A Reflection on The Article "How Google is Making Us Stupid"

The term Internet means a global search engine to many people. They see the Internet as a place to connect with one another and allow anyone from anywhere to talk to each other and share information. However, the Internet, can also be a distraction for many as it can provide one with large amounts of videos, media, and entertainment. Although it is not necessary for learning it is easy to waste time in. The word Internet came to be in the 1950s. Its primary task was to serve as a electronic communications network,but over the years it has been mixed up with the web since they both usually go hand and hand. The Internet is usually more widely known for being a powerful search engine than a communication platform. The Internet has many qualities that appear good, but the more we tend to rely on it the more we become less self-dependent.

Some people have suggested that there are several problems with the internet. According to Nicholas Carr's article “Is Google making us stupid”, one example of a problem with the internet is when Nicholas Carr mentions that he no longer read with the same focus and concentration as he once did and that his mind would drift after only a few pages of reading. Therefore, one can assume that the internet is affecting the way people read and interpret information. As nicholas carr goes on to tell us that since he no longer has the same focus he would shift his attention readily to another task. I also found myself having the same problem. I could no longer keep concentrating on a specific task. I’m not able to keep focus for long periods of time especially when reading books. In a fast paced environment the internet has easily come to replace newspapers, books, or other reading material. The internet has also made it even easier by summarizing things for you such as news or world events without you having to stress about what the text says or having to deeply put effort into interpreting information. This had made things difficult for me and carr because we both don't have the capability to focus anymore and retain the necessary information that text has to offer. As Maryanne wolf a developmental psychologist at Turf’s university suggest that the more we depend upon the internet, the more we lose those strong connections to the text and become less likely to acquire much of the information being read. “The Net” as referred to by Maryanne Wolf has made many advances in today’s reading by making it easy to access any book or information but has changed the fact that we no longer need to put much thought to what we read. Also we are slowly being manipulated into just putting out information or saying things that are not our own words but rather things that the internet suggest for us. As I recall back in high school i would skim through a passage or article. I felt that i did not need to put much thought into it but getting a deep and thorough reading of a passage is always better Since you truly retain much more information.One more statement that Nicholas Carr goes on to make is that most of the owners who have claim over the internet or develop the internet have large financial gains in keeping us distracted and using the internet to promote careless reading or slow unconcentrated thought so owners can gain more money. This tells us that they don’t have our best interest at heart but are rather focus on money and leaving us to slowly lose focus and our ability to truly grasp the text.

I agree with Carr’s view that the Internet is making us into brainless slaves to the Internet. I’d like to add why I also share this view the internet has made it a little harder for me to focus on certain tasks such as reading or having to finish something like homework because the net easily distracted me with all the unnecessary media and entertainment. I remember when I was in middle school I rarely used my phone to search answers but it's become a thing of the past for me. Most of the schools now require and even encourage for a student to use the Internet to solve problems that back then would have been done with a book or notes from the teacher. During the 15th Century “The Italian humanist Hieronimo Squarciafico worried that the easy availability of books would lead to intellectual laziness, making men “less studies”and weakening their minds”. I also feel that Hieronimo was telling the truth because most of today's research is done using the Internet and only sometimes is a book really needed although many teachers still advice not to believe everything that's online many rarely take this advice and freely search away. The net is consuming all other technological devices from clocks to calculators and telephones its becoming a powerful search engine that's only bound to grow. I don't think that the internet should expand at such incredible pase because many scientist have not truly figured out how the brain might react to this. Also I have become less self dependant and come to rely more on the web for answers and reading than ever before.

The Internet is a global industry a communication platform and above all a powerful search engine that has come to shape our present day lives and will change the future. The question is will it be for the good of the society or for the worst. I can only wait and see as it keeps growing and consumes everyone's minds. I have come to see through this essay all of the negatives and positives that the internet has given us I still believe the internet has a tight grasp on our minds and is slowly taking bit by bit of what we have left in regards to obtaining and processing information. Although the net keeps growing its important to always remember that only you can choose how to use the net and for what means. Nicholas Carr shed newly light on the topic for me and I see what he meant by making us less capable of being self dependent and taking the Internet as our only means for information.