Wednesday, August 29, 2012
CState-Is Google Making Us Stupid?
While the article does not specifically attack Google, it does mention it as a definite tool being used by most information seekers today. Do you agree with our author that Google and on-line reading has changed the way we interpret texts? Has it changed how our minds work? Do you feel it has affected you personally? Do you believe you read more or less now that you can access most books, news networks, etc on-line? How did reading this article make you feel about the way you process information?
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Google is a widely used tool today in both our everyday lives and in research. I believe that the ability for people to access a world of information in a touch of a button is a great innovation that will lead to a growth of knowledge and new inventions. In my opinion, there is a downside to having easy access to information that may not always be correct. False information can be spread more easily through the internet than a book or even a newspaper.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the subject of the article, I agree that Google and online reading has changed the way we interpret texts. I think we don’t read into subjects as deeply as we once did. Serious and scholarly topics are becoming harder and harder for us to read because we have grown accustomed to short blips of easy to understand information. Our minds work differently because we aren’t training our minds to process difficult and long bouts of information. Reading is not something that comes naturally to us; we have to learn how to read. Like anything else, if we do not practice reading or deep thinking we begin to lose the ability to do so.
I honestly feel like online reading has not really affected me personally because I rarely do it. I prefer to read hard copies of articles and books. I don’t use online social networks, and I still write letters to people. I believe I still read the same amount as I did before I had access to reading material online. Even this particular article I had printed out, so I wouldn’t have to read it on the computer. This article made me feel pretty good about the way I process information, but it did spark some concern in me about future generations who will have even more access to technology enhanced reading.
Google has advanced our technology because we can gather information easliy. It has given us a great tool to find information for research papers, and that's a plus for school students. In an abundant amount of ways, google has helped people, but there is many ways that google and online reading can effect the minds of people.
ReplyDeletePeople have started to just skim everything they read, and I have realized that I have been doing it. Until i read this article, I did not realize how google and online reading has effected me so much. I loved reading books in middle school, and now I hardly read. Personally, I think it has changed the minds of people because people skim articles, the news, and other reading materials. People don't want to fully read the material, and I am guilty of doing this. I don't read all the article, and i caught myself skimming the article we were assigned. I had to make myself read it. I did not notice how hard it is to read and fully understand the material beacuse I have skimmed almost everything I have read since middle school.
People read less now that we have the internet because all you have to do is read the heading or a couple of sentences in the article to get what is going on. People are not interested in the details anymore. I feel horrible that I have neglected reading, and after reading this article, I was inspired to pick up a book. When I got home, I starting reading the first book of the Hunger Games.
Google is a very widely used web search. I believe it is making us stupid. Not just that but every web search out there. The internet has made everyone very lazy.
ReplyDeleteI have always been the type to do old fashioned reading. I love picking up a book, opening it, and reading it. The internet has taken that away and the new technologies that are coming out, such as the Kindel. I don't think any of it is the same as actually reading something on a piece of paper. A reader does not get the same affect reading on a computer.
On another note, it is making everyone absolutely lazy. No one really has to look for anything anymore. We open up Google, type what we need there and it is usually the first thing that will pop up after searching. I think people have the ability to read a newspaper, or a book, or any article, we are just too lazy becuase of what the internet has become. I don't blame Google or the internet at all really. I blame people and the human race.
I believe Google is a great resource. I used it all through high school to help with my assignments and learn more about subjects or events. Now that I have read this article about Google I've realized I have been skimming articles myself, and never read a book or article from beginnning to end. It is very hard to stay focused and entertained anymore with all the distractions online. I actually had to read this article two times because I kept catching myself thinking about other things and looking at the ads on the right side of the screen.
ReplyDeleteAfter some thorough reading, I do believe google and online reading has changed the way we interpret text. I do not read near as much as I use to, because I just look for the main idea and skim.
Therefore, this has affected me personally. I used to be able to vision what I was reading, almost like I was watching a movie. Now I have to force myself to finish reading. This article has really suprised me, I never realized any of these things until now. Hopefully, I will be able to catch myself and change my bad habit in the future.
omg that articul wuz stoopid lol
ReplyDeleteWhen searching for something online, I’ll skim the results to find the best match, and then be on with my day. I believe that it’s on the individual to choose how and how often they use the tools that this age provides us. Our time is one of blurbs and sound bites, of instant satisfaction and impatience, and I fear that our drug-like dependence on ‘the machine’ is leading to a populace that is permanently stoned - ignorant, bland, full of trivia and jargon.
