In the last chapter of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Carr discusses how we unconsciously adapt to agree with the requirements of the technologies we use. Like any repeated action, continuously using these technologies affects our brains one way or another.
Intellectual technologies change the way we see and interact with the world, and their benefits may or may not outweigh the limitations they force upon us. Each tool enhances some part of our mind or body, but as we become accustomed to using the tool, we begin to place a greater dependence on it; as a result, we weaken the effectiveness of the area that the tool strengthens. Undoubtedly, the Internet is a tool that has had a tremendous impact on our lives because it intensifies multiple areas of our brains including the regions that deal with memory and problem-solving. As computers continue to facilitate critical actions like thinking and remembering, we may become more reliant on these machines rather than our own brains. Carr emphasizes that "The easy way may not always be the best way, but the easy way is the way our computers and search engines encourage us to take" (218). But, the majority of us have clearly taken the easy way and succumbed to the addictiveness of the Internet. We know that the Internet is persistently trying to rob us of our concentration, but is it also threatening other human qualities such as our ability to empathize with others?
Maximilian Kallas
We do rely more on the internet for information rather than our own brains. Of course there are apps like Quizlet that challenge our knowledge and help us study, but how many times have we just searched for the answer on Google instead of actually working the problem out? Also, I do see how the internet has made an indent on our humane qualities. Now more than ever, it is so easy to ridicule someone with features such as anonymous postings, making fake profiles, etc.
ReplyDeleteMany do spend most of the time using their phones or computers to communicate with each other, and it can cause them to hide behind their internet persona. That doesn’t necessarily mean individuals will become the extreme and turn into emotionless robotic people, similar to the characters in Fahrenheit 451. Social Media apps can easily anger and upset people because of comments from others they either know or don’t. We are able to empathize even if it isn't directly in person, we can still feel sorry and talk to the person the next time we see them. Although I admit this is another con to technology because it doesn’t have the same effect as if it were in person. In my mind, I do not see how technology is turning us into emotionless human beings.
ReplyDeleteObviously in our day and age, people spend a significantly more amount of time on the Internet than ever before. That being said, it is expected that with so much accessibility, our culture is predisposed to immediate outlets of information, convenient to our situations. This does alter our concentrations to be more hurried in doing tasks. On the matter of the Internet threatening our human qualities such as our ability to empathize, I am convinced that it is so. Like Krystal said, I do not believe humans can turn totally emotionless people, however, I do believe that the Internet is slowly desensitizing our brains to perceiving things with less shock than the realities would make us. We often go through the Internet, clicking and clicking, getting used to some of the most absurd or horrific situations as we see them in bulk. The question is, is this a good or a bad thing as human beings?
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