From his book The Shallows, "Hal and Me", Nicholas Carr who examines technology, attempts to determine whether it has the power to administer control over mind sets and thought process. Specifically the evolution of internet. Eluding to reveal his own opinion, making it uncertain where his stance lies. Even though, he urges society to be less dependent of the web, yet does not state the boundaries in which its to much.
Carr grabs readers attention by including a scene from the movie: A Space Odyssey, as an introduction. His motive is to persuade them to continue reading further and foreshadow what his argument will cover. Echoing the word of Hal, he smoothly shifts into his own personal experience of dealing with computers. Describing how reading was once "natural" to him has become difficult due to constant exposer to the internet. He advances his message, by exposing himself as, an example of the harsh sway online produces. Yet, contradicts himself when he praises it, noting it as a blessing. Knowledge that took durations of time to locate, could be acquired simply through online networks. Aside from researching, the net is utilized for completing everyday tasks. As a result, Carr stresses this benefit has become a negative habit for the public.
As a
…show more content…
consequence, society has become heavily invested in technology. Carr explains it has become apart of the daily process of life. He elaborates three categories: employment, education, and leisure intertwined with the audiences lifestyle. Emphasizing some may use all three. Illustrating due to constantly being in contact with computerized machinery, therefore, handing personal independence over to online software. Continuing by claiming regardless of the devices' form or edition, even so, internet is still of the essence to a majority of the public. Dubbing it civilizations' "medium of choice". Carr justifies his remark, considering the amount of time consumed on the net, despite providing high-speed data . Thus allowing readers to reflect on individual usage. Subsequently, Carr appears divided when addressing his opinion on the internet. On one hand, is appreciative of the books lying rooted in the library shelf's. He found himself relaxed with the numerous book he had collected. Adding he never felt an "overload" with data he had acquired. However in 1986, when he purchased his first computer, a Mac Plus everything changed. He quickly developed an addiction. Portable convince, assistance from Microsoft Word, and the discovery of World Wide Web influenced Carr's passion. Due to the effectiveness of word processor he began to rely completely on it. The keyboard control began to be an extension of himself, thus morphed into a computer typist. Simply editing with paper and pencil became a tedious task. During this time, he proceeded to upgrade. Breaking the limitations on his computer and gathering online resources to his advantage. While still having a subscription to his original AOL account. Eventually, time restrictions were seen as a nuisance, leading him to delete his account, and turn to ISP. Carr recognized the internet appliance was asserting a undeniable authority over him. Furthermore, he came to a theory.
Frequent usage of the web resulted in an increased manipulative dominance over the user. He came to the deduction that it was a result of aging. But, later revoked that statement. Claiming his mind had grown to gaining intelligence from the net. After, ultimately substituting his PC with a improved version, he noticed the impact. To the point of it monopolizing his thoughts, even when he wasn't using it. It consumed him, made him reliant on digital documents, and directed his attention span. He states focusing on one activity became a hassle. But he isn't the only one. Expressing his troubles to colleagues, learned they also experienced the decline to retain a focal
point. Similarly, they feared the result of the web allowed them to succumb to a unending absentminded person. Citing Bruce Friedman, a blogger who discuses technology utilization, reveals his incapacity to interpret large bodies of writing. The repercussion therefore, forces him to glance through briskly. More severe cases such as Scott Karp who entirely lost the capability to cast an eye over any book. With this information, Carr attempts to persuaded his audience, by indicating he is relatable. Hence, making his argument to a great extent trust worthy. To prove this he quotes Herbert McLuhan, a well-known philosopher, when he states the web has the potential to transfer information to our mind. But it establishes a gateway for it to modify thought apprehension. Regarding this he turns his focus to societie's younger generation. Distinctively quoting anaylsist team nGenera, who branded this group "Generation Net"
Both Nicholas Carr and Malcolm Gladwell debated how the Internet has affected humankind in both positive and negative ways. Malcolm Gladwell is a staff writer for the New Yorker and the author of Small Change:Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted. Nicholas Carr is a writer who has formerly written for the New York Times, The Guardian etc, he also wrote Is Google Making Us Stupid? Gladwell’s and Carr’s essays identifies how the internet has a damaging effect on people.
While his best arguments come from cultural criticism. Written text led to the decline of oral reading and television obliterated the radio. Every technology comes with it’s trade-offs, it just comes down to moderation. There is little doubt that the internet is changing our brain. What Carr neglects to mention, however, is how the internet can change our brain for the better. Computer games have the ability to improve cognitive tasks and increase visual attention. He doesn’t always address the good effects that the internet has had on the world. One of the better strategies Carr uses is switching his point of view from third to first person. He reflects on his personal life and how his life has changed in response to what he has learned. Carr shows how even he has his faults but, being aware of a problem is the first step to finding
In composing “Is Google Making Us More Stupid” Nicholas Carr wants his audience to be feared by the internet while at the same time he wants his work to seem more creditable. Nicholas Carr uses many different types of evidence to show us that we should be scared and feared as well as his credibility. Carr’s audience is people who think like him, who find themselves getting lost on the internet while reading something, someone who is educated and uses the internet to look up the answers to questions or to read an article or book.
Nicholas Carr gives a sense of unbiased in his work when he writes, “I’ve been spending a lot of time online, searching and surfing and sometimes adding to the database of the internet. The web has been a godsend to me as a writer” (394). Though this statement it is clear that he sees both sides of the argument and by demonstrating this to the author he strategically is appealing to ethos and supporting his own argument. In hopes of building credibility, he begins to write, “Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going ─ so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think” (394). Granted that he writes this in the beginning of his essay he is trying to credit himself as a victim which helps him support his argument against the constant usage of the internet. Nicholas Carr is aware that without building credibility within his essay the audience will dismiss his points as uneducated and meaningless.
