"Is Google Making Us Stupid?" By Nicholas Carr

 

In Nicholas Carr’s essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” he claims that the internet is changing our way of thinking, and believes our minds are being influenced by advanced technologies. Carr claims that while enjoying the use of internet, he still struggles with staying focused on the books he reads. He also points out that he is not alone; his friends and acquaintances share the same struggles. He also mentions Scott Karp, a blogger who stopped reading books altogether because he felt the internet changed the way he was thinking. Carr also points to a five year study that suggested people on the internet were just skimming over articles, rarely returning to any of the sources previously viewed. He also pointed out how we are quicker to obey a clock, rather than listen to our own senses. Carr also mentioned how Friedrich Nietzsche’s style of writing changed once he started using a typewriter. In the end, Carr states his fear of us becoming “pancake people” spread wide and thin, due to all the information we have access to from the internet. Because of our dependence on computers, we are able to better our understanding of what’s going on in the world today, however, the more we rely on computers for our understanding, the more we run the risk of having our human understanding become artificial and mechanical.

On my Social Blog, I stated several similar points that Carr states in his essay. As he mentioned, social media is radically changing the thought patterns of people today. While it is readily available, there are several problems associated with its usage. Our own thinking has become molded by social media. Today, the vast majority of the world’s intelligence is a keystroke away. While this technology has been beneficial, it has also introduced us to new problems, such as cyber bullying, and game addictions. I believe social networking affects literally every area of our lives in one way or another.