Andrew O’Ferrall
Professor Kellen
English 1101
19 September 2014
Googling for Convenience In The Atlantic magazine article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” the author, Nicholas Carr, conveys his complications with concentration while reading long articles and books. Carr blames the Internet for retraining his brain and states that, “Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory” (1). There could be many reasons for the change that Carr has noticed. Perhaps his age is changing the way his brain processes information. I doubt that the Internet is the cause of his concentration issues. Contrary to Carr’s opinion of the Internet creating concentration difficulties, I believe the Internet works as a tool to enable us to use our time more wisely, efficiently, and productively. I can now use my time more wisely, because the days wasted on trips to the library have become a thing of the past. Nowadays, the library comes to me. I find this to be a better use of my time and allows me time to pursue more enjoyable activities. Even Carr agrees that research has become easier, through the use of the Internet, when he states, “The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes. A few Google searches, some quick clicks on hyperlinks, and I’ve got the telltale fact or pithy quote I was after” (2). This proves to me that Carr sees the benefits that the Internet provides, by allowing him to use his time in a better, more efficient way. This makes me wonder if the article would be better titled as, “Is Google Making Us Lazy?” What Carr seems to be describing sounds more like laziness, rather than a concentration problem. It seems to me that the