What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains

In the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" the author warns the readers to be somewhat skeptical of the current wave of technology and the Internet. Though it can be a good, even great thing, we need not allow it take over our lives and make our lives more autonomous. The author backs this up by describing how a constant use of the internet has affected his thinking process; the internet provides instant access to almost infinite information, so it has caused him to become lazy, and he can't seem to stay focused on long passages of reading anymore. In this article, literacy is defined as not just being able to read and write, but to be able to take in and meaningfully interpret whatever you are reading. That definition is very similar to the definition of literacy described by "Socrates' Nightmare." The Internet has changed the thought process and mental habits of society by making them want everything automatically. If it cannot be found almost autonomously, or at least in a short amount of time, then it is on to the next source. The author provides personal conversations with his fellow bloggers, articles from professionals (e.g., Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf), and a study by scholars from University College London to back up his claims. Most of this evidence is effective, as it proves the Internet is somewhat handicapping us by scientific fact or at least by survey. In the end, the author is cautioning us to be skeptical of the Internet and its ever growing reach, but not to totally swear it off just yet, as new technology, although with its downsides, has proved very beneficial in the past.

Identity and Social Media

Aziz Ansari has quite the Twitter fan base at just over 3 million followers. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't at least heard of Aziz, due to his many stand up specials and role on the television show "Parks and Recreation." Looking over Aziz's timeline, the majority of the tweets you'll see are just witty remarks and jokes. Many of them had some sort of relevance when they were posted, such as his live tweeting of TV shows, while others are just completely random. Occasionally, he'll tweet something to do with self-promotion, like when he has a new special, TV show, etc. out. He's not like many other comedians on Twitter in that he keeps his feed, for the most part, clean. He's extremely funny and entertaining on Twitter, which can only help build upon his already impressive fan base.

Social Media

 If someone was to take a look at my social media profiles, they'd see a guy who liked to goof off and have fun and loved his friends and family. I don't post much on Facebook, but I update my Twitter and Instagram pretty regularly. Most of what I put on social media is either pictures or updates about me and friends hanging out, about sports, or just trying to be funny. This is a pretty accurate representation of me, and I don't think my social media accounts hold anything that could incriminate me or hurt me in the future. I feel like I have an image to uphold, and I don't want to do anything to possibly hurt that. I do my best to not post anything on my accounts that could come back to haunt me in the future. On rule I have is that if I didn't want my mother to read it, then I shouldn't post it. Following that helps me keep a clean profile, and hopefully keeps my social networks from endangering a possible future job or relationship.