Does The Internet Make Everyone Crazy Analysis

According to the article, “Does the Internet Really Make Everyone Crazy?” by Maia Szalavitz, many people are receiving the wrong perception of the internet. She refers back to different articles written by people who seem to believe that the internet is driving the world crazy. One example that she talks about is the article called, “Is the Web Driving us Mad?” In this article, it speaks of the story of Jason Russell, the filmmaker who was behind the “Kony2012” video about the African cult-leader Joseph Kony. After the video went viral, and brought Russell to international fame, he was found naked on a San Diego street corner. Now, many say that the internet caused Russell to go mad and streak in the public. Szalavitz argues against this, while presenting many valid points along the way.

The current incarnation of the Internet—portable, social, accelerated, and all-pervasive—may be making us not just dumber or lonelier but more depressed and anxious, prone to obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit disorders, even outright psychotic. Our digitized minds can scan like those of drug addicts and normal people are breaking down in sad and seemingly new ways” (Szalacitz p. 1). While Dokoupil does make some interesting points, but his conclusion is different than what the research shows. Szalacitz talks of how Dokoupil makes such a big deal of how the internet “rewires” the brain in way that resembles drug users. She goes on to say how that is the case in anything. If one does something enough, it is so-called, “wired” in their brain. Anything a person does repetitively, it wired into their brain. This highly debated topic is completely socially relevant for many