Technology Makes People Stupid

In so many ways technology and Google has simplified people’s lives. Technology has become a necessity for just about everyone. All the information people need is at the tip of their fingers, directly on their phones. So, because of the easy access to Google and technology, individuals should be smarter, right? The fact is technology and Google makes people stupid, and this can be seen in a series of ways. First of all, Google alters the way people’s brains operate, and as a result they become increasingly dependent on the internet for knowledge. James Olds acknowledged this fact when he said, “The brain has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly, altering the way it functions” (Carr 95). This is exactly what is happening to many people that have fallen into Google’s ruthless grasp. Their brains have been reprogramed; they have allowed Google to control them and become their method of thinking. Their brains are …show more content…
“I can’t read War and Peace anymore,” Bruce Friedman confessed during a phone conversation with Nicholas Carr. “I’ve lost the ability to do that. Even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it” (Carr 93). Individuals in this generation, do not want to research whole articles or books to find the material their looking for. Because of modern technology and the internet, they don’t have to. All individuals have to do is search in the web article or book and the information will be located. This might sound great, but there is a problem with this, as Bruce Friedman learned. People become so used to this, that when they are put in a situation where they must read a full book or article, they can’t do it successfully. They skim through the pages and extract only a very limited amount of information, missing the main idea the article or book is trying to