Tevin Hutchinson 11/10/2012 English 102 Technology plays a huge role in our everyday life. I do believe that technology has made our lives easier, but it also has made us more dependent on the technology itself. When using the internet for a dictionary you could easily get distracted. Anyone can put anything on the internet, so what you find might not be accurate. Most people find that looking things up on the internet is distracting because you are already on the web so why not check YouTube for a funny video, or update your status on the social network.
In other words, as we get older, we have a harder time with distractions online with the Internet, Facebook, and such. Finally, some people say that using Google will make a person stupid, which is true for some, but others like me, actually use it for research and to learn as well. Experienced Internet users actually showed increased brain activity, with more advanced decision-making skills and complex reasoning. In simple terms, the inexperienced Internet users lagged behind. This is either a win or lose for using Google, it help some, but also fails others.
They can choose to engage in deep thinking activities. Too much of anything is not good for any one, and this also applies to internet usage. Scholars say that the price of technology is alienation and that this indicates that the more distracted an individual becomes, the less able they are to experience human emotions such as empathy and compassion. It is still too early to tell what the results of the future effects of the internet, but as Carr states, “An intellectual technology exerts its influence by shifting the emphasis of our thought. As the brain adapts to the new medium, the most profound changes will take place over several generations’
Cody Janowski 12/2/10 English Comp Assignment 4 The Internet has undoubtedly changed the way people live their lives. Any information we could possibly want- and more- is at our disposal, and has made life for us incredibly convenient and easy; some, however, might say too easy. One of these people is Nicholas Carr, author of the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” featured in the July/August 2008 edition of The Atlantic. Carr argues that the Net seems to be slowly demolishing our abilities to concentrate on one subject, as well as contemplate information, based on the ease of access to everything the Internet provides today. I agree with Carr to an extent; however I would say that his theory most certainly does not apply to everyone.
Most people find reading books easier so don’t some people like me because I prefer researching on the internet to searching for stuff in the library. Some people will support Carr by saying that the internet really makes us dumber but I’m on the opposite side because I defiantly think it makes as smarter especially with this technology that keeps improving as years come. All these things we have today and are able to access to will not be available without the internet because people or researchers wouldn’t have been able to get accurate information about what they were looking
Josh Haning Mr. Rogers English Final 05/31/2011 Us Stupid Google Making Is As times change, so must our methods of dealing with them. The evolution of media has changed the way we absorb information from writing to radio to television and so on. During these trans-formative periods, skills are lost and skills are gained; but to label the internet as the catalyst for the degeneration of our intelligence goes a bit too far. In his article ”Is Google Making Us Stupid” Nicholas Carr argues that, in its current form, the internet is not conducive to the kind of deep thought required when reading a long article or novel. He feels that while the internet is extremely useful, it is designed to distract as opposed to focus the mind.
Daniel Argueta Period 6 08/30/13 Gardner Summary and Analysis Howard Gardner argues that, in the debate over technological advancement and declining literacies, we might soon be entering a new era of literacy that we cannot now envision due to technologies yet to be invented. Literacy is a concern for some experts but others believe that the Internet is just a stepping stone to a greater age of literacy. According to the doomsayers computers are extinguishing literacy. For instance: low reading scores, less leisure reading time, and half the adult population reading no books in a year support the doomsayers’ claims. However, optimists believe that the Internet will bring in a new culture of words.
For quite some time, the talk has been that social networking is viewed as unnecessary. Social networking seems uncalled for by others, yet over the years it has become more prevalent. In today’s society, many people have chosen to become more involved with online interaction whether it was personal or business. The problem lies in the difference of social networking being considered a friend or a foe. How is it beneficial to today’s way in life?
Shirky starts by revealing the case about how our new technology has enabled amateurs to make a large number of average grade information and products, lowering our levels of what is considered acceptable. Shirky then provides horrid predictions of the future caused by the collapse of culture. He adds that these fears are actually true and have been around for a long period of time, proving this claim through historical references of the Guttenberg’s press and the Protestant reformation. Shirky shifts to focus on the importance of the innovations that occur after: the new norms are increasingly made the “intellectual output” of society. In the article Shirky establishes the point that we are now going through a similar growth in our publishing capability as we had in our past.
This article is a direct response to Nick Carr’s argument. Maria Bustillos points out the flaws in his argument while supporting the fact that the Internet is indeed making us smarter and has been for years now. She believes that our brains are adapting to this new technology making it easier to obtain new knowledge. She states that the Internet is actually training our brains and making them stronger. By this she means allowing us to learn more in a shorter time frame.