Frying your Brain on the Internet: Social Media is Cooking your Gray Matter
Kathryn Fitzgerald -- July 18, 2016 Even though Steven Johnson's essay contains convincing arguments, his thesis that "Watching TV Makes you Smarter" (120) is overwhelmed by a tsunami of scientific evidence to the contrary. Nicolas Carr's essay deals with a different type of media -- internet browsing -- and takes the opposite stance to Johnson. Carr asks, "Is Google Making us Stupid?" (609). Even though both essays consider how electronic media affects our intelligence, attention, and memory, Carr's conclusions are more persuasive, and scientific data supports his observation that the internet is damaging our brains. Johnson concedes that current TV shows …show more content…
But in availing ourselves of this convenience, we compromise our attention span, which has collectively dropped from twelve to eight seconds over a decade of internet use, and is now shorter than that of goldfish (nine seconds) (Watson). Although Microsoft funded a study which found, not surprisingly, that our ability to multitask has increased, adept media consumers "...struggle to focus in environments where prolonged attention is needed" (Watson). There is an addictive component to internet use too, and this is particularly pronounced in online gamers. Media addicts may disregard obligations, such as jobs, children, and even bodily requirements such as water, food, and sleep (Howard). Vacation posts and family photos may increase feelings of jealousy or loneliness in viewers (Howard). (When I spent three months in Italy, one of my Facebook chums threatened to 'unfriend' me unless I stopped posting pictures of my trip.) But an even more dire consequence of excessive online access is that it heightens the risk of suicide in teens …show more content…
"Is Google Making us Stupid?" Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, Sommers and Tougas 609-617. Print.
Comley, Nancy R., David Hamilton, Carl H. Klaus, Robert Scholes, Nancy Sommers, and Jason Tougaw, eds. Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. Boston/New York: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2013. Print.
Dewey, Caitlin. "Is the Internet giving us all ADHD?" WashingtonPost.com. 25 March 2015.
Web. 8 July 2016.
Dunckley, Victoria L., M.D. "Gray Matters: Too Much Screen Time Damages the Brain." PsychologyToday.com. 27 Feb 2014. Web. 12 July 2016.
Heinig, Robin Marantz. "What is it about 20-Somethings?" Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, Sommers and Tougas 268-282. Print.
Howard, Jacqueline. "This is How the Internet is Rewiring your Brain." The Huffington Post, U.S. Edition. huffingtonpost.com. 30 Oct 2013, updated 22 Feb 2016. Web. 8 July 2016.
Johnson, Steven. "Watching TV Makes You Smarter." Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, Sommers and Tougas 120-29. Print.
Shirky, Clay. "Does the Internet Make you Smarter?" Wall Street Journal. June 4, 2010. wsj.com. Web. 8 July 2016.
Watson, Leon. "Humans have shorter attention span than goldfish, thanks to smartphones." telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph, Science. 15 March 2015. Web. 8 July
Kathryn Fitzgerald -- July 18, 2016 Even though Steven Johnson's essay contains convincing arguments, his thesis that "Watching TV Makes you Smarter" (120) is overwhelmed by a tsunami of scientific evidence to the contrary. Nicolas Carr's essay deals with a different type of media -- internet browsing -- and takes the opposite stance to Johnson. Carr asks, "Is Google Making us Stupid?" (609). Even though both essays consider how electronic media affects our intelligence, attention, and memory, Carr's conclusions are more persuasive, and scientific data supports his observation that the internet is damaging our brains. Johnson concedes that current TV shows …show more content…
But in availing ourselves of this convenience, we compromise our attention span, which has collectively dropped from twelve to eight seconds over a decade of internet use, and is now shorter than that of goldfish (nine seconds) (Watson). Although Microsoft funded a study which found, not surprisingly, that our ability to multitask has increased, adept media consumers "...struggle to focus in environments where prolonged attention is needed" (Watson). There is an addictive component to internet use too, and this is particularly pronounced in online gamers. Media addicts may disregard obligations, such as jobs, children, and even bodily requirements such as water, food, and sleep (Howard). Vacation posts and family photos may increase feelings of jealousy or loneliness in viewers (Howard). (When I spent three months in Italy, one of my Facebook chums threatened to 'unfriend' me unless I stopped posting pictures of my trip.) But an even more dire consequence of excessive online access is that it heightens the risk of suicide in teens …show more content…
"Is Google Making us Stupid?" Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, Sommers and Tougas 609-617. Print.
Comley, Nancy R., David Hamilton, Carl H. Klaus, Robert Scholes, Nancy Sommers, and Jason Tougaw, eds. Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing. Boston/New York: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2013. Print.
Dewey, Caitlin. "Is the Internet giving us all ADHD?" WashingtonPost.com. 25 March 2015.
Web. 8 July 2016.
Dunckley, Victoria L., M.D. "Gray Matters: Too Much Screen Time Damages the Brain." PsychologyToday.com. 27 Feb 2014. Web. 12 July 2016.
Heinig, Robin Marantz. "What is it about 20-Somethings?" Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, Sommers and Tougas 268-282. Print.
Howard, Jacqueline. "This is How the Internet is Rewiring your Brain." The Huffington Post, U.S. Edition. huffingtonpost.com. 30 Oct 2013, updated 22 Feb 2016. Web. 8 July 2016.
Johnson, Steven. "Watching TV Makes You Smarter." Comley, Hamilton, Klaus, Scholes, Sommers and Tougas 120-29. Print.
Shirky, Clay. "Does the Internet Make you Smarter?" Wall Street Journal. June 4, 2010. wsj.com. Web. 8 July 2016.
Watson, Leon. "Humans have shorter attention span than goldfish, thanks to smartphones." telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph, Science. 15 March 2015. Web. 8 July