The article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas
Carr brings up some great points about Google and the Internet and how it is
affecting people in general. It is very important for people to realize and
understand how these advances in modern technology are affecting society as a
whole and can have positive and negative influences. In today’s world many
people are focused on the “now, now, now” syndrome, they want what they want
when they want. The Internet and mobile devices have made this possible; people
can instantly bring up whatever they want at the moment they’re thinking it or
switch from subject to subject without really getting full synapses of one or the
other. While the Internet and technology have made this true, it necessarily isn’t
making people dumb but rather changing how peoples brains process information and
deal with it.
Technological
advances that have occurred over the last couple of decades have had some
really positive points to society. The Internet for example can be accessed
nowadays wherever a wireless signal is at, making everything from emergencies
to simply making assignments for school and work easier to deal with. The
Internet helps inform the whole world what is going on right at the moment it
is occurring. A vast array of subjects can pop up in a matter of seconds that
people can look into and get a better understanding about, some for if it hadn’t
been for the Internet people would’ve have never discovered in the day to day.
Yes, of course the Internet makes false, non credible information available to
be viewed but that’s where it requires people to use a little bit of thinking.
People have to take an interest in to where they are getting their information
and follow the saying “you can’t always believe what you read”.
To
go more in depth to what Carr actually mentioned in his article, the Internet
has had a big influence in how people read and how we process information. The
Internet and many other technical devices such as mobile phones have made
peoples attentions spans quite less than what the average persons was years
ago. The Internet makes it so easy for people to turn their attention to one thing
to another when they have lost interest in one or see something that’s more appealing
at the time. Reading something on the Internet and reading something actually in
print are very different, though they may not seem it. Like mentioned earlier,
information you find on the Internet can be posted by anyone it may be false,
biased, or overly exaggerated. This has it's perks as well though, you can get multiple views on a single subjects that can open up your mind to different possibilities and views which in turn increases thinking. Things on the Internet can also be put in front
of you that you may not want to view or have an interest in which can easily be ignored but create annoyance, distraction, and confusion.
In
my personal opinion, I feel the Internet and technology have opened up a lot of
doors for people. Any one can go on the Internet and post what they want for instance,
in this very class, we’re blogging about the things our instructor wants us to and
sharing our views. Some people may view it and be interested and others may
not. I believe the Internet has made it easier for children, seniors, and
people at work and school to view and understand topics. It is much easier for
people in remote locations to get on a computer and keep in touch with the
world than it would be if they solely had rely on getting papers, journal articles,
and books. People whether having a shelf of books in front of them or a
computer are going to view only the subjects that spark their interest so that’s
where I believe people wouldn’t really change what information they are viewing
nowadays in the Internet wasn’t around. Overall I believe the Internet has it's good and bad influences on society. Accessibility and a vast array of subjects being the key positive points, while credibility and affecting humans attention spans being the negative.
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