I make a point to read hardcopy books because it’s a great way to relax – to ‘unplug’ from the grind and recover myself, but I also believe that reading help to define one’s character.
I’m obviously concerned about the mental fortitude of coming generations, and reading this article did not sway my view for the better.
This article seemed to try to point out that google is making us stupid. Me personally I disagree. Google is a search engine that will take you to whatever answers you seek. One may have to spend a little time looking, but odds are you will find what you need.
ReplyDeleteThe way Technology has progressed through the years is incredible. Nicholas Carr says himself "The web has been a godsend to me as a writer." I couldn't imagine life without google. Especially when it came time to research something for class. It would take forever!
Then also, Nicholas says in his article that research used to take days. Now it only takes a few minutes. To me google has only advanced us in our thinking process, and will continue to do so in the future.
Personally, I don't feel that Google is making us less intelligent, but I do think that it is changing our work ethic. Before the internet became a place for research, people relied on books for all their research needs. They had to search through as many books as they needed to to find the informaton they needed. When using Google or other search engines, you are directed to the exact answer tht you're looking for.
ReplyDeleteFor me, Google hasn't exactly changed my work ethic. I know and understand that not everything on the intrnet is reliable, so when I'm doing research for school, or something equally important, I make sure to double check with print sources.
Since I grew up on the edge of the intrnet revolution, I can't say that I'm greatly affected by the intrnet in regards to the reading and processing of information. I do think, though, after watching my parents and grandparents with technology, that the human race has become more lazy with their aquisition of information. They would rather Google something as opposed to looking through a book or newspaper.
I believe that Google and online reading hasn't affected the way I read informational texts. It's only when i read things that I am assigned to read I become a skimmer. If I start reading something i want to read I focus more. I've never really been a big reader.
ReplyDeleteMy mind works the way it does because it's my nature. If I wanna read something then I'm gonna read every single word. When I'm assigned to read something I feel pressured and rushed when reading it. I am a slow reader i need my own time to read things. I skim because of the lack of time not because of Google.
This article didn't affect me in any way. I'm not sticking up for Google and I'm not against the article. It's just not the reason I read the way I do. When i read things I need my own time schedule. When i have a limited amount of time to read something I just can't focus.
Despite all the useful information the internet provides, the speedy access has personally changed the way my mind works for the worse. Staying focused on a timely task is more difficult because my attention spand doesn't seem to last as long as it once did before I relied on the internet for all my research.
ReplyDeleteInterpreting text is more challenging for me because I have the habit to just skim multiple articles on a topic without truely grasping the concept and detail of the subject. Even with the struggles I have of staying focused I feel I read more because of the quick and easy access that is provided through the internet. I can find so much information with just a click of a mouse and I expect to find the answer as fast as I found the topic, so that is why the way I process information has changed. I'm looking through information with the same high-speed pace the internet gives, which means for me the subject isn't sinking in like it should.
The article made me realize I have become a person of convenience. In everything I do I try to find the quickest and easiest way to complete a specific task, which includes reading and research. That has definately affected that way I read and take in information. I skim through material,which makes interpreting the topic more difficult and time consuming. Google is a helpful source for receiving data, but through the convenience I have picked up a lazy method of learning.
As far as whether or not I agree with the author about on-line reading affecting the way that we interpret text I would have to say I have mixed feelings about it. My generation is google seekers. It is so easy for us to just type something into the search bar and just click on the first thing that pops up. The only way that we are ever going to do more in depth research is if our teacher requires us to do so. However I do know that older generations still use more resources to research information because it was the way they were taught.
ReplyDeleteFor me growing up with internet and always having google to answer my questions, although they may not always be right, I feel like it hasn’t changed how my mind works. Although I can see the difference between my parents generation and mine because my parents will look for more resources while I will just search the internet.
I do not feel like this has affected me personally because I still read hard back books. I have never read a book, news networks or anything like that online before so it has not made me read more or less. I don’t know how I feel about the way I process information. I hope that as I continue through my college education I can form a better opinion about it.
Google has changed the way people acquire information and interpret texts. It make information available to anybody with a Internet connection at their will. I believe this can have a positive impact on an individual depending how they use it. If it is used to look at pictures of cats all the time then it isn't helpful, but if it is used to gain information about something applicable to the individual then is increasing knowledge.
ReplyDeleteGoogle has made our minds expect everything instantly. We are more inpatient now than ever before. Instead of having to goto a library or ask a knowledgeable person, we can instantly find all kinds of information about what ever we chose.
