As time moves forward, humans have been increasing their knowledge and efficiency of life through technology. The 20th century quite possibly saw the quickest advancement in technology most importantly the creation of the internet. The internet is a vast network of computers linking devices all across the globe. Despite all of the good technology has brought, many believe that it may also be the downfall of the human brain. In Nicholas Carr’s article on the topic, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Carr argues that technology has changed the way humans think as we now rely on quick facts rather than critical thinking and believes that the internet has cut our attention span down significantly. In this writing, I would like to refute Carr’s claims by explaining the benefits of technology to humans in regards to the way we think, our focus and reading abilities, and even our emotions towards ourselves and others.
In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr explores the possible negative effects technology has on the way we think and how that can impact our lives going into the future. He believes too much technology can have an overall negative effect on our brains causing us to be less focused, less thought provoking, and even a bit more unemotional. By far the biggest concern Carr holds towards technology and the internet is in regards to our focus and attention. He points out that with the creation of search engines such as that of Google, the human mind has become more accustomed to quick answers and short reads rather than taking the time to properly study and understand the topic of interest. He believes that our use of the internet has made us nearly dependent on the service.
When faced with a thought provoking question or problem, rather than us having to think about that problem, often times the response is “just google it” rather than “I know” or “I think.” Lastly through his use of the example of Stanley Kubrik’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” he specifies a scene in which the computer HAL is being shut down. As the computer is being shut down, the computer pleads to the man turning him off to stop as he is afraid yet the man continued. His thoughts in regards to the scene shows his belief that through this modern technology, mankind has become more callous and unemotional. It’s as if we are becoming the machines. Ultimately, what Nicholas Carr is trying to convey through his article is that our dependence on technology is making us less focused, less thoughtful, and less emotional.
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Carr’s biggest belief in regards to modern technology on the human mind is that it is making us less focused to read. His belief is that due to the availability of a quick and short answer, humans have become accustomed to it and won’t take the time to properly understand and study the topic at hand. He also believes that due to the short readings found online, the brain would not be able to focus on longer readings such as that as books. Undoubtedly, it is true that with the help of technology and the internet, an answer to most questions is mere seconds away. However, the claim that humans are not reading enough, I believe that is false. Humans have many opportunities to read online, everything from articles to message boards and even access to books, some of which may not have been as easy to obtain.
The internet has not only opened opportunity for readers to read new forms of writing but also writers to explore those methods of writing. According to Alexandria Alter in an article titled “How Technology Is (And Isn’t) Changing Our Reading Habits,” she claims “Many new authors are skipping traditional publishers and use tech tools to go straight to self-publishing their own e-books or print books.” if anything the internet is only allowing us to be more free with what we want to read and allow us to share with the world our creativity.
Carr also believes the way we think has become worse, as we don’t take the time to focus on problems but instead simply look it up online. It is true, technology is making us think differently but overall in a more positive way. Through the access of technology, humans have access to information that may have taken long amounts of time to obtain. Information that would stall work. According to a study published in the journal Intelligence, there has been an increase in overall cognitive thinking especially for those in the later years of their lives.” In many cases 52-year-olds from 2006 had the same score as 60-year-olds from 2012,” claims the journal in its findings.
Finally, Carr argues that the internet is making us more emotionally distant. He believes that humans are becoming more and more like the machines we use as we pay more and more attention to it. The internet certainly does have its fair share of mistreatment of humans from other humans. However it can also be argued that the internet has made us more social. The internet allows us to make connections to just about anyone with access to the internet no matter what part of the world they are in.
Keith Hampton, a sociologist from the University of Pennsylvania had this to say, “There has been a great deal of speculation about the impact of social networking site use on people’s social lives, and much of it has centered on the possibility that these sites are hurting users’ relationships and pushing them away from participating in the world,” He surveyed 2,255 American adults in the Fall of 2010 and published his results in a study in June 2011. “We’ve found the exact opposite—that people who use sites like Facebook actually have more close relationships and are more likely to be involved in civic and political activities.”
It can be easy to understand why many may agree with Nicholas Carr in that technology is dulling our brains, however there is much evidence that technology is doing quite the opposite. The internet has overall allowed us to read more than ever before despite being in shorter forms, allow us to think in grander scales which will also allow us to expand in many aspects, as well as allowed us to grow closer to the others around us. The internet is allowing innovation to thrive as it creates newer industries and fields to explore. Overall there is no worry of what the internet is doing for us because it is for our benefit. Just think of where we would be without the access to the internet!
