Google, though an access point to billions of different information, does not truly allow our brains to process the questions we have and the answers to them. Though I agree with the points made in Nicholas Carr novel ‘Is Google Making Us Stupid’, I do not agree with the title. Google is not making humans stupid, but instead makes humans lazy. Our brains have grown accustomed to the quick, short answers that Google gives us within seconds, that it becomes overwhelmed when we are given problems that we cannot comprehend instantly. Carr states that he and his friends have trouble with simple tasks like reading, because the information does not come instantly. He will quickly become bored with a book if it’s not feeding him constant answers. Prior and in the beginning stages of the internet, people used reading everyday during work or in public settings. There was a reason to get side tracked, for you could not get the information you need without reading and understanding whatever you were given. Google is causing our critical thinking process to crumble, which causes our brains to quickly get side tracked or overwhelmed when given problems to solve. Humans no longer want to think about answers to hard questions, but instead find them on Google. Most likely if a person cannot find the answer they are looking for within a couple of minutes, they will quickly get aggravated. Even if they do find the answers they are looking for, but have to read a long article to obtain it, they are more likely to look for a different, shorter source. Now that humans have almost all the knowledge of the world at their finger tips, they have no reason to challenge themselves when there is an easier answer seconds away.
Google, Helping Us or Hurting Us?
September 15, 2023
Ava Samm, Reporter
September 15, 2023
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