In Chapter 9 of The Shallows, Carr points out that the internet has made us lose all sense of personal memory.  Carr states, “The arrival of the limitless and easily searchable data banks of the Internet brought a further shift, not just in the way we view memorization but in the way we view memory itself.  The Net quickly came to be seen as a replacement for, rather than just a supplement to, personal memory” (180).  Is this in fact true, that we feel as if the internet has replaced our personal memory, or is this just another one of Carr’s assumptions?

            I believe that the internet has not replaced our personal memory.  Personal memory is defined as memory from episodes in your own life.  So how could the internet be a replacement of memory from episodes in one’s own life?  The only way I can see how the internet could aid or be a supplement to people in personal memory would be pictures that have been posted on social networking sites or communication with family members or friends through social networking sites.  The internet is simply a technology that has enhanced our ability to look up factual information, communicate with others, etc.  Carr goes on to say, “Today, people routinely talk about artificial memory as though it’s indistinguishable from biological memory” (180).  I think Carr is just assuming that the internet has turned into a replacement for our personal memory, but doesn’t actually know for fact that that is what we feel is true.  Many people still have the ability to store personal memory; the internet has not taken that away from anyone. 

Personal memory is something that just comes instinctively to a function able human being.  Personal memory is not something one wakes up with, and then all of a sudden loses because the internet has replaced it.  That sounds crazy to me.  Although the internet has changed the human mind in minute ways, it definitely hasn’t disrupted the ability to have personal memory.  Carr states that, “The introduction of new storage and recording media throughout the last century – audiotapes, videotapes, microfilm and microfiche, photocopiers, calculators, computer drives- greatly expanded the scope and availability of “artificial memory” (180).  The internet could have invented “artificial memory”, but the internet has not taken away personal memory.  Such technologies could not have taken away personal memory, memory that has evolved over time from personal experiences.  The internet offers factual experiences and information; it does not offer personal experience.  

            In conclusion, I think Carr is wrong when he says that we feel as if the internet has replaced our personal memory.  Nothing can replace a person’s personal memory, especially not the internet.  If anything the internet is a supplement to our personal memory, but it has not in the least bit replaced our personal memory.  If humans somehow turn into robots in the near future, then maybe Carr will have a valid point that the internet has replaced personal memory.  Until then, personal memory will stay with us and will form from personal experiences outside of the internet. 

Michelle Salvati