Together they work together as a whole in order to persuade his audience of those involved in technology. Carr uses these strategies in order to back up his information and validate his point. Carr begins by using pathos by stating an anecdote from the movie A Space Odyssey, then he uses logos by stating factual evidence and statistics, lastly Carr uses ethos by stating appropriate vocabulary and conceding to opposition. Throughout the article Carr compares the past and present and how the Internet has changed not only himself, but also people. In order to show his credibility, Carr uses research and examples of other credible writers who have the same beliefs as he does on the Internet. Due to the article being lengthy in text we are able to assume that Carr does that on purpose in order to validate his point that the Internet is affecting our mind as it shortens our attention span and ability to think creatively. The purpose of the excerpt is to persuade his audience of those involved in technology that people in the society today are unable to have complete focus on a longer text due to the Internet causing us to artificial intelligence. For this purpose, Carr develops an influential tone for his audience
...ysterious technology. When referencing the new technology he states, “They supply the stuff for thought, but they also shape the process of thought” (6). Carr’s main point is the effect of technology, especially the Internet, is changing the programming of the brain.
Trying to reflect the fears instilled in himself through comparison to an unrealistic movie. I believe that the internet hasn’t changed everyone’s the way the he says its changed his. I think that people who were born into the world of technology have the ability to analyze into a deeper thought what is needed and skim for instant answer when it’s not needed. On the other side those whom have been forced to adapt to it, such as Carr, find themselves losing abilities they once relied on because they were taught growing up to do both things. Now that the internet has forced them to adapt to it, they can’t focus of doing both types of thinking. The complexity of our minds is deep and that can’t be made shallow by the ability to get instant gratification of information. We simply begin to rule out unimportant things, once the important thing is found then it can be analyzed. Although Carr says his mind isn’t going as far as it used to, clearly that’s exactly what he did in this essay. He used the older “traditional way” of over-analyzing unnecessary things to reach a point that ends up being moot. Clearly, his use of logos, ethos and pathos, although present were not enough to prove his opinion to be
From communicating with one another to researching for an essay, these high-tech gadgets are constantly being used. Unfortunately this is slowly becoming a danger to the human mind and an individual's ability to carry out simple tasks. This can be shown through the examples in Carr’s novel. He states multiple times that technology is damaging the brain and is struggling to do the simple tasks it should be able to do. Through his multiple examples, it is clear that technology is hurting us because we can no longer contemplate, concentrate, remember certain details, and more. Although, we cannot avoid using technology, we should be mindful of how often we use
Moreover, Carr’s article mentions that by using technology of any kind, users tend to embody the characteristics stimulated by that technology. He says that given that the Internet processes information almost immediately, users will tend to value immediacy. To explain, Carr gives the example of a friend of his named Scott Karp who was a literary major on college and who used to be an avid book reader. However, since the arrival of the Internet, Karp skim articles online because he could no longer read as much as he used too. He cannot pay attention and absorb long texts ever since he read online articles. Internet...
Carr explains how the internet can distract us making it harder to focus on tasks. He explains how processing information has become harder. Notifications, ads, popups can make it difficult if you are trying to read an article or book (Carr 57). The internet has become the center of our attention (Carr 57). Carr is explaining how this is the reason why we are struggling to comprehend a certain piece of information. He adds in his article that scientists, researchers and educators have also noticed the difference in concentration. And in further detail, he explains that we fail to see the important information, thus affecting cognition. He says that the information we gather is not valuable unless we know the meaning behind it. Carr concludes with explaining that the more the internet evolves the less valuable information is to
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.
He had a group of high degree web surfers and a group of beginners. Gary gave both groups a pair of goggles to wear and told them to search the web. If technology is interfering with your daily life, it is an addiction and taking a toll on you. A clinical psychologist, Ms. Dowling calls that “Internet Dependence.”
One can read lots of short text, and get a sufficient idea as to what they’re reading. According to Carr’s friend, Friedman, he believes that the internet has made him more creative. There are a range of topics that can be found on the web, and evoke a new idea. Three of Carr’s friends even say “they wouldn’t go back to the ways things used to be (Carr, 350). The purpose of including this colleague into this text was to tell his audience that the internet is not all too bad. It does help in multiple ways since the internet is basically an extremely advanced encyclopedia. People can obtain data within seconds, and find inspiration fairly quickly with a tad bit of research. Compared to how there was no technology back then, finding information was a hassle, but now it is effortless. When something “amazing” is invented, there will always be some great benefits; however, one should expect some consequences that may occur. Carr relays this meaning throughout “Hal and Me.” Although he may say the internet has made him lose the ability to in-depth reading, he is now able to learn about various information within seconds. He says how he can pay bills, schedule appointments, book flights and hotel rooms (Carr, 348) in a matter of seconds, and there are not that many
Technology nowadays has an influence on our lives, it has affected everything in it. When this technological revolution started, we didn't expect that it would affect our emotions, and our feelings. All we expected is that technology would develop our ability to have easier life and control nature. But what really happened is that the technology started to be part of us that we can't live without. The Internet is one of the technologies that appeared in our lives, and now it is dominating our lives.
We invest more in talking online than talking face to face. Overuse of machines has numerous negative impacts, for example, creating physical/behavioral sicknesses, harming family connections and diminishing scholarly study. Above all else, when a computer turns into the essential issue of an individual's life, they experience a conversion in behavior; they feel that they cannot live without a computer. The normal thing to see with youngsters who have been permitted to invest an excess of time on the computer, optically watching TV, or playing video games and when it is to stop, they have temper tantrums. But it is not only a matter of behavioral progressions when individuals can’t tear themselves away from the screen long enough to join in with whatever possible action, it can take a toll on their comfort and health.