Google and the Neo-Intelligence
In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, the author plays the role of the harbinger of bad news about the internet’s imminent dangers to our intelligence. It’s an interesting piece but I have to disagree with the author because while the internet does change our thinking, it’s more positive than negative. More studies are proving the intellectual benefits of the internet, also the author’s view suffer from what’s known as cultural lag. And finally, we need the internet to help solve the increasingly complex challenges in our world.
In his original article, Mr. Carr noticed that his and many friends’ focusing ability when reading has been particularly weakened by virtue of their internet use, he says “The more they use the Web, the more they have to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing” (Carr). He explains that it’s the internet’s inherent design providing concise and quick information when needed without needing to read many long pages of text, accordingly that design slowly influences and shapes our attention making us lose focus and prefer the quick short snippet over the pondering that’s usually associated with deep thinking and innovation; he explained “…as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence” (Carr). Mr. Carr suggests that like many new technologies in the past, the emergence of the internet not only affected the content of information but also shaped our own cognitive capabilities and ways of thinking, and by offering so much varying information in one place it becomes distracting. He also notes similar qualities with past inventions, by acknowledging some benefits that the internet brings. However, he fears that the loss of our deep thinking propagated by the internet use will gradually dampen our intelligence and insight. Interestingly, he mentioned “Anecdotes alone don’t prove much. And we still await the long-term neurological and psychological experiments that will provide a definitive picture of how Internet use affects cognition” (Carr). Today we have more scientific evidence helping us reach a more refined conclusion. For example, one study examined the effects of the internet on thinking indicating that the cognition of the subjects was not impaired. In fact, users had “faster task-switching” and “greater integration into peer groups” (Mills 10). Another study found that normal internet and email use beneficial for the cognitive and academic results of children, it also helps maintain personal relationships (Subrahmanyam el al. 26). Additionally, a different study between frequent and infrequent internet users found that frequent …show more content…
I believe the reason for this is “cultural lag”. It is the phenomena where the material part of new inventions arrives first which causes fear and disruption, and then followed years later by accepting its idea and place in society (Ogburn, “Cultural Lag”). As a society we are still in the first stage, the fear will eventually subside (for the most part). As the ideas are accepted it becomes normal to use these “technologies”. New inventions always change us (not unlike the internet); however, its negative impact is exaggerated and the positive ones usually overshadow it (as the above studies showed). Tanya Goldhaber, of Cambridge University did a “literature review” on the subject finding
In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, the author plays the role of the harbinger of bad news about the internet’s imminent dangers to our intelligence. It’s an interesting piece but I have to disagree with the author because while the internet does change our thinking, it’s more positive than negative. More studies are proving the intellectual benefits of the internet, also the author’s view suffer from what’s known as cultural lag. And finally, we need the internet to help solve the increasingly complex challenges in our world.
In his original article, Mr. Carr noticed that his and many friends’ focusing ability when reading has been particularly weakened by virtue of their internet use, he says “The more they use the Web, the more they have to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing” (Carr). He explains that it’s the internet’s inherent design providing concise and quick information when needed without needing to read many long pages of text, accordingly that design slowly influences and shapes our attention making us lose focus and prefer the quick short snippet over the pondering that’s usually associated with deep thinking and innovation; he explained “…as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence” (Carr). Mr. Carr suggests that like many new technologies in the past, the emergence of the internet not only affected the content of information but also shaped our own cognitive capabilities and ways of thinking, and by offering so much varying information in one place it becomes distracting. He also notes similar qualities with past inventions, by acknowledging some benefits that the internet brings. However, he fears that the loss of our deep thinking propagated by the internet use will gradually dampen our intelligence and insight. Interestingly, he mentioned “Anecdotes alone don’t prove much. And we still await the long-term neurological and psychological experiments that will provide a definitive picture of how Internet use affects cognition” (Carr). Today we have more scientific evidence helping us reach a more refined conclusion. For example, one study examined the effects of the internet on thinking indicating that the cognition of the subjects was not impaired. In fact, users had “faster task-switching” and “greater integration into peer groups” (Mills 10). Another study found that normal internet and email use beneficial for the cognitive and academic results of children, it also helps maintain personal relationships (Subrahmanyam el al. 26). Additionally, a different study between frequent and infrequent internet users found that frequent …show more content…
I believe the reason for this is “cultural lag”. It is the phenomena where the material part of new inventions arrives first which causes fear and disruption, and then followed years later by accepting its idea and place in society (Ogburn, “Cultural Lag”). As a society we are still in the first stage, the fear will eventually subside (for the most part). As the ideas are accepted it becomes normal to use these “technologies”. New inventions always change us (not unlike the internet); however, its negative impact is exaggerated and the positive ones usually overshadow it (as the above studies showed). Tanya Goldhaber, of Cambridge University did a “literature review” on the subject finding