. Aug. 2018....