By the end of the prologue, I had
come to the conclusion that the point of the book was moderation. Like with
everything else in life, moderation is key. Carr hammers home the idea that the
Internet is causing us to become more distracted (admitting that his own
attention cannot be kept for very long), and attributes this to constant
Facebooking, Twittering, Googling, and texting.
I think Carr’s use of the word “we”
appears every so often to get his readers thinking about how the Internet
affects their lives. In chapter five of The Shallows, he discusses how the
Internet has affected every type of communication, from books and newspapers to
television and the radio. He makes it seem as though the Internet is taking
over the world—“Everywhere you look, you see signs of the Net’s growing
hegemony over the packaging and flow of information” (93). Granted, people are
spending a lot more time on the computer than they did a couple of years ago—technology has made it faster, more convenient, and easy to use. I certainly spend more time on the
computer now. But I don’t think technology has affected my life or attention
span anywhere near as much as Carr argues it has. I don’t feel like I have to
have my phone with me 24/7. I don’t need to be doing three things at one time. I
don’t start getting withdrawal symptoms if I haven’t checked Facebook recently.
Carr’s view on the power of the
computer is a little dramatic, to say the least. This is evident in the last
line of the prologue: “[The computer] is so much our servant that it would seem
churlish to notice that it is also our master” (4).
Nicole Dowling
Nicole, I agree with your blog entry. I feel as if the internet does cause people to lose focus, but deffinately not to the extent that Carr talks about. Although the internet is a very big part of our lives now, it does not rule us, we are still individuals who do other things besides going online. Very good points in your blog.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Salvati
I agree with you Nicole. I also believe that moderation is key. Moderation of books, of TV's, music, and the internet. I think that some people may have been affected from technology a little more than others, but maybe its because they haven't moderated how much they use it.
ReplyDelete- Michelle Krupnik
I agree with you as well. &&& I like the fact that Carr says we to get us thinking about how it all affects us.
ReplyDelete-Britney V
I agree with the points you made here. Carr does sort of think too much of the effect the computer has on our brains. If people did not over-use the computer, it probably would not be considered a problem.
ReplyDelete-Meagan Cox
I agree with you. I do feel as though the internet has impacted my life to the extent that Carr thinks it has. I think that it may have to do with the fact that he is older and the Internet was a drastic change to his lifestyle compared to ours where it has been there for the majority of it.
ReplyDeleteNikki Gaspari