Is Google Making Us Stupid.?

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

            Nowadays, there are shortcuts to everything. Everyone tries to find a quick, efficient way to do something. This is now what’s programmed in our brains to do, including while we’re reading. Majority of the time, I find myself spacing out while reading a book or article. The Net is said to be “chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation”. I feel this is true. When I’m researching a topic on Google, I try to find an article that is straight-to-the-point and will give me my answer quickly. If there’s a huge article on the topic, I find another hyperlink to choose where I don’t have to read as much. Even if I find a large article to read, I always find myself skimming through it after a couple paragraphs. Google is filled with a lot of information and is not directly making us stupid. I feel the way we are using it and taking advantage of it is causing us to lose focus.

            The author, Nicholas Carr, claims research that once required the library and checking out several books now takes only minutes. When you research information by reading from a book, I feel you learn way more than Google provides for you. Deep reading is now a struggle for everyone. I always find myself drifting off while reading or trying to find out something else to do. We depend on Google and search engines so much; we forget we have access to the library and so many other options. So I feel this is a good point he made. Carr did have evidence, such as history on the subject to support his claim.

            The rhetorical strategies that the author used were ethos and logos. The author establishes ethos because he relates to his audience as if he’s one of them, suffering with the same problem of not being able to focus or concentrate when he’s reading a book or an article. Also, he establishes logos as well. His reason for writing this was to show people how Google or other search engines are affect they are were thinking. Carr also included some facts and statistics, only with a bit history to support his claims. In addition, the author addresses the audience appropriately. He knows who he’s talking to and is aware of how he is saying it. I believe his audience is people who use Google often or has used it before and can relate to what the author is saying. His audience is people who also are interested in the information he is providing. Carr got his purpose across for his audience to understand. The question was “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” and I think Carr answered the question and also gave evidence to support his answer.

            Carr’s word choices were important in this passage. Carr made the text more personal by using “me” or “my”, relating the text to him. I think this goes right back to ethos and shows character. This gives the author more credibility. Also, there is very little figurative language. Carr uses the metaphor “…we have come to think of them [brains] as operating like computers”. That piece of figurative language is very much related to the purpose. People are starting to think less and have the computer do it for them. Our brains are picking up habits just like the computers.

            There is always any easy way out of everything. Google is one of them. It’s a machine used by people who want to research something in a matter of time. The answers are quick and short. Old fashion trips to the library are now starting to be uncommon. I feel that Google is making us stupid. Though Google is not hurting us directly, it has it affects on our brains. We should be grabbing a couple of books rather than grabbing the mouse to our computer going to Google.