How Beneficial Is Google?
As technology progresses, many people are now becoming skeptical and concerned about the effects of easy access information on the human mind. One of the first to write on this arising issue is Nicholas Carr, the author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid”. He believes that the excessive use of the internet fosters psychological trouble. It is evident that our ability to interpret text and retain the meaning of simple and complex words are now more than ever at risk. Carr suggest that the more we read and obtain information through search engines, text messages, and things of that medium, the less able we are to process and acknowledge deeper ideas (Carr 317). The quantity over quality principle does not apply here. It …show more content…
Carr believes that the quality of the information we intake is no better than us just skimming through the lines, trying to get straight to the point. Similar to what Google is indirectly training us to do. I intend to show how, with the aid Carr’s evidence, our minds are unknowingly being programmed to work within the syntax of a machine, like a search parameter.
Another argument presented in Carr’s article is that we are not reading for comprehension, but rather for information. According to Bruce Friedman, “I now have almost lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print” (Qtd. in Carr 316). This poignant confession, expressed by a psychological doctor, illuminates a bigger picture; that is, that we are not reading the same as we use to before. There are many pros and cons about the use of internet. It does in fact aid us to solve or answer questions in a timely manner. However, the details in what we are reading are being lost and in the same way we are beginning to read, we are no longer engaged in our writing. Our brains are starting to function like a computer. We want everything immediately; …show more content…
As humans, it is a nature instinct to feel fear when we are engaged in something harmful in manner. However, it is possible to be ignorant of that harm and have no fear. That is the case in this article. We are unknowingly being transformed toward restricted levels of thinking as we engage on the internet. Plato was one of the earliest to realize the effects of relying on something, rather than actually understanding its text and connotation. According to Plato, "[They] would be able to receive quantity information without proper instruction" (Qtd. in Carr 326). This relates to how Google is able to provide us with an abundance of information, but we necessarily do not know how to apply it. We only use it when we need it, then abandon it once we are through. We believe it will always be there so we do not think it is feasible to actually interpret it and remember it for the future. In essence, I ask: should we fear technology? Plato realized from the start that there are negative drawbacks to technology as it advances. However, will history repeat itself? Overall, I think that the internet does indeed impedes knowledge because of its unlimited access; but, it also aids us in the long term. Although the bevel can go either way, there is no equilibrium and that 's what makes the internet
As technology progresses, many people are now becoming skeptical and concerned about the effects of easy access information on the human mind. One of the first to write on this arising issue is Nicholas Carr, the author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid”. He believes that the excessive use of the internet fosters psychological trouble. It is evident that our ability to interpret text and retain the meaning of simple and complex words are now more than ever at risk. Carr suggest that the more we read and obtain information through search engines, text messages, and things of that medium, the less able we are to process and acknowledge deeper ideas (Carr 317). The quantity over quality principle does not apply here. It …show more content…
Carr believes that the quality of the information we intake is no better than us just skimming through the lines, trying to get straight to the point. Similar to what Google is indirectly training us to do. I intend to show how, with the aid Carr’s evidence, our minds are unknowingly being programmed to work within the syntax of a machine, like a search parameter.
Another argument presented in Carr’s article is that we are not reading for comprehension, but rather for information. According to Bruce Friedman, “I now have almost lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print” (Qtd. in Carr 316). This poignant confession, expressed by a psychological doctor, illuminates a bigger picture; that is, that we are not reading the same as we use to before. There are many pros and cons about the use of internet. It does in fact aid us to solve or answer questions in a timely manner. However, the details in what we are reading are being lost and in the same way we are beginning to read, we are no longer engaged in our writing. Our brains are starting to function like a computer. We want everything immediately; …show more content…
As humans, it is a nature instinct to feel fear when we are engaged in something harmful in manner. However, it is possible to be ignorant of that harm and have no fear. That is the case in this article. We are unknowingly being transformed toward restricted levels of thinking as we engage on the internet. Plato was one of the earliest to realize the effects of relying on something, rather than actually understanding its text and connotation. According to Plato, "[They] would be able to receive quantity information without proper instruction" (Qtd. in Carr 326). This relates to how Google is able to provide us with an abundance of information, but we necessarily do not know how to apply it. We only use it when we need it, then abandon it once we are through. We believe it will always be there so we do not think it is feasible to actually interpret it and remember it for the future. In essence, I ask: should we fear technology? Plato realized from the start that there are negative drawbacks to technology as it advances. However, will history repeat itself? Overall, I think that the internet does indeed impedes knowledge because of its unlimited access; but, it also aids us in the long term. Although the bevel can go either way, there is no equilibrium and that 's what makes the internet