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RachaelTrudon
Dr.Reid
English101
September20,2015

WhyareHumansAllowingtheInternettoTakeOvertheirBrains?
ThearticleDoestheInternetMakeyouDumberbyNicholasCarrpresentsthereader
withseveraldifferentalternativewaystothinksabouttheInternet.Specifically,ifitishelpingor
hinderingthewayhumansinteractwithpeopleandthesocialdevelopmentorlackof,assome
peoplewouldsay,andlastlyhowitisshapingourbrainstofunction.Carrbelievesthatthe
Internetisagreatresourcetousewhentryingtofindessentialinformationandresearch.
However,theInternetissoeasytoaccessnowthateveryoneistakingadvantageofitandthe
originalpurposeisbeingtakenaway.Carrusesquotesfrominfluentialpeopleandprevious
studiesassourcestoexemplifythecautionthatneedstobetakenwhenusingtheInternet,sothat
itdoesnotcontinuetomakepeopledumber.
Technologyisunavoidableandessentialtoeveryone,ifitisbeingusedforthecorrect
purposeandtherightintentions.TheInternetwascreatedasaresourcetoprovideacopious
amountofnewinformationforpeople,howevertheoriginalpurposeisslowingdriftingaway.
OneofthefirstquotesusedthroughoutCarrsarticlewas,"Tobeeverywhereistobe
nowhere."CarristryingtoshowthatwhenpeopleareontheInternettheyaretechnicallyaround
theworld,notjustinthephysicallocationthattheyaresittingin.Oneofthegreataspectsofthe
internetisthateveryonecanbekeptinformedaboutworldwideevents,oldhighschoolfriends,

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TVshows,theneweststyle,theamazingvacationseveryoneistaking,etc.Thisallowspeopleto
beinseveraldifferentlocationsatonceratherthanjustinone.Thisasaproandconofthe
Internet,itisagreatthingbecauseitallowseveryonetoseeandexperienceadifferentculture
maybeifyouarenotphysicallycapableoftravelingtothecertainlocations.Itisalsoagreat
thingtobekeptuptodateonthesurroundingcountriesandwhatishappeninginthedifferent
locationsoftheworld.However,thisisallowingpeopletobecomelazyandnotactuallygetthe
fullexperiencetheyshouldwhenseeingadifferentculture.Peoplearealreadycheckingthings
offtheirbucketlistsbecausetheyalreadysawitonsocialmedia.
CarrdeclareshowtheInternetisbecomingahugedistractiontothepeopleinsociety
today.Whenpeoplearesurfingtheweb,peoplesbrainsarenotthinkingandanalyzingthe
informationthatisbeingreadorthepicturethatisbeingviewedbecauseitisjustlookingatthe
literalmeaningbehindit,andmakingusdumber.Itwouldtaketomuchtimetotrulylookinto
somethingthatyoufindontheInternetthesedays,andthatiswhatissosadthesedays.The
internetwasmeanttobeareliablewayforpeopletolookupinformation,howevernowitseems
likeitistoeasy,anditismakingpeoplemorelazythantheyalreadywere.Astudythatwas
conductedatCornellUniversityshowedthataportionoftheclasswasoccupiedontheir
computerduringthelectureandthentheotherhalfoftheclasshadtheirfullattentiononthe
professor.Theresultsshowedthattheportionoftheclasswhowasnotdistractedbyacomputer
duringthelectureperformedsubstantiallybetteronthetestthanthepeoplewhoweredistracted.
Peoplealsotendtotakebitsandpiecesoftheinformationandthensoonenoughforgetaboutit,
andthisisallbecausepeoplearebecomingtoolazytostudyandevaluatetheinformationthatis
beingpresentedtothem.

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CarralsodiscussedhowtheInternetaffectsindividualsindifferentways.Heexplained,
Peoplewhoarecontinuallydistractedbyemails,alertsandothermessagesunderstandlessthan
thosewhoareabletoconcentrate.Andpeoplewhojugglemanytasksarelesscreativeandless
productivethanthosewhodoonethingatatime.However,thisisverycontroversialbecauseit
showsthatneithertypeofpeopleiscapableofbeingfullyengagedinonethingatatime.Thisis
notaproblemoftheInternetbutaproblemthatiscausedbytheuser.Thereasonthatthisis
occurringisbecauseofthewaytechnologyisbeingtakenadvantageof.
Afterastudywasconductedinanarticlecalled,ScienceLastYear,byPatricia
Greenfield,itshowedthatdifferentsocialmediaandtechnologyhindersthecognitiveabilityof
thebrain.
Carrassertshowcertainsocialmediaaffectsthecognitiveabilityofthebrain.Apositive
affectthatwasfoundwasthatwhenyouplayvideogamesyourvisualliteracyskills,is
increasedandthismakesyoumorecapableofshiftingyourfocusonmultipleiconsorbrowsing
sitesonthecomputer,soyouarenotjustlimitedtoone.Thenegativeaffectthatwasfoundina
differentstudystated,Suchrapidshiftsinfocus,evenifperformedadeptly,resultinless
rigorousandmoreautomaticthinking.TheInternetistrainingourbrainstothinkacertainway
andnotleavingenoughroomforinterpretation.Nowthattechnologyisunintentionallytaking
overthehumanbrain,itisnotallowingpeopletothinkforthemselvesandchangingtheir
thoughtprocess,thereforemakingusdumber.
CarrisafirmbelieverthatInternetismakingusdumberresultingformthewayitis
allowingustobeeverywherewhenweareontheinternet,thedistractionsitiscausingandthe
wayitisaffectingourcognitiveabilityofthebrain.TheInternethasitsbenefitsaswellasits

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downfalls,justlikemostthingsdo.Carrusesmultiplestudiesandresearchesasevidenceonhow
theInternetismakingusdumber.SomemayarguethattheInternetishelpingpeopledevelopas
apersonanditisessentialinthisgeneration.However,Carrstillcontinuestoarguehowthe
internetismakingusdumberbythewaypeoplearechoosingtouseitandhowitisnotbeing
usedforitsoriginalpurpose.IntodaysgenerationtheInternetismakingusdumberbecausethe
usersareabusingit.

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Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. "Does the Internet Make You Dumber?" Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones &
Company, 5 June 2010. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

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