Is the internet beneficial or detrimental to thinking?
There is no doubt that the internet is beneficial. When trying to find information quickly, or trying to communicate with others, or simply just trying to update a status on Facebook. The information, however, presented is detrimental to the way people think, the way they organize their thoughts and concentrate on a single idea presented. The internet has benefitted us but perhaps it has misguided our brains. In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Bruce Friedman describes his thinking as “staccato” he is talking about reading in a shortened form. When people read or see something on the internet, it has already been through the thought process of someone else. The public no longer forms its own connections. Nicholas Carr, author of this article, talks about the way information is being presented. He describes it as a “swiftly moving stream of particles.” The internet tends to have everything already summarized. Articles tend to be in two or three paragraphs. The brain naturally tries to summarize what it is reading, to help the person understand more simply. It does not help that the internet is already summarizing what the public is reading, in result, people limit themselves from information. In a book a person reads more. Therefore, they get the raw text and form their own opinions and summarize on their own as well. Sure, they can skim the pages, but the chances of them missing an important detail are greater than if they skim a couple of paragraphs on the internet.
Another effect the internet has on the brain is the power of concentration on what the brain is reading. “Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain” Carr mentions. He goes on to explain that his concentration is not as strong after reading two pages. He blames