--An excellent question. For a long time I've pondered this question, and it really has me at a loss. "Stupid" may be putting it too harshly-- but it's not far from the truth.
Nicholas Carr spoke heavily on the psychological effect the greatest search engine has on us. He believes that having answers to infinite questions at our fingertips with merely the stroke of a few keys harms our thought process and how we seek and absorb information. We expect "efficiency and immediacy" in answering all of our questions, which greatly hinders our ability to read deeply. We are constantly looking for reassurance and information, but don't allow ourselves to dwell on an idea or process our own ideas. Skimming articles and picking out large ideas seems to be our main goal when reading, rather than reading between the lines and leaving greater ideas. (Unfortunately) I genuinely feel that my own reading skills have deteriorated over time, and my own experiences matched what Carr described as the negative effects from search engines.
This article made me think less of search engines and more of technology as a whole. Carr mentions how it serves as a distraction, and this is a personal issue of mine. I honestly do believe that technology greatly affects my ability to pay attention and has contributed to me being a chronic procrastinator. But who can I really blame that on?
I think technology is very tricky and should be taken with a grain of salt. But this is not to say that I am "anti-technology" by any means. I wholeheartedly recognize the wondrous and endless possibilities that we are blessed with technologically, and how these have the potential to connect people, teach, and save lives. It'd be flat out ignorant to say that technology is "bad." As I mentioned, our experiences with technology greatly weighs on how we utilize it.
Hey Cora! I agree with you that although Carr was focusing on search engines, this discussion can be taken to all technology as well. I really liked when you said, "It'd be flat out ignorant to say that technology is "bad". I definitely agree with this. There are many negatives of technology as Carr made clear in his essay, but there are also so many benefits. The greatest benefit that I think can be seen with technology is with medicine. Lives have been saved and lengthened because of the many technological advances made with medicine everyday. As with many things in life, the benefits and negatives of technology aren't as simple as black and white, there are many gray areas that can be open to opinion.
ReplyDelete"We are constantly looking for reassurance and information, but don't allow ourselves to dwell on an idea or process our own ideas." This is completely true of everyone nowadays. No one wants to be wrong, so they need the reassurance of what they believe to be right. Processing our own ideas and thoughts is a skill that I believe is also deteriorating with the use of the internet. I also agree that, like you, search engines like Google are hindering my reading abilities. This subject is a tricky one, as technology has never-ending possibilities, but it also has it's downsides.
ReplyDelete