In the beginning of the article, Carr writes that after he gets used to surfing the Net, he finds it is hard for him to concentrate on reading as long as he used to do (589). Beginning the paragraph with this personal experience, Carr not only brings up his argument that the Internet weakens people’s capacity for deep reading and concentration, but also he makes his audience reflect on their own related experience to understand his argument. The anecdotes help Carr set up a sitting for its audience to follow his logic better. After leading the audience to the setting and states his arguments, he introduces a research study conducted by scholars from UCL. The research shows that people exhibit “a form of skimming activity” and avoid reading long passage online (590). The research result also indicates that “there are signs that new forms of ‘reading’ are emerging”. By introducing the research, Carr intends to show that his argument is rooted from factual studies. As a result, when he summarizes the research finding on the emergence of a new reading pattern caused by the Internet, Carr verifies his argument that the way in which he reads and thinks deeply is changing because of the…
Carr has first hand experience with what the Internet is doing to the minds of those who use it on a daily basis. He used to be able to completely immerse himself into a long book, and spend hours pondering the words and arguments. However, since the “Net is becoming a universal medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind”(p.90) he finds that he can no longer concentrate and contemplate on longer pieces of…
information not allowing our brain to work hard enough. Carr claims, "the internet has altered his…
He mentions that by quoting the thoughts of a scientist that says “Wolf worries that the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for deep reading.” (2) Carr mentions the “deep immersion” type of thinking when he use to read and say that since he has started to use the internet he can’t do that anymore, his brain just wants to skim over the reading. He states “Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, and begin looking for something else to do.”(2) Carr blames this on the constant skimming he has done over a long period of time on the internet. Carrs’ article thoroughly explains his views on how people are starting to rely on the internet more and not reading which in turn will affect their ability to read in the long…
In the short essay “Is Google Making us Stupid?” Carr talks about how the Internet is messing with his mind and making him have a harder time…
Google and other companies collect their information from what we surf on the Internet, so that they can advertise things that appeal to us. Therefore, the faster we process the data, the more information they gain for their own use. Their aim is to distract the reader; so that they can gain from whatever information we leave behind for them to use, to advance their own interests. The Internet is comparable to Plato’s Phaedrus, where Socrates shortsightedly worries that the development of writing would restrict people’s ability to think for themselves, and therefore, they would lose their wisdom. In a way, the Internet prevents us from coming up with our own, innovated ideas, but in the long run, it provides a platform where people are able to acquire knowledge based on past research and…
When we search something we automatically believe what is stated on the internet because we think technology is more intelligent than people. Another think Carr touched upon is that the quality of our knowledge is being sacrificed. There is a generation that doesn’t know life without the Internet and the way that they think. Over time it is only going to get worse. Carr also makes an economic analysis of this new way of thinking and reading. “It’s in their economic interest to drive us to distraction,”…
In chapters seven and eight of the book The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains Nicholas Carr discusses the effects the internet has on our brain, and the changes it causes not only in our mind but also in our daily lives. It is becoming apparent with every click of the mouse that the internet is not only changing our minds, it’s changing our whole lives and society.…
The general argument made by Nicholas Carr in his work, “From The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains,” is that technology is dangerous to the brain, conditioning the body that they need more technology, and less of anything else. More Specifically, Carr states that, “I used to find it easy to immerse myself in a book or a lengthy article...Now my consideration starts to drift after a page or two” (Carr par. 2). In this passage, Carr is suggesting that the effects of technology and the internet have imposed on him that he needs the internet to function at a proper level. He thinks that this is going to be a problem in the future of society. He is suggesting that we will be unable to communicate…
Nearing the end of the piece, Carr concludes that the internet and conventional reading may be two separate entities. Whether it be positive or negative, there is a distinctive difference in comprehension. Referring to traditional text he says, “The kind of deep reading that a sequence of printed pages promotes is valuable not just for the knowledge we acquire from the author’s words but for the intellectual vibrations those words set off within our own minds” (Carr 580). Diving into a book or lengthy text requires the readers full focus to gain the required information. The way that many have been reading has changed to a far more superficial level. Now, reading is a vessel to gain quick insight, not a fully comprehensive…
Carr’s careful use of pathos simplify the audience’s sympathy for his drifting concentration, fidgety habits, and struggle while brightening up their persuasion with images like tripping over hyperlinks and jet skiing over a sea of words. Ethos is appealed to not only in the narrator’s self-consciousness, but the comparison in condition he has to related bloggers and personal scholastic contacts. A simple yes to the article title, finishes with a call for a more absolute picture of how the Internet use affects thought. For this, Carr relies on the logos of scientific research.…
Since the development of Google, there has been a vast amount of information available on various topics or subjects. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” explains and examines the different ways that the internet has been more useful and beneficial, according to the words of the author, Nicholas Carr. According to the readings, the author represents and expresses his thoughts and ideas using logos. Take for instance when Carr expresses that he once was a scuba diver in a sea of words, but now he zips along like a guy on a jet ski (Carr p. 534). Carr expresses that he once was a person who hardly used the internet but now he is one who uses it on a regular basis, making feels that someone has been tinkering with his brain, making it change. No longer does he enjoy reading a book of any length because he cannot sustain concentration on the book. Carr feels that all the time he now spends online is affecting his abilities to concentrate and recognizes that the Internet has been a useful tool for him to search for information and communicate. Carr notes that, unlike footnotes, links send you to the information rather than just refer to it.…
In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published July 2008 in The Atlantic, he discusses the changes that have occurred since people began relying on the internet for information. His main thesis is that the human way of thinking has become impatient and unfocused. Carr supports that by writing “I’m not the only one. When I mention my troubles with reading to friends and acquaintances—literary types, most of them—many say they’re having similar experiences.” He is frustrated that he can no longer sit down and enjoy a long book like he used to.In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published July 2008 in The Atlantic, he discusses the changes that have occurred since people began relying on the internet for information. His main thesis is that the human way of thinking has become impatient and unfocused. Carr supports that by writing “I’m not the only one. When I mention my troubles with reading to friends and acquaintances—literary types, most of them—many say they’re having similar experiences.” He is frustrated that he can no longer sit down and enjoy a long book like he used to.In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published July 2008 in The Atlantic, he discusses the changes that have occurred since people began relying on the internet for information. His main thesis is that the human way of thinking has become impatient and unfocused. Carr supports that by writing “I’m not the only one. When I mention my troubles with reading to friends and acquaintances—literary types, most of them—many say they’re having similar experiences.” He is frustrated that he can no longer sit down and enjoy a long book like he used to.In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” published July 2008 in The Atlantic, he discusses the changes that have occurred since people began relying on the internet for information. His main thesis is that the human way of thinking has become impatient and unfocused. Carr…
Google, the search engine that majority of people see when opening up the internet. The website that delivers information for almost any subject imaginable. Think about it, when you have a hard time figuring something out or a question with no answer where do you run to. Most people click open Google on their electronic device without using their brain to think about it. It is more convenient then just popping open a text book or waiting for someone to explain an answer to you. It becomes more of a distraction then help. Google has simply made humans lazy.…
Google is a search engine which is aimed at many different audiences. Thousands of people use Google per day, ranging from children, to even people who are retired. The purpose of Google is to provide people with a means of searching through the vast amount of data on the internet.…