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.