Jelani Pritchard
Professor Werry
RWS 100
15 Dec. 2014
And How Would You Know That? ..The Internet
If
it ain't broke, don't fix it. Because of the internet, our brain has
undergo numerous of changes throughout our lives. It is argued that the
internet has been a cancer to the way humans have read, write, or even think.
Others claim that it has enhanced us as human race; from improving memory to
creating connections with the world. Two individuals specifically, Nicholas Carr
and Clive Thompson, have two different
views on how the internet and technology
has affected us. In the article "Is Google Making Us
Stupid?" Carr argues that the internet has negatively affected the way we
read and write. Carr claims that the net has altered the way we
think and our ability to focus. He
believes that the internet has become a
distraction causing us to lose focus/concentration and is possibly making us
'stupid'. Opposing Carr, Clive
Thompson in his excerpt "Public Thinking" from the book "Smarter Than You Think," argues that the internet has been a vital
tool in our advancement as the human race. Thompson claims that the
internet has positively affected our lives by creating connections with others,
improving our reading and writing skills, and even enhance our cognitive
behavior. He presents a strong claim that the internet has been a useful
tool that enhances our abilities and skill set that may benefit us a whole along
with our individual selves. Along
with Thompson, Lance Ulanoff, writer for Mashable,
argues in his article "Why Cant Johhny Write? Dont Blame Social
Media" that the internet has been a beneficial factor in the way the human race has advanced. Ulanoff claims that
internet, for example social media, has created a new way of learning and
should not be blamed for the idea of the internet causing kids to lose focus or
have a decrease in their reading and writing skills. In the world we live in
today, the internet has been essential to many of our successes. It
is hard to argue that the technology has been a parasite to the human brain
without looking at the many improvements and advancements the internet has done for us.
Thompson presents an agreeable argument
and it must be understood that the world wide web has presented us positivity
and prosperity if anything.
Nicholas
Carr presents an interesting argument of the internet perishing our
concentration and becoming a distraction. Carr believes that the
internet has caused individuals to lose focus/concentration when reading. Using information and experiences from individuals
who all are credible literary-types to Carr, he keys the idea of the effects of
the internet and how they can alter concentration and brain activity .
Fellow literary-type, Bruce Friedman, who
is a regular blogger who writes about the use of technology in medicine,
explains how the internet has affected the way he works and reads. Friedman states that he "has almost
totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in
print" (59). Truthfully, Carr's claim of a decreasing concentration
is strongly presented. Many college students, such as myself, are
interested in reading long texts anymore compared to those who grew up without
technology. Now in today's age, the internet is used as a tool in learning.
Carr however, believes that the tool is more defected than helpful. He
claims that the internet has negatively tweaked the way we are supposed to
learn, read, and write. It can be argued that the net has become a domain of
distraction and has slowed down learning for children, but in the modern era we
live in today, it is inevitable to ignore the internet. Although Carr argues a strong claim he also has presented weaknesses in his article.
Using only literary types and himself,
Carr tries to point out how the internet has negatively altered the way
they read and work; for example causing them to lose the ability to read long
novels/texts. Knowing that Carr and his fellow literary types grew up in a different
era without technology, it seems to be biased to blame the internet for their loss of their ability to 'focus' or negatively
change the way they work. On the other side, lies the youth who grew up with
this technology, as it advanced itself, that has help claim that the internet has been
more helpful than harmful.
Although
the internet withholds distractions that may affect us, Clive Thompson presents
a strong argument of the internet improving our memory, creates connection, and
enhance the way we read & write. Thompson
states that the internet/ the technological
advancement has improved individuals'
writing skills because of major increase of composed writing. According to Thompson, "we compose
of 154 billion emails, 500 million tweets on Twitter, 1 million blog posts and
comments, and about 150 billion words written on Facebook each day"
(Thompson 47). The more we write as humans, the more improvements
we will see in the skill. In basketball, Michael Jordan did not treat practice
as an option, he treated it as a tool that will enhance his play in games.
Tom Brady, professional football quarterback, uses practice to correct his
mistakes and look for the weaknesses or strengths that are presented. It
is the same for writing. the more we write the better we will be at it; with
the advancement of the internet, it has launched us even further than we have
expected. The internet has not only
been used for a domain to practice reading and writing skills, it is also used
as a platform for connections with the world. Users of the internet are
able to connect and share ideas like never before. It has created a way for
people to interact socially, expand globally, and enhance reading/writing skills.
Thompson also states that the internet/technology has improved memory and
cognitive thinking skills. With the internet it can be used as a platform or a
stage.
Ideas and ways of thinking can be shared to an audience. An audience can be
used to improve performance, whether it be from writing for an audience or presenting/sharing
ideas to others, this is called the audience effect. Thompson presents an experiment
that supports his claim of the audience effect; One group had to solve the puzzle alone in silent while the
other had to explain the way they were solving the puzzle into a tape recorder. The results showed that the kids who
tried completing the puzzle did much worse than the group who didn't (55). Thompson presents
various ways of how the internet is a benefit to us. This shows how much positivity the internet has and how it
can affect people as whole or individuals in many different ways.
