Is Google Making Us Stupid Response

            I don’t know if being part of the “younger generation” makes me biased, but I do not entirely agree with Carr’s assertion that the Internet is making us stupid. As people have evolved, so has the technology that they use. Man has been continually finding ways to make things faster, stronger, simpler, and cheaper all throughout history. As times and tools have changed, people have adjusted to adapt to new ways of life.

            In the article, Carr’s main concern is that the younger generation and those who use the Internet on a very regular basis will lose the ability to read deeply. His argument is that because we bounce around from site to site on the computer, our abilities to concentrate and stay focused on a single thing, like a lengthy book, have diminished. With such short attention spans, we only have the ability to process small amounts of information at a time before moving on to the next thing.

            While some of his assertions may be true to a certain degree, they are not without flaws. It is true, while on the Internet it is easy to jump from page to page and become distracted, this does not mean that we cannot shift gears and sit down with a good, lengthy book once in a while. Carr also suggests that the Internet has changed the way in which we absorb information, and I agree. When my parents were in school they would need to pour over many different books in the library in order to find the right information for a project or a paper. What used to take hours decades ago can now be done almost instantly. When finding the right information is so quick, it’s so much easier to work efficiently. Having thousands of databases at your fingertips eliminates wasting time to physically search for the information. Even in an emergency that needs immediate action (like spilling a whole glass of red wine on your mother’s pristine white carpet) there is an immediate answer or solution.

            The Internet has also made the entire world more connected and younger people more globally conscious. The Internet has broken down physical barriers that once kept nations more isolated than they are today.