One of the
greatest controversies for those who live in today’s society is that of the
Internet’s affect on us. We are pretty evenly divided on our beliefs based on
how it has affected us individually and how we see it as a benefit or a curse
to our productivity and development. Among those who have made their voices
heard on the matter are Nicholas Carr and Clive Thompson. Carr makes clear in
his work that he is noticing a difference in the way he thinks because of his
extensive use of the Internet. “The Internet is becoming a universal medium,
the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and
into my mind” (Course Reader 59). He mostly portrays that he believes the
Internet is taking us over and that is negatively impacting the growth and
development of humans. Thompson on the other hand applauds the Internet for
pushing people to writing in larger amounts, not to mention the quality of
writing had also taken a turn for the best as described in his work. His
purpose for writing this essay is to demonstrate to the public a number of ways
that writing online is actually increasing our literacy. Although
typically seen as opposites, I find myself agreeing with points expressed in
both Thompson and Carr’s articles.
In this essay, I
will be analyzing both Carr and Thompson’s work and how persuasive they are in
their arguments. I will be examining the points made based on how they relate
to my life experiences and observations. Then I will introduce my view on the
topic and how it extends and qualifies Thompson while qualifying and
complicating Carr simultaneously. However, I will still look at both articles
as one entity since both Carr and Thompson’s points essentially go hand in hand,
for their individual points are nothing but puzzle pieces that fit together to
form the bigger picture of just how dominant the Internet has been on our
contemporary lives.
Thompson’s
main topic of conversation is “The increase in writing we see with digital
technologies is good because writing can clarify our thinking, generate ideas
and improve memory” (course reader 51). Through his claim, he is emphasizing
the fact that the Internet is actually a powerhouse for ideas. We are able to
expand our knowledge based on what other people have made public on the web and
this helps us to become more intellectual people and more worldly due to the
fact that we are working more together as a society. The fact that the idea of
online prose is such an abundant way of writing to one’s potential as to use it
in an academic study goes to show that this discovery is far from myth.
Thompson uses a historical occurrence to support the idea that the way we think
is a product of our environment. “If four astronomers discovered sunspots at
the same time, it’s partly because of the quality of lenses in telescopes in
1611 had matured to the point where it was finally possible to pick out small
details on the sun and partly because the question of the sun’s role in the
universe had become newly interesting in the wake of Copernicus’s heliocentric
theory” (Thompson 59). This directly ties into present-day Americans and the
development of the Internet as a place where we can freely express ourselves
through our individual and original writing. If the people who surround us are
writing more due to the accessibility and convenience of the Internet, we will
follow the crowd due to our human nature of being “pack animals”.
The
main concern Carr establishes in his writing is that the Internet is actually manipulating
the way we think because of the information we are willing to put in our heads.
“For me, as for others, the Net is becoming a universal medium, the
conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and
into my mind” (Course Reader 59). He views the Internet as more of an evil
entity that is trying to take away our human dignity and suck us in to the
revolution the Internet is hyped up to be.
When I think about
my personal experiences with the Internet and am able to extend and qualify
Thompson with it. I have embraced the constant changes and it has brought me
nothing but convenience. I often find
myself lost in Facebook at times spending hours on end reading and analyzing
how people present themselves on social media which has made me appreciate
reading and writing more. Facebook is a form of reading and writing in which I
enjoy and I am able to find myself “escaping from time” in my quest to read
more statuses. The Internet has been an increased benefit to me as a student
and a more analytical person all around. I am now constantly surrounded by
reading and writing unlike before when my teachers forced me to read books for
class I wasn’t able to understand and would take me forever to get through. Now
that I am reading and writing more than ever because of the convenience of the
Internet, I am able to get through a book faster and understand complex texts
easier.
On
the other hand, my personal anecdote both qualifies and complicates Carr’s
ideas in his text. He mentions, “The web has been a godsend to [him] as a
writer” (Course Reader 58). This is qualified by my anecdote in that I do spend
more time reading other people’s work on the Internet including articles and
blogs. I know my friends feel the same way, especially when I refer them to
articles that I particularly enjoyed. Not only does it help my friends receive
insight on certain topics, but it also further gets the name of the author out
there which encourages them to keep publishing their ideas. However, my
experience with the Internet complicates the overall message in Carr’s work.
“…what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration
and contemplation” (Course Reader 59).
The connotation Carr gives the reader through his work communicates that
he doesn’t like the way the Internet is changing us because we are becoming
less intellectual in the way we think and analyze information. For me as an
individual, I have noticed my concentration heighten due to the Internet
because now I am used to reading for extensive amounts of time.
The
main concern Carr establishes in his writing is that the Internet is actually
manipulating the way we think because of what we are willing to put in our
heads. However, Carr mentions nothing about the effects the Internet has on our
ability to write which is the majority of all Thompson talks about. For this
reason, if Carr were to talk more along the lines of writing and Thompson were
to talk more about reading, I’m sure their opinions and ideas would cross
paths.
References
1.
Carr,
Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” RWS Course Reader. Ed. Department of
Rhetoric and Writing Studies. San Diego: Montezuma Publishing, 2014. 58-64.
Print.
2.
Thompson, Clive.
