Richardson1

LexiRichardson
Dr.Reid
English101
September28,2015
TheInternetandItsHarmfulSideEffects
In
DoestheInternetMakeYouDumber?
,NicholasCarrstatesthatalthoughtheInternet
makesanendlessamountofinformationavailabletous,itisnegativelychangingthewaypeople
think.Throughoutthearticle,heattemptstoconvincethereaderthattheInternethasharmed
peoplemorethanitwilleverbeabletohelp.Theseeminglypositivesideoftheeasyaccessto
informationisgreatlyoverpoweredbyitsopposition.TheInternetisdegradingthedepthof
humanthoughtwhileservingasaperpetualdistractionthatinterruptspeople'slivesrather
frequently.AsCarrsays,"we'returningintoshallowthinkers"(Carr1).TheNet,while
extremelybeneficialandconvenient,hasbeendetrimentaltothedevelopmentofvariousaspects
ofthehumanmindandthewaypeopleprocessinformation.
StudiesshowthatthemoreconnectedapersoniswiththeNet,thelesstheycanfocus,
understand,andevencomprehend.Thisisbecausepeople'sattentionisdividedfarmorethanis
plausibleforanyrealproductivity.Carrsays,"Therichnessofourthoughts,ourmemories,and
evenourpersonalitieshingesonourabilitytofocusthemindandsustainconcentration"(Carr
3).Ourinabilitytofocusandconcentrateisnotonlyaffectingthewaywelearnbuthowwelearn
andhowmuch.Inessence,ourpersonalitiesarebecomingflawedasadirectresultoftheInternet
takingcontroloversomanyaspectsofourlives.
TheoverallfunctionalityofourbrainsisdecreasingaswelettheInternetdoallofthe

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workforus.Whenwe'reconstantlydistractedandinterrupted,aswetendtobeonline,our
brainsareunabletoforgethestrongandexpansiveneuralconnectionsthatgivedepthand
distinctivenesstoourthinking(Carr4).Weareconstantlybombardedwithimmeasurable
amountsofinformation,makingitimpossibleforustotakeitallin.Instead,wesimplyprocess
thevastmajorityinourshorttermmemory.Ourfocusisconstantlydivertedfromonearticleto
thenext,oneperson'sFacebookstatustoanother,someone'stweet,orthenotificationofanew
email.Inordertocopewiththiscontinualflowofnewinformationintoourminds,we
inadvertentlyonlytakeinbitsandpiecesofeverything.Wecannotfocusonjustoneideaforthe
sheerfactthattherearetoomanyotherideasatourfingertipsjustwaitingtobeexplored.
Thehumanmindisbecomingmoreandmore"automatic"whenitcomestothewaywe
think.Thebrainisoverstimulated,thusinvokingalmostroboticresponses.PatriciaGreenfield,a
noteddevelopmentalpsychologist,saysthat"everymediumdevelopssomecognitiveskillsatthe
expenseofothers(Carr7).Sheusestheexampleofairtrafficcontroltofurtherexplainher
point.Theuseoftechnologyinthisspecificareahasgreatlystrengthenedandimprovedthe
overalloutputandrateofproductivity.Peoplehavebeenabletolearnandquicklyadaptto
maintainingthenumeroussignalsandinfluxesofinformation.However,Greenfieldgoesonto
saythatithasbeenaccompaniedby"newweaknessesinhighordercognitiveprocesses,"suchas
"abstractvocabulary,mindfulness,reflection,inductiveproblemsolving,criticalthinking,and
imagination"(Carr7).Ourabilitytothinkcriticallyandprocessinformationisdramatically
decreasingwhilewearegainingverylittleinreturn.Withtheuseofmoreshorttermmemory,
ourmindsarelackingthedepthandindividualitythatmakesthehumanmindunique.
Theadverseeffectsthatarebeingimposedonusbynewtechnologicaladvancementsdo

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notdisappearwhenwehappento,veryrarely,poweroffourdevices.Theycontinuetoshape
thewaywethinkevenwhenwerenotusing[them](Carr10).Bythealteringofourmental
habits,particularneuralpathwaysareenhancedalongwith,consequently,thedeclineofothers.
Theextenttowhichthisnewinformationinfluencesushasbecomesoseverethatevenwhenwe
disconnectourselvesfromtechnology,itstillplaysanintegralroleinourthoughtsandactions.
OurlivesaresodeeplyinterwovenwiththeInternetanditsbyproductsthatthedistinction
betweenthetwoisdecreasingaswebecomenumbtotheideathatitcouldeverharmus.Infact,
weinsomecases,gosofarastobelievethatwecouldnotfunctionwithoutit.Wewelcomethe
conveniencethatitintroducestoourlives,refusingtoseeanyilleffectsthatmightcomealong
withit.
Carrusesthesimpleexampleofabookinordertoproveamajorpoint.Hesays,
WhereastheInternetscattersourattention,thebookfocusesit.Unlikethescreen,thepage
promotescontemplativeness(Carr13).Hegoesontoexplainthatreadingabookdisciplinesus.
Itisapartofhumannaturetobeeasilydistracted,sotomakeonesselfsitdownandactually
readabookrequiresamentaldisciplinethatcannotbereplicatedbyreadingwordsoffofa
screen.Wehavetomakeaconsciousefforttoreadabook,thusgainingcontroloverand
strengtheningourminds.Itisnotaneasytasknowadaystopickupabookandbeginreading.
Wehavethesamepagesavailableforustoreadonourcomputerorevenourphones.Books
havebecomeoutdated,asisevidentthroughthemajorityofthemhavinganonlineedition.The
Internetistakingplaceofmanytraditionalwaysandpractices,andalthoughimprovements
shouldalwaysbewelcomed,somethingsarebetterleftunchanged.Todaysgenerationof
childrenarebeingdistractedbytechnology,learningfromtechnology,andrelyingontechnology

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morethananyothergenerationbefore.Theyaregrowingupwhilebeingbombardedwith
screensanddevices.Itmightbeaquickfixtokeeponeskidsfromactingupwhileouttoeatat
arestaurant,butthenegativeimpactthatitishavingonthemisfargreater.Itbecomesallthat
theyknow,thuslimitingtheirinteractionwithotherhumansandcausingtheirpeopleskillstobe
farlessdeveloped.
Theproductivity,inonesense,thattheInternetprovidesforcannotaccountforthe
unproductivitythatovershadowsit.WhiletheuseoftheInternethasgreatlyhelpedoursociety
intheformofnumeroustechnologicaladvances,ithashinderedtheadvancementofourminds
inawaythatwillbedifficulttogainback.Carrusesthisarticletoshedlightonanevergrowing
problem.Ourrelianceontechnologyhasweakenedourabilitytothinkcriticallyandprocess
informationinawaythatcouldchangethefutureofsociety.AsadirectresultoftheInternetand
itseaseofaccess,wenolongerhavetoputforthasmucheffortintoourwork.Wecansimply
googletheanswertoourquestionandwithinsecondswehaveaperfectlywordedresponsethat
isbothinformativeandtothepoint.WearedependentontheInternettodoworkforussuchas
findanswers,citesources,teachushowtodothings,andsomuchmore.Itshouldbeagrowing
concern,yeteachdaywealldivedeeperanddeeperintoeverythingthattechnologyhastooffer.
WearesoconnectedwiththeInternetthatwearealmostblindtoanythingbesidesit.

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WorksCited
Carr,Nicholas."DoestheInternetMakeYouDumber?"
TheWallStreetJournal
.Dow
Jones&Company,5June2010.Web.26September2015.