Answers are what make the world go round. Everyone loves answers because they give people gratification. Luckily, today we have a whole database of answers. This database is more commonly known as the Internet. Although the Internet is an amazing tool for research, the Internet can negatively affect how we learn and how we obtain answers. The fact that the Internet is so accessible, and is so easy to use, knowledge and answers are constantly available. One might think this would make our culture smarter, but from a certain standpoint, this surplus of knowledge has made our culture less intelligent. This is true because the Internet has granted people the ability to attain knowledge without actually thinking. This horrible byproduct of the Internet has opened the door to many negatives. After talking with Morristown-Beard School teacher, Christian Rabin, about this subject, it is clear that the over-indulgence of the Internet is not always good for our brains. Searching for knowledge online has turned into a brainless activity. If one were to look at their history on an Internet browser, one would see that there would be thousands of sites opened up; however, it is almost guaranteed that one would not be able to remember specifically why they opened most of the sites. Searching online brainlessly is considered messing around, and it is very easy to mess around online. If someone was on Facebook and clicked on another person’s picture and thought it was very funny, they probably would want to know who posted it first. Consequently, they look to see whose picture it is. This is a very easy task until the person who likes the picture, and the person who posted it are not friends. The person is dying to know whose picture it is, so he... ... middle of paper ... ...ited, and rewrote. This enables students to skip the toughest part about learning, which is to grapple with the information and making their own inferences. No one needs to make conjectures on subjects, because the Internet does it for them. It clearly asks the question, is the Internet a machine external to humans, or do we all make the Internet? Now one can understand why the Internet has so many negative effects on the mind. Although the Internet has granted all of us with so much knowledge, the way this knowledge is giving has actually made people less intelligent. One could not see that the Internet can have many effects on him or her subconsciously. Some of these effects arte avoidable, but if there is one thing I have learned from Rabin throughout my two years of having him as a teacher is it is easy to teach people, but it is hard to be taught how to think.
The internet damages us, people have lost their ability to read full articles and don’t fully understand what they read and because of this,our natural intelligence will never be the same with the internet around, thinking for us.
The internet is ever changing, and so our minds, but can the internet mold our minds? Nicholas Carr and Michael Rosenwald support the idea that the reading we do online is making it harder to be able to sit down with a good book. In their papers they discuss the downfalls of using the web. While on the other hand author Clay Shirky challenges that thought in his piece. Shirky directly battles the idea that the internet is damaging our brains by suggesting that internet use can be insightful. In this essay I will evaluate all three articles and expose their strengths and weaknesses then add my own take on the situation.
In The Shallows by Nicholas Carr, he asserts that the evolution of information and communication technology (ICTs) is having a detrimental impact on our brains despite the many benefits and advances we have made with it. His main focus is on the internet which he commonly refers to as the “universal medium” (92). Carr presents a very detailed but biased argument in which he views the internet and other technologies as the adversary of critical thinking and progress. To Carr, we are sacrificing our ability to think logically because we are choosing the simpler way to gain knowledge.
In the article Mind Over Mass Media, Steven Pinker claims that the use of technology enhances our intelligence, despite what critics say, when used in productive ways. Pinker supports his claim by explaining that if electronic media were hazardous to intelligence, the quality of science would be plummeting and that philosophy, history and cultural criticism, are flourishing will the use of the Web. The author’s purpose is persuade readers that new media is allowing mankind to locate information at a faster rate, in order to prevent readers from believing that technology is hurting us. The author writes in an informal tone for technology users.
Most people believe that the web will increase their intelligence and with a smartphone knowledge is at the tips of their fingers; however, this is not exactly true. Research suggests that easier access to information reduces mental
In the articles, “How Facts Backfire” and “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Keohane and Carr explain the cognitive blocks we are faced with in society. Keohane explains how we can be misinformed because of our beliefs. These beliefs can cloud our judgement of what is true and what isn’t true. Carr focuses on how the internet has changed the way we think. Carr includes how the internet can distract us, making tasks harder to complete. Both Keohane and Carr show us the negatives side effects of cognition.
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.
Steven Pinker and Nicholas Carr share their opposing views on the effects that mass media can have on the brain. In Carr’s Atlantic Monthly article “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” it explores his viewpoints on how increased computer use affects our thought process in a negative manner. Carr critically analyzes that having widespread access to the internet via the internet has done more harm by disabling our ability to think complexly like it is the researching in a library. On the other hand, Pinker expresses how the media improves our brain’s cognitive functions. Pinker expresses that we should embrace the new technological advances and all we need is willpower to not get carried away in the media. Although both authors bring very valid arguments
In the article “Does The Internet Make you Smarter?” the author, Clay Shirky is an American writer, consultant and teacher on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies. He states his argument about whether or not the internet is making society smarter and whether it enhances the success individuals achieve in life. To do this, he uses surveys as evidence and his past experiences on the effects of internet on society to persuade his audience to show his credibility. His main idea of the article was explaining to his readers that the internet is indeed making society more intelligent. He provides the audience with many contrasting points on how the media is making us smarter as a society,
Does the internet make us smarter or dumber is a question that has been asked more frequently, especially when referring to my generation. In Nicholas Carr’s article “Does the Internet Making Us Smarter or Dumber?” he adamantly believes that the internet is in fact making us dumber with its various distractions, hindering cognitive development, and affecting our knowledge retention. He supports his belief with studies such as the one conducted at a university where students were divided and only half were allowed to use their computers during class while the others were not (Carr,22) . The outcome showed that those who did not use the internet did better on the tests (22). After reading this article it made me ask the question myself and I believe that the internet is making me smarter in certain ways and dumber in others.
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
The Internet gives us a seemingly endless supply of resources; we can search for information, communicate with others, or use it for our own personal work or pleasure. The Internet connects us to the rest of the evolving world, in all different countries around the world. With the ability to seek information on the Internet, we can gain knowledge about an endless supply of topics. For example, if someone wanted to learn how to plant a tree they can simply navigate to Google and type in “how to plant a tree.” Furthermore, thousands of pages will appear with step by step instructions demonstrating the process of planting a tree. This knowledge has made our society smarter because we can figure things out on our own, but at the same time save money; we do not have to pay someone else to tell us how to plant a tree. It can really benefit students in school because it allows u...
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.
According to Nicholas Carr, the internet changes the way people read and process information, thus diminishing their cognitive function. In other words Carr is saying, that the internet is modifying any intake and output of information to and from the brain. “The brain,” Carr quotes according to Olds “has the ability to reprogram its self on the fly, altering the way it functions.” This means that the brain is capable of easily being changed by the internet.
The internet is full of many things that could make us smarter. However, the internet is full of websites, games, even photos that could very likely have a negative effect on children and their behaviors. Also their education, speech could become affected and they could start doing badly in school or start cursing at a young age. Another thing is that their attitude towards life changes, instead of seeing it as their own giant happy playground they can view it as a very bitter and cold place and start looking, feeling, and talking negatively.