The advancement of technology is rapid. It seems like a new iPhone model is released every day. Technology is also constantly evolving. New smart TVs, self-driving cars, touch screen computers and all the rest of the technology is updated repeatedly. So many new features in such a short time that it makes it difficult for us to stay away from these creations. The technology is so convenient; Computers, to be precise, can do anything we want them to do. We can access TV shows, play games, read books and get answers to our questions within seconds, but the question is: is it a blessing or a curse? In his article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", Nicholas Carr argues that people rely so much on the Internet and search engines like Google that it prevents them from doing things that used to come easily. 'I was once a diver in a sea of words. Now I speed across the surface like a boy on a jet ski.' Said Carr (p426). He states that he used to be able to easily read long passages of text and understand them, but now he can barely read a passage. Carr believes that we are very dependent on the Internet and that this is weakening our reading and writing skills and the way we receive information. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay So “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” It's safe to assume Carr will answer yes to this question, but I disagree. While Carr has a great point that he and so many other authors writing on this topic make, he also kind of misses the mark. The dart hit the target, but it wasn't a target. Yes, frequent Internet use diminishes our ability to read deeply and engage with stories. Yes, it could induce a level of laziness that didn't exist before, and yes, it could be detrimental to the future of reading and writing. But Carr suggests that the Internet is to blame. He openly blames it, saying, "And what the Internet seems to be doing is undermining my ability to concentrate and contemplate." Carr fails to realize that what he appears to be doing is allowing this to happen. In his essay he mentioned that he spent a lot of time surfing the Internet clicking from link to link and doing research that would take days in just a few minutes (p425). Carr has only himself to blame, as well as others, for their indulgence in the "Network," as he called it. How can anyone argue that Internet use is harmful to cognition, yet is something they resort to in everyday life? Many of us lack self-discipline; if people knew how to limit themselves and their Internet use, there would be no problem. Carr seems a little ungrateful, the internet was created to make things easier and more convenient, but here he is upset that he can only skim through content instead of reading it in depth like he used to, when in reality that's the point. In the extract from the study conducted by students at University College London, we read: "... indeed there are signs that new forms of 'reading' are emerging as users 'flip' horizontally through titles, content pages and abstract trying to get quick results. It almost seems like they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.'Things are constantly changing and the way of reading is one of them. Carr must accept the fact that this is the new way of learning, it may be different than what he is used to, but this is how future generations will learn. Additionally, Carr talks about many problems related to frequent Internet use, but offers no solutions..
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