Sunday, February 7, 2010

Yes, Google is Making Me Stupid!

What an incredible article this was for me to read. I was wondering if there were any other people out there in the world that feel like me when it comes to reading, and apparently there are! Even just in the span of reading that one article, I was constantly distracted by the internet. I feel like my brain has definitely been trained now to be very short term and to not retain much information, which I feel really hurts me when it comes to studying for tests and exams. I grew up in the age of computers, so it's always easy to turn to a computer and get consumed in the world wide web versus getting consumed in a great piece of literature.

"Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts"

Just like Carr agrees, I couldn't agree more either. When I have a pen and paper in hand to write a letter, my thoughts are so much more sincere. I feel that it is because it takes much more time, therefore more thought and preparation. When writing an email or a message online, it seems to be all about how fast you can type and how short of an amount of time it takes to send a message. Time is everything when you're online; you want to get things done so you can move onto the next website you're searching for. Just like one of Nietzsche's friends noticed a change in the style of his writing, I've noticed a large difference in my writing when it's typed on the computer versus being handwritten. Also, the fact that we can just search for anything online now without ever having to do research is complete instant gratification. Yes, I love the fact that I can do that and it's so incredibly helpful, but I feel in the long run it's really going to hurt today's youth. We learn to rely on sites such a Google, but what about when Google isn't there anymore or we are actually required to do real research for a thesis paper? I sadly wouldn't even know where to begin. Thanks Google for allowing me to be ADD and not having to focus on any one thing for too long; it will quickly catch up with me and ultimately hurt me.

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2 comments:

  1. Joshuak8February 8, 2010 at 7:12 AM

    I haven't really noticed a difference in my writing on comp vs. pen/paper (except that it is always spelled correctly thanks to spell check) but maybe that is just me, however I think what you said about the hand written piece being more sincere - I actually just reserve hand writing to todo lists and letters to friends.

    And yea, when I was researching for my 15 page paper at the end of last semester, it was a tough thing to sit in one spot for almost two days and read and compile research. But I got through it with only the occasional internet break.

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  2. VictoriaFebruary 8, 2010 at 11:53 AM

    I constantly find myself thinking about what life, school in particular, would be like without google! Or, I'll wonder how my parents ever got through college without the wonders of the internet. There is something sad about being so dependent on it.

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