Lazy, Not Stupid

Carr’s question in the title of his article is asking if Google is making internet users dumber. Carr’s answer to that question, to a certain extent, is kind of. He states that clearly the ability to retrieve information via the internet very quickly is obviously a good thing and he maintains that he is not an anti-internet “nostalgist” in any way. However, he does point out that he finds himself not being able to completely immerse himself in texts like he did pre-internet. The whole point of his article is that while the internet has done wonders for those seeking information, he feels that there may be adverse effects as well. Other than that, however, I couldn’t tell you what the article was about because I’ve spent too much time on the web in my lifetime.

Carr says rather eloquently said “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” While during his normal readings he might not dive as deep as he feels he used to, he is at least going much faster. The internet, for better or for worse, is not going away. The key then perhaps is to utilize the internet for its ability to retrieve information extremely fast while finding a way to maintain an ability to still read other medium. Searching the internet to find a piece of information and settling down to read a novel do not have to be mutually exclusive, regardless of what Carr said.

As of now, the internet is a Godsend for information, communication and entertainment; and the internet habits of my class are indicative of this. Many of us spent our time learning things that would have been astronomically more inconvenient to learn otherwise. Many of us spent time connecting and communicating with people that would have been more difficult otherwise as well. Has Google made us stupid? I’m not sure, but I would like to think not. I feel as though the real question is if Google has simply made us lazy. People of my generation have not had to endure the time-consuming rituals that researchers did prior to the internet, so we have naturally become conditioned to expect instant gratification in terms of retrieving information. This, I don’t feel, means that we are stupid. Just lazy perhaps.

The film that Carr referenced in his article, 2001: A Space Odyssey, if a film about the possible dangers of technology. I don’t mean to totally dismiss Carr’s idea about the internet, and I’m not saying that there are absolutely no problems with becoming accustomed to using the internet either. I find his article interesting and alarming, however I have some reservations. There is no scientific data proving one way or another if surfing the net will lead to changes in cognitive ability, so I naturally have to take his theory with a grain of salt. In 2001’s first scene, an ape utilizes technology in the form of a crude bone weapon to gain dominance over the other males. While we are obviously past this technologically, I don’t feel as though we are at the point of computers taking over our lives like later in the film. Has the internet done no bad for us whatsoever? Or is the internet simply bad in general? Like most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in between, however I intend to wait before I make my final judgment.