In the present day, the development of internet causes considerable changes in social relations and people lifestyle. Internet users spend most of their life online. One of the recent trends is the development of social networks, which encourage the creation of realistic communities. In such a situation, the question concerning the impact of Internet on human being, especially on human brain and behavior arises. In this concern, views on the impact of Internet vary consistently. On the one hand, Internet is recognized as a valuable intermediate, which helps users to share and broadcast information easily. But, another view on the impact of internet, that Internet is noticed as a threat to the social life and identity of individuals because it engages users changing their life online and leaving less time for real world social relations. In real life, it is obvious that Internet does have the impact on the way users think but this impact can hardly be discovered in a day, but, in its place, it is a long lasting process which may have negative effects because of the information overload and negative behavioral changes, such as distraction, the lack of ability to concentrate on one issue and others.
The negative impact of Internet on behavioral changes in users
In fact, internet has a considerable impact on the behavior of individuals and their way of thinking. Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say human ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information (Richtel, 2010). In fact, internet can cause the information overload in users because they have access to the huge amount of information which human brain seem to be hardly able to p...
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...t and telecommunication systems along with mass media, people will hardly be ever refuse from internet, unless a new, more progressive technology emerges. At the moment, the impact of Internet on human brains and the way of thinking is obvious and almost irrevocable but the impact can apparent its effects in a long-run perspective.
Works Cited
Carr, N. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The Atlantic, 2008. Retrieved on December 1, 2013 from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/
Carr, N. What’s the Internet Doing to Our Brains?, 2010. Retrieved on December 1, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9-Ec7z4fFw
Richtel, M. “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price,” New York Times, 2010. Retrieved on December 1, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Nicolas Carr believes that the internet effects cognition. He assumes that it shapes the way we think. In Nicolas Carr’s, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” there is a direct correlation between Taylorism and google’s mission of creating “a utopia of perfect efficiency,” robbing humans of deep thinking, resulting in the depletion of learning to articulate the minds erratic consciousness, and of its attention span.
Atlantic journalist Nicholas Carr confesses that he feels something has been “tinkering with his brain.” The internet, he fears, may be messing with our minds. We have lost the ability to focus on a simple task, and memory retention is steadily declining. He is worried about the effect the internet has on the human brain, and where it may take us in the future. In response to this article, Jamais Cascio, also a journalist for the Atlantic, provides his stance on the issue. He argues that this different way of thinking is an adaptation derived from our environment. Ultimately, he thinks that this staccato way of thinking is simply a natural evolution, one that will help to advance the human race.
Using technology can have certain effects on the brain. Nicholas Carr’s magazine blog, “The Web Shatters Focus, Rewrites Brains,” tells us an experiment from a ULCA professor, Gary Small. Gary Small
Humans are becoming more technologically-efficient every day. New inventions and innovations are constantly being made. The Internet is becoming more “reliable” every day. However, how much do we really get from the constant advancement of Internet use and smarter technology? Should we look at their contributions to the world as a benefactor or a curse? The common effect of “artificial intelligence” in the technology we use every day is examined by two brilliant authors, Nicholas Carr and Jamias Cascio. In Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, he explains the effects of the Internet and technology in our society and claims that the overuse of technology is dangerous and can affect how our mind operates. Jamias Cascio, on the other hand, uses his article “Get Smarter” to show the positive effects of technology in our constantly adaptive society claims that technology may just be making our society smarter and more efficient. While Carr and Cascio both use the claim of cause in their articles to provide valid points on how technology affects our society, Carr’s article proves to be more effective because it focuses on skeptical-based evidence and uses a variety of appeals and proofs.
The three authors, Nicholas Carr, Jean Twenge, and Karen Armstrong in their respective papers, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, “An Army of One: Me”, and “Homo Religiousus” discuss the ability to concentrate in both the past and the present. Concentration is the most important way for a human to control their lot in life and it provides determination and ambition. Concentration can be allocated in the same sense as a physical resource and can be used, gained, and lost.
The argument that the web is to blame for making us dumb by Nicholas Carr convinces his audience that they might succumb to becoming braindead due to excessive online clicking. Hopping from link to link never fully understanding the content. While Michael Rosenwald points out that we are slowly molding the brain to only skim and search for key words to put together. With these two programed ways our brains work soon libraries and book stores will cease to exist. Or will they? Clay Shirky challenges this thought by saying that among the cat videos and conspiracy theories there lies true gold within the websites of the internet. The gold consists of scientific journals and a place to discuss anything and everything. A community to share ideas and culture. Has the internet changed your brain for the
“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr and “How Computers Change the Way We Think” by Sherry Turkle are two articles that explore how technology influences our daily lives. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” discusses the effects of the internet in our society, how it is robbing us of our deep thoughts, memories and our ability to read books. Carr also talks about how the internet has become our primary source of getting information. The writer also discusses about how he’s having difficulty focusing on reading. “How Computers Change the Way We Think” is talking about how people don’t use their brains full potential capacity to solve problems. Instead, we depend on technology to do that for us.
Carr discusses the effects that the Internet has on our minds and the way we think, as well as the way media has changed. Our minds no longer focus. When in conversation with people we are constantly distracted by the technological advances our era has brought. Text messages, emails, pop culture drama has all taken over thoughts.
The issue of the Internet having psychological benefits has two sides, as does any issue. James E. Katz and Philip Aspden present the yes side of this issue. Katz and Aspden used a national random telephone survey to back up their side on the issue. The survey conducted in October of 1995 compiled the individuals who took the survey into five specific groups. The groups consisted of those not aware of the Internet, non-users aware of the Internet, former users, recent users-those who started using the Internet in 1995, and longtime users-those who started using the Internet prior to 1995. The survey questioned community involvement (community, leisure, and religious,) involvement in existing communities (face to face, family, Internet,) and friendship formation (Internet and beyond.) They drew the conclusion that the Internet is helping to form new friendships and social relationships. Therefore, giving people the chance to join new groups and organizations other than those in their own community.
The short formats we prefer to read online can therefore influence our thought patterns to be similarly abrupt. When we develop the habit of consuming large volumes of web content, we therefore diminish our “capacity for concentration and contemplation” in favor of processing information at the same rapid pace we receive it digitally (Carr).... ... middle of paper ... ...
The internet has adapted our brains and lifestyle around itself. Carr even states this many times in his writing and studies from the book about how “the Net may well be the single most powerful mind-altering technology”. It has not only altered our minds though because, our minds alters our actions. The internet
Nicholas Carr argues in his controversial article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” that technology, specifically; the Internet and the devices we use to access the Internet (smartphones, computers, and tablets) are having detrimental effects on mental cognition. I do not think these effects are limited to just the way we are reading. It is beyond...
The Internet has created a generation of the most efficient multi-taskers ever born. Many people will have at least four tabs open as a time (Google, Facebook, Youtube, Pandora, Wikipedia, Gmail, etc.). People are constantly jumping from one web page to the next, clicking on links and opening new tabs and browsers. The method through which knowledge is gained has transitioned from deep reading to fast skimming. Every time a web page is opened the viewer is bombarded with information, almost every page has advertisements or links to additional information lining its sides. The Internet has made mountains of information available to almost anyone. It is fast and easy to find information and facts. Essentially the Internet has become the fast food of knowledge. It is convenient but it skips the element of effort.
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