There are many different ways how
the internet can affect people. Today,
social media is probably one of the most used platform networks on this planet. It is used to network, socially connect, and surprisingly
enhance reading & writing skills. Like Thompson, Lance Ulanoff argues that the internet is
here for the better in the article "Why Cant Johnny Write? Dont Blame
Social Media." Arguing against individuals such as Carr,
Ulanoff specifically states that social media should not be blamed for any
negative effect on the way teenagers write. He argues that social media is actually a tool that can be
used to help kids learn. Ulanoff
uses an expert, Ethna Dempsey Lay, Hofstra University Assistant
Professor of Writing Studies and Composition, to help claim that social media
can actually be a different way individuals are able to write. Ulanoff
and Lay claims that social media can be used to express one's self differently
and can be used effectively. Ulanoff, more specifically discusses the
effect of the social media plat form of Twitter. He uses examples from Lay's own teaching
methods through Twitter, showing that social media can be used as a platform to
write and communicate in a different way. He conducts an experiment on Twitter to
see how well others are able to write in 140 characters or less, receives
impressive results. He evaluates how well individuals are able to use correct
grammar and punctuation under 140 characters or less. The
internet has been used to expand ideas, not shorten them. There is
more positive outcomes because of the internet than negative ones.
The
internet and technology that exists today is almost inevitable to any human
being that attends school. The advancement of technology, claimed by both
Thompson and Carr, has indeed affected the way an individual thinks, reads, or
writes.
Now whether it is more of a negative or positive effect on an individual can
still be questioned; but it is safe to say that there is at least somewhat of
both elements (positive/negative effect) that can alter one's mind.
Personally, the internet has changed the way I work and receive information.
Although it can be a distraction at times, the internet has become a useful
tool.
It can be used as a platform to connect with others socially and educationally. By
connecting with others, there is more understanding in the how and whys of the
world.
Multiple minds can make change the world by sharing ideas and thoughts.
Information can be absorbed in many different ways because of the accessibility
to the internet, which serves as a platform for other's thoughts and ideas.
Not only does the internet have individuals connect their minds with others,
but it also has helped individuals to connect with themselves; enhancing our
own cognitive thinking, writing, and reading skills. We now tend to read or
look for the information that will either appeal to or help us. It
can be questioned that this method may be a negative influence by the internet,
making us humans 'lazy' or drift away from focusing on a full length of text,
but it also can be argued that it could be a more efficient way to absorb
information.
At
the end of the day the internet will always be more beneficial than negative in
my eyes. It has created a place for myself to improve the way I think,
read, and write. Using social media has improved my social skills and
communication. This skill is very vital in the real world and can
be applied to any job in the world. It is more than just education.
Although, education is very important in success. The internet and the way
technology has advanced, I only see massive improvements with education.
Reading other individual's work has helped me create my own ideas. For
example; reading my classmates' work on their blogs has inspired some of my
work or ideas that I have created on my own. Posting
work myself will improve the way I write as well. Connecting to somewhat of
the audience effect. The world
today needs the internet and has made it a useful tool. Without it, it is
hard for many individuals to succeed and expand globally. It is a platform
for networking and connecting with others. The connection an
individual has with another will improve the way we share ideas and thoughts.
Thoughts and ideas that can be used to help create solutions to the problems we
have in the world. The way we read and write has been altered for the
better.
Thompson and Ulanoff presents a
persuasive argument that the internet/the advancement of technology has
bettered individuals globally.
Although
they have different views, Nicholas Carr, Clive Thompson, and Lance Ulanoff all
have one thing in common. They all believe that the internet has a major role
in today's world has a effect on us as humans. Carr believes it is more
detrimental, causing us humans to lose focus. The internet has some
distractions of course, but so does real life. The idea of negative effects of the internet are flawed
and can be easily countered with opposing arguments such as Thompson or Ulanoff
present. They believe that the
world wide web has given us an advantage. It has created a platform
for creativity. The internet has been a beneficial, positive, and an
important factor in how the human race has advanced. Research methods are
altered for the better. The internet can be used as a tool that will pick
out all of the important and useful information. Carr believes that the net
has a negative effect on learning or absorbing information, but in reality it
has only been efficient in the way humans have been able to learn, read, and
write. Without the internet, there wouldn't be much
in the world, so it is vital that us humans do not take it for granted and use
it to the best of our abilities to only better ourselves as the human race.
Work Cited
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic Sept. 2008. Print. Nov.
2014.
Thompson, Clive. "Smarter Than You Think" Penguin Press 2013. Print. 9 Sept. 2014.
Ulanoff, Lance. "Why Cant Johhny Write? Dont Blame
Social Media." Mashable 4 May
2013.
Web. 19
Nov. 2014.
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