10/26/2012

The Positive Aspects Of Online Reading Far Outweigh The Negative Aspects.

Many people today are suspicious of certain changes the rapid advancement of technology has brought about… especially modern man’s growing dependence on the Internet. This reaction is nothing new historically, for there have been alarmists at every turning point in human progress. In Nicholas Carr’s article, “IS GOOGLE MAKING US STIPID?” the author voices this same fear. He writes, “When we read online…….we tend to become mere decoders of information.” Carr shares this argument with Maryanne Wolf, a psychologist at Tufts University and author of “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the reading Brain”. Carr’s primary concern is that physical changes to the human brain are caused by heavy use of online technology such as Google. He focuses only on changes to a single aspect of brain function, but these changes may not be even as harmful as he fears. While he did good research, and there is no question about his facts, this paper argues that the positive aspects of online reading far outweigh the negative aspects. Speaking at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College on September 28, 2012, Nicholas Carr was quick to acknowledge that Google and the Internet have made many positive contributions to modern life. As a vast and readily available source of information, the Internet has greatly benefited education in particular. Carr’s main concern is that the minds of heavy Internet users may become mere decoders of information, rather than being processors of knowledge and wisdom. That would present a major shift in what had formerly been the basic human thought pattern throughout all previous ages. Carr may be correct that during online reading our brains merely decode information, but we’re also obtaining the information we want at the time