Friday, August 5, 2011

Is Google making us stupid?

I don't fully agree with Nicholas Carr's points in "Is Google Making Us Stupid," although I have to admit that in the process of creating this blog post, I was a victim to many of the Internet's distractions. Of course, I had turn on Pandora and check my Facebook before I could log into Blogger. The Internet obviously is very distracting, but I don't think it has affected the way I think or work when I'm not on the computer like Carr said. Yes, I struggle to read a complete article on a computer screen because it's so easy to jump to a more exciting website, but I don't have a problem reading something out of a book or newspaper, unless it's realllllllllly boring. I don't think the Internet has changed the way my brain works. 

On the other hand, the Internet has been available to me for my whole life. If I'd grown up without the Internet like Carr did, maybe I would have noticed a difference in the way I think. While I don't think I've become totally prone to distractions because of the Internet, that could just be because my mind has never worked any other way. 

Overall, I think the Internet is a good thing. Sure, it might make us seem a bit lazy because it's almost too simple for us to access information, but I'm not sure I'd ever end up finding out some things if I didn't Google search for them. If something pops into my head that I want to know, I can look it up right away. Otherwise I might forget before I get a chance to look up an answer to my question. While the Internet has definitely changed our lives, I don't think it's changed our brains.


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3 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 8, 2011 at 4:08 PM

    I agree with you that the internet in itself isn't a bad thing. It's simply a vast collection of information that holds more data than any library ever could: in fact, it probably contains more information than every library in the world combined, but that's just my own opinion with out any statistics to back it up. Companies like Google makes it easier to find and consume all that brain candy. Carr himself points out that we probably read more today than we ever did in the 60's and 70's. The only problem in my opinion comes in how we use it. If we jump around articles and click on link after link, that's our own faults.

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  2. Matthew RussellAugust 17, 2011 at 5:41 AM

    I agree with both you and Julie. The internet isn't bad but it isn't good either. The internet is like any other object in life that can be used for good or evil. However, I still agree with Carr that like with all new technology repercussions seen and unseen do occur.

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  3. Mara BeckAugust 19, 2011 at 8:24 AM

    I agree with you completly. I think that since we grew up with computers around us our entire life, we can't really know if it has changed the way our brains are "suppost" to work. I feel in general that the internet has helped us take in more information at a lot faster speed. Also, I'm pretty sure if I didn't have the internet to help me with homework I would have no life. So cheers to the internet!:)

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