Reading Response 4

In the article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, he brings up many claims to the web is transforming our thinking. He explains how the internet has affected him personally; “My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” I’m of two minds about Carr’s claim. On one hand, I can see how the internet changed the way of thinking for previous generations because the internet was a new idea. But for me or others in my generation, the internet has always been there. Therefore when Carr states his mind has changed due to the internet, I cannot relate because I do not know. I grew up with the internet, and I would not know if my mind had changed due to it. He also speaks of Socrates and his objection to technology. Carr says, “Socrates wasn’t wrong – the new technology did often have the effects he feared - but he was shortsighted. He couldn’t foresee the many ways that writing and reading would serve to spread information, spur fresh ideas, and expand human knowledge (if not wisdom).” I agree with Carr in this claim. I believe that technology has many advantages that society can make use of. The internet is our new technology whereas Socrates is talking about reading and writing in general. The internet is a place that anyone can access and find information with just a few clicks. Information that used to take hours to find, can now be found in a matter of minutes depending on how internet savvy an individual is. Society can learn about countries half way across the world with the internet. They can even instant message, e-mail, or video message with them.