Topic > Critical Response on “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr

In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr argues that the Internet is changing the way we think and work for the worse. I don't agree. While the Internet is changing us, it's for the better. First, the Internet has become a great equalizer in terms of education. Second, communicating through the web allows for cross-cultural experiences that were once impossible without a plane ticket. Third, while Carr may be uncomfortable with his web-shaped brain, the younger generation has only ever known the Internet and as such is better suited to its vastness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To begin, in Google Makes Us Stupid, Carr's entire argument that the Internet is making us stupid is easily refuted when examining the resources available to us now. We have Wikipedia, online school and library databases, even college courses, all served on the web. At one point, Carr expresses the opinion of Richard Foreman, a playwright, that we will become “pancake people – spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information.” What they fail to realize is that although the Internet contains an infinite amount of information, the user does not necessarily attempt to access it all. Rather, just as in traditional reading, we gravitate towards what interests us and what is useful to us. The hyperlinks Carr mentions during "powerful navigation" are actually much more useful for delving deeper into a topic. If someone is reading an article, say on Wikipedia, and comes across a hyperlink to a topic they are not very knowledgeable about and which will help them better understand the current topic, why wouldn't they follow it and get more? information. This allows a student to learn more about particular topics, giving them more knowledge faster and making them less stupid. Another blessing that the Internet has brought us is the ability to communicate across cultures without leaving home. On sites like Reddit or Facebook, people from all over the world can read about a topic and discuss it not only with other people in their area, but with people who are actually interested in the topic in question. Where previously it would have been impossible to see candid photos of the aftermath of a war or a storm; now people in the affected area publish their photos on the web and share them with the rest of the world. This is something Carr doesn't mention in his article. Cultural experiences are part of our education. How can something that makes this experience so available to everyone make us stupid? Unless the person is just using the Internet to joke, in which case it can be argued that that person would be joking regardless of whether the Internet was available to him or her, then we must admit that the Internet is a treasure trove of communication. We are able to have real-time conversations around the world with billions of people at the same time, gaining insights that were previously impossible. Finally, all of my argument in this essay obviously comes from someone who has had the Internet for most of his life. Carr states that Socrates “complained about the development of writing.” Socrates feared that people would “stop exercising their memory and become forgetful.” No one today will argue that the development of writing was bad for our society. Yet, this is almost exactly the same argument Carr makes against the Internet. Carr complains of feeling like someone is “tinkering.