Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Is Google Making USupid?'

In his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” Nicholas Carr writes that access to information with Google has cost people their ability to read lengthy texts, like long articles and books, and the ability of people being able to keep their attention span. Though ironically Carr’s article is long, whether he meant it or not. Though the length actually supports his point to readers, also myself. While reading this, many pause after a couple pages of text; supporting Carr’s experiences. Carr attempts to convince his readers his argument that because of online texts and web browsers, like google, the way people think has changed. The use of logos and pathos is weakened by his use of ethos. At the beginning of his article, Carr quotes a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey and how he feels it represents our present minds. The imagery of Hal being disconnected and the astronaut’s near deaths has the reader rethinking about what might happen in the future. The scene also goes along with Carr’s belief on how the brain changes and our minds work differently from online use. The scene foreshadows that this may end up harming one person, but many through their decreasing state of mind. Through his anecdotes of Bruce Friedman and Scott Karp, Carr appeals to the reader’s emotions with the use of pathos. A …show more content…
There is hardly any ethos in the article, the minute amount is present when Carr breaks down his actual experiences for the audience. It’s as if he tries to back the claim by his own findings. As a result, it hurts the ethos by not providing enough for the people to lean on the claim. There is a small note that Carr has written a book about technology but there is no obvious answer his career or his credibility as an author. Without the knowledge, a reader aren’t certain that Carr’s article is accurate coming from just a standpoint on ethos and pathos