Is Google Making USupid, By Nicholas Carr

In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” published in The Atlantic Magazine, Nicholas Carr begins by talking of a national issue. Our concentration levels are diminishing. Carr uses the title to point out google as the perpetrator, but he refers to the web as a whole. He used to be able to read for hours. However, he struggles with reading a few pages now. Carr says that our brains are being programmed to learn the answer and shut down. You no longer submerge yourself into knowledge. You simply skim the surface of it. Two of the author’s friends are going through the same thing. A pathologist from the University of Michigan no longer reads anything longer than three of four paragraphs. He simply glances over it. The other friend, Scott …show more content…
Any worksheet that a teacher hands you can be googled and the answers will come out. Many students have fallen into this trap. They don’t have enough time to actually work on homework, so they just fill in the answers. However, this doesn’t really help anybody. We all go to college to learn and better ourselves. Yet, all google is creating is an easy way out. It puts students in a sticky situation when they can’t use resources. For example, google isn’t allowed on a test. Tests can cause a student to excel or flunk out of school. If a student never learns the material; he will obviously …show more content…
It’s almost as bad as trying to get a cat to take a bath. It’s an instinct to avoid doing what we dislike. Therefore, when there are websites that summarize a whole novel in a few paragraphs; it’s obvious that students will use it. Carr is correct when he says that the brain can be reprogrammed. Scholars who used to love reading don’t even touch books anymore. The habit of taking in information as quick as possible has made it difficult to understand large essays. This isn’t a terrible thing, but it isn’t good either. If we keep lowering our standards, then we will end up with a low value generation. In the time of Plato people could memorize books whole. Now, we struggle memorizing our passwords, and emails. I’m not saying we downgraded; I’m just saying I don’t know anybody that can recite a book word for word. It’s understandable how important computers are in our life. However, we shouldn’t let them take over our life. “In the past the man has been first”, and it should stay like that. Yet, there are people who trust machines more than their fellow man. Carr believes that admiring modern technology is fine, but we should praise it. We are in charge of the computer, and not the other way around. The web should be used to deepen the thoughts of our brains instead of letting the shallowness of our thoughts deepen googles search