Rough Draft

Just a few decades ago, the internet was made available to the general public for the first time. There is no doubt that this technology has completely changed the way that humans live, interact, and think. But many disagree on whether is is a negative or positive change. One thing that most can agree on is that the internet is in fact changing the way we think. In, Carr’s article he argues that the internet is negatively affecting our minds while in Thompson’s article, he claims that the internet is positively affecting our minds. In this essay, I will explain Carr’s and Thompson’s general views and opinions on specifically how internet affects our concentration  and attention and our reading and writing skills. I will then enter the conversation, arguing my point on the topic using outside sources as evidence.

In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, from The Atlantic, he claims that the current amount of use of the internet has serious negative effects on our cognitive behavior. He argues that the internet is worsening our ability to concentrate on one thing for a long period of time. He gives a personal example, “my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidget, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do” (Carr). He argues that with all of the hyperlinks and distractions on the internet, we are constantly switching focus and unintentionally learning not to be able to concentrate on one thing.  Carr also claims that we are also reading less quality works than before, therefore  not helping us become more intelligent. Anyone can post on the internet and it’s hard to tell whats credible or not. A person is far more likely to find false information on the internet and believe it, therefor causing worsening intelligence.

Contrary to Carr, in Clive Thompson’s essay, “Public Thinking”, from his book, Smarter Than You Think, he claims that the internet is actually improving our overall cognitive behavior. Thompson says “There are thousands of other forums crammed full of writing, ranging from twenty-six thousand Star Wars stories to more than seventeen hundred pieces riffing off Shakespeare’s works” (Thompson). With all of the options, of course we are going to switch from page to page. Thompson argues that the internet now has more things that actually interest people, so they are reading more. People may be switching sites more often, but they are reading more over all. Also, when one reads something that interests them, they are more likely to retain the information. However, Thompson goes on to claim that it isn't the reading we do, but the increase of writing due to the internet. Writing helps people form ideas into words, create new ideas, and share information. Carr claims that our thinking is worsening because we get distracted while we read, but Thompson claims that it’s the writing that we do on the internet that helps us rather than the reading.

As an 18-year old college student in 2014, technology and the internet are extremely relevant in my life. My laptop is my lifeline for class and entertainment. As I write this essay right now, I have two different documents open on Word, five tabs open on my internet browser, and my online calendar and iTunes minimized. Come midterm week and you will see my computer glued to me. 100% of the homework and projects I do for school is online. Yesterday I was doing some of my online physics homework and couldn't figure out a question. I quickly opened a new tab, copied and pasted the question, and found the solution on yahoo answers. I could have easily just copied the answer and submitted it for full credit, but instead I looked at the process and learned how the answer was found. When I have a random question about anything that popped into my head because something that happened that day, I can google it and find out the answer. This leads me too pages and links to other pages about the topic, which I will often read through. I am pretty sure that if I had a question and didn't have access to google, I would not go to the library and find a book with the answer. It is said that time is money so it shouldn't be wasted. Google offers the opportunity to educate one’s self in minimal time.

When it comes to my opinion on the subject, I find myself agreeing mostly with Thompson’s overall view, that the internet is good for our mental skills. However, both authors fail to bring up some important points relevant to the topic. Both authors are putting the entire fate of our minds up to the internet, and put no responsibility on the user. The internet is extremely relevant and isn't going away anytime soon. People could easily use the internet only for plagiarism, looking up answers for homework, and unconstructive uses. But there are so many people who use it wisely. We need to focus more on teaching people on how to use the internet for more educational uses. Instead of just telling kids to put down their phone and go to the library and read a book, we should be telling kids to download the book app, learn how to use an online data base, etc.