Getting Our Wires Crossed

"Never has a communications system played so many roles in our lives—or exerted such broad influence over our thoughts—as the Internet does today. Yet, for all that's been written about the Net, there's been little consideration of how, exactly, it's reprogramming us" (Carr).





The quote above is the most alarming part of Mr. Carr's article, Is Google Making Us Stupid? This is alarming because I have never thought technology could really "rewire" a human's brain. But the reality is, it has. 

I agree whole heartedly with Mr. Carr. With all of the technological advancements we have encountered, we have become impatient, lazy, and almost useless in some aspects. If something does not load within a few seconds, we grow weary and restless. When asked how to find information, we immediately go to the internet, which we for some reason view as infaliable. It is almost as if we have forgotten about encyclopedias and other reference books. We are reprogrammed to revolve our research around Google and it's information. 

Betsy Sparrow and her colleagues at Columbia University conducted a series of four experiments to prove the "Google Effect". This theory is that people can no longer remember information because of Google. "Sparrow and her colleagues tested how people remember information when such information is stored somewhere accessible, like say the Internet.  According to these researchers, people are more likely to look for information on the Internet, and when easy to find, they're more likely to remember where they found it, rather than the information itself.  On the flip side, information that is less accessible online is more easily remembered" (Latham). People have been rewired in regards to how they recall information and where they find it. 

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid? - Magazine - The Atlantic." The Atlantic — News and Analysis on Politics, Business, Culture, Technology, National, International, and Life – TheAtlantic.com. The Atlantic, July 2008. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. 

<http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/>.

Latham, Tyger. "The Google Effect | Psychology Today." Psychology Today: Health, Help,  Happiness Find a Therapist. Psychology Today, 16 July 2011. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/therapy-matters/201107/the-google-effect>.