Our Thinking Ability is Diminishing

Shayla Stevens

Our Thinking Ability is Diminishing

            I personally do not care for Nicholas Carr’s book The Shallows. I also do not agree with a lot of Carr’s points. I must admit he is on point when he mentions that today’s technology is having a heavy impact on the way our brains are developing. I do believe that today’s generation’s thinking ability is diminishing due to the Internet usage. Yes, this new technology is having a huge effect on society as a whole, yet how could something so useful to everyday life not have an effect on us?

            The Internet has become so useful to society in numerous ways. It is used for research, pleasure, school, reading, and games. Many things that need to be done are done with technology. It is right at our fingertips, so why would we not use it to our advantage? Since smart phones were invented many people’s Internet usage has increased. “They keep accounts with a dozen or more online services and subscribe to scores of information feeds. They blog and they tag, they text and they twitter.” (Carr 9).  Whether it is checking emails, on Facebook, Tweeting, and reading it is changing the way out brain is processing information. When on the Internet we are use to just reading short paragraphs, summaries, or just skimming for the important information. Do the negatives outweigh the positives in technology?

            I myself have started to notice a change in my own way of thinking. Throughout school I never enjoyed reading that was assigned and was never a strong reader. I would do some reading for pleasure but I had to get wrapped up in the book in the very beginning or I wouldn’t be able to keep interest. Once I started a good book I would almost be in a different world. I would not get distracted and not want to put the book down. As I got further through school I realized I dreaded reading more and more. In high school I hated reading assignments and dreading going to English class. Why was my focus and lack of interest in reading so bad?

            Now that I am in college it is crucial to keep up with reading. I find this extremely difficult because I can barely stay focused long enough to complete the reading or assignment in one sitting. I find myself getting distracted easily and frustrated with the assignment. I can no longer hold an interest for as long as I was once able to. I find myself trying to skim the reading so I will not have to go through the entire text. Does the new technology have this much of an impact on the way my brain is developing?

            As you can see, there is a positive and negative side to everything. We must weigh out our options and see if the Internet is helping us or cutting down our thought process. Right now it is pretty tough to decide for me. The Internet allows us to get a massive amount of information in a short time and has very easy access, Carr states, the Internet is “a communications medium, a device for finding, organizing, and sharing information” (Carr 14). On the other hand, it is changing the way we think, “I missed my old brain” (Carr 16).