As soon as I read the title of this article, I answered yes to this question. Undoubtedly, over the course of time, things are constantly being re-constructed or edited, to be better or to be more efficient. At what point however, do things become too efficient, to easy? The progress in technology throughout the course of my lifetime alone is baffling. I am not necessarily against this progress, because it has undoubtedly made my life easier. However, I do believe that it has hindered our ability to do things independently. It has become a crutch to lean on. My concern is, what happens when that crutch falls?
It is very easy to see that the way we do things now, is not the same way that past generations did things. For example, the use of a library has drastically changed. I can remember in elementary school when we learned how to use the card catalog. If you wanted to find a book, then you looked in the appropriate section of the card catalog, got the call number, and found it. Today, I don’t even have to be in a library to get a book that I want. All I have to do is simply access the database from my laptop, and I can download an electronic book instantly. This is just one example of how not necessarily just Google, but the internet itself has replaced the thought process. Instead of finding a card, going to the appropriate shelf, and finding the right book, I can just type it into the internet and it appears.
Also, this connects directly to reading. In his article, Carr quotes Bruce Friedman who says, “I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print”, (Carr, 2008). Think about the last time that you actually had to sit down and read something in its entirety, as opposed to skimming through the book or article, or even Googling a summary of that article or book. I too do this quite often. My point is, the internet has clearly replaced our thought process. It can think for us, it can make connections to a book for us, and it can give us an answer in a timely fashion.
In conclusion, I do think that “Google is Making Us Stupid.” It is great and very convenient to use, and admittedly, I use it every day. My worry is that what would happen if Google wasn’t there anymore? Then we would actually have to read.
I agree that technological advances are taking away our independent thinking. We rely heavily on the Internet to think for us. Libraries are great places for research, but lately people see them as obsolete. Do you really think "Google Is Making Us Stupid" or that maybe Google is just making us extremely impatient and too reliant on technology?
ReplyDeleteI agree that we have learned to use technology seemingly as a "crutch". We rely on the fastest, easiest way to get whatever we need and then move on. While technology is editing documents to make it appear shorter through some digging original works can be found. The question is do we really want to spend the time doing all that work? For most of us, myself included I would say no. As a college student and athlete time is crucial. The less time we must spend on a website or doing research the better. I think your post offered a great view to the argument Mr. Carr makes.
ReplyDeleteYour reference to our shift from card catalogs to modern technology is a great example of the drastic innovations that we have witnessed over our lifetime. I agree, that because things are so easy, so fast, we have begun to slightly lost our thought process and our ability to reason. However, I feel as though these cases may be different depending on what one is searching for on the internet. If it is for a thesis, one's ability to process information, and search for the correct resources can be a difficult and daunting task. If it is done correctly, I think it can build on our reasoning and problem solving skills.
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