Is Google Making Us Stupid - Essay Example

?“Is Google making us stupid,” is a one of a kind of a The of this article by Carr is quite overt and expresses his argument quite blatantly. The matter of fact answer can be an obvious “yes” as Google bombards us with all types of information and grants us an easy access to various sources of knowledge. Most of us would then say how is it wrong as it tends to provide information which is just a click away but the conclusion that is advocated by Carr is different then what the majority of the general population thinks. This article delves into skepticism regarding the use of internet and the dominant search driver, Google. According to Carr the internet alters the way our mind generally works and it has adverse effects on the functioning of our mind by changing the way we think (Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid?). Carr promotes the idea that we should not take internet or any sort of technology at its face value but should be skeptical about it because of the negative consequences it might have on our way of thinking (Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid?). Not only Nicholas Carr but also Christine Rosen expresses her concern for the growing technology and she is dubious of its use. In her article, “Our cell phones, Ourselves” she argues that people should not rely heavily on the use of cell phones. Rosen starts her argument by pondering over certain statistics over the last years that involve the use of phone and how they have become an inseparable part of our lives. According to her the level of privacy that was enjoyed by the individuals has diminished due to the latest technological advances. The increasing numbers of cell phone have initiated inconsiderate use of the technology and have forced the society into losing its courtesy. Carr emphasizes on the various problems created by the internet by focusing on how he has problem in reading. According to him Google is creating a society suffering from a problem of paying attention. He proposes that, “Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy” (Carr, Is Google making us stupid? 603). He loses attention and starts to speculate after reading two or three pages. The close relationship between the text and its reader is lost. Carr says that he has to continuously find his way back to the original piece of writing because of the distractions available on the internet. The world of internet has transformed into a “universal medium,” (Carr, Is Google making us stupid?) even when one is not working; he/she is likely to be browsing, looking at emails, reading news articles or watching movies or listening to music. I can easily relate to this problem identified by Carr as being a student we have to make projects and have to work on internet but it is so difficult to focus and I usually end up facebooking rather than completing the project that I am supposed to. “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski” (Carr) which is quite true as today we switch from one website to the other instantaneously? The users do not read online in the traditional sense instead they are power browsing that is skimming swiftly through content pages and headings. The more one uses the Net, more the effort is required to focus attention. “The brain has the ability to reprogram itself on the fly” (Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid?) “Altering the way it functions” (Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid?) This helps Google in its de-concentration effect. Carr mentions a comment from a mathematician who states how any information processing device can be replaced with a computer. This aids in the amplification of the de-concentration effect as the computer today is also a TV, diary, radio, calculator and any other device that one can think of. Rosen in her article divulged the facts about the use of cell phones that were ahead of its time and are more prevalent in today’s society. The excessive use of cell phones has led towards the abuse of the cellular technology (Rosen). There is a growing trend of hacking phones and stealing private information from them. The realm of privacy is decreasing day by day as one can easily hear personal stories of people and specially teenagers by just walking down the street (Rosen). Not only this but latest phones provide access to social networking sites where people keep on updating their statuses every other second. According to Rosen people have lost their bearings when it comes to the issue of using cell phones (Rosen). It is no longer a private phone call between individuals. The “social space” as Rosen says has shrunk dramatically (Rosen). Many have criticized Rosen’s “Our cell phones, Our Selves” because the article relies heavily on stereotypes and surmises and it lacks statistical validity. Most of her examples are short of definite evidences. She fails to understand the fact that cell phones are an essential means of connectivity and our necessary for a world like ours that is becoming highly unstable and unpredictable day by day. Rosen fails to back up her arguments and readers are left wondering whether there is a link between mobile phone usage and brain tumors. Without any factual verification, these claims are futile. The use of language by Rosen tends to belittle the people using cell phones and her writing style is sort of insulting. Such a stance of hers makes me question the fact of her use of cell phones! Hyperactive peacocking (Rosen) is the term used by Rosen to describe people’s inclination of investing in latest technology. For her gadget personalization is not an appropriate way of expressing oneself (Rosen). She calls phones electronic pets as if people are using them in a way that is unnatural.  As for Nicholas Carr, he fails to explain what people should do if not use Google to access information. It provides us quick and easy information which is specifically sculpted the way we ask for it. It is the most reliable source of information and data collection for students. Many of the publications are no longer published in paper but are made available online and Google acting as a search engine helps us accessing them depending on the keywords used. According to me, we shouldn’t be worried about how Google is making us stupid, rather we should focus on how the technology shapes and alters the way our minds function. References Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google making us stupid?" Silverman, Jonathan and Radar Dean. The World is a Text. New York: Electronic Publishing Services, 2012. 603. —. Is Google Making Us Stupid? 2008. 14 03 2013 . Rosen, Christine. "Our Cell Phones, Our Selves." The New Atlantis (2001). Read More