I cannot say how Google has affected me personally because I have always had it. Although I do believe that it makes me more inclined to research any topic I am interested in because all I must do is just type it in. I read more consistently when I am online than when I am not.
I would definitely agree with our author that online information sources have changed the way we, as humans, search and read a given text. We may tend to “skim” for information to try to get to the main point(s) of the article more quickly. I wouldn’t, however, call it making us stupid, so much as I would call it making us lazy or impatient. The way our minds have been reprogrammed from online information sources has made the time-consuming task of reading a large article seem inefficient or pointless in this day and age, when really if we took the time to read all of it, we may stumble upon something we find interesting or relatable. I don’t feel like it has affected me personally though, simply because I was born and raised in an age when internet usage was already becoming widespread, and I obtained much of the knowledge I have from internet sources. I believe I do more reading from internet sources than I would with paper books or magazines or newspapers. All of these things are much more readily accessible with the internet and I can usually multitask while reading these things. Reading this article made me more conscious that I do a lot of skimming and searching while looking at online information, as I’m sure is true for much of humanity now.
ReplyDeleteGoogle has made many things easier for us now. Yes it has made people seem lazy, do to the fact instead of rather picking up a book to read to get information we can just search it on the internet. Books however take much longer.
ReplyDeleteThe internet is so useful. There are many things that people can learn off the internet that they wont be able to find in books.
Although, books give a better experience. While reading a book you can just imagine the whole thing in a persons head. The internet is just simple facts for someone to copy. If one would want to get deep into a story or learn about something then a book would be the better choice.
All in all I personally think Google isn't making people stupid, I believe it helps us tremendously. Google is a quicker and simple source to get information.
This article is a very interesting one that I think everyone should read. I do agree with the author when he says that on-line reading has changed the way people interpret text. For example, when I read information from the internet I understand it a lot faster than I would if I read it out of a book.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that Google has affected me personally, but in a good way. Without Google and on-line reading, it would take me a very long time to write papers for college. I do read less books now, but I do not think Google is to blame for this.
Reading this article helped me to understand why I process information so much better by reading about it on-line rather than out of a book. I think that the internet gives so many good examples of things that are hard to understand.
Google is not making people stupid. If anything, it makes them smarter by giving a greater variety of information over a single subject.
Google is a popular, worldwide search engine that has made reading and finding information very easily accessible. The author believes that Google and online reading has altered the way that we read and interpret information. I agree with this, in that I think that online reading has provided a faster and more accessible method for attaining information, and modern society embraces the fast and accessible; this is seen in society’s enjoyment of fast-food restaurants, microwaves, and high-speed internet. Google has also been thought to have changed how our minds work. This could be more difficult to determine, considering that much of society is very accustomed to the online reading and Google. How this would have affected the same person’s thinking without the technology would be a difficult factor to determine.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Google has had an impact on everyone to a certain extent. I know that it has affected the way I approach much of the reading material from the news to academic research articles. This change, in my opinion, is not entirely positive. Yes, we are able to receive information faster and more easily but this may have also created a condition where reading is not as popular and libraries are not as widely used.
I do believe that I read less research and news than I would have if it were not for the online convenience. While I love to read, I often choose fiction over research material. The article brought out some new information that is associated with online-reading and Google. It made me feel as though I have, to a certain extent, lost some of the ability or desire to read more vigorous, challenging, or lengthy material. It gave me a new motivation to start intentionally retraining myself back into “deep” reading.
Like any other source of getting information in the past Google has just improved upon the technology that came before it. The difference here is that reading books at the library for info and searching for it on the web is a huge leap in the amount of information consumed.
ReplyDeleteThat tremendous amount of stuff has made us susceptible to lose our attention, but I don't think most people have that problem. Most people skim everything when they don't have something important to do, but if they have an assignment most students can take in information and put it into whatever they are doing.
I don't think Google has made us stupid, even though it has affected the way we process info because there is so much of it.In my opinion I think over time it is actually making us more intelligent and letting our brains expand to new levels of understanding.
google is not making us stupid.People will come up with any reason to make technology seem bad for us. If anything it has made us smarter.For example say a student is writting a paper on one of the presidents. The student can get on a computer log on to google and find all kind of information on one of the presidents.Then after he or she has used all the sites they can off the computer they can find a book.
ReplyDeleteLet's just face it it is harder to find information in books sometimes.Thats why i think google has helped us more then hurt us.
So I thank we all need to write the creater of google a big thank you note because google is making us smarter and not so stupid.
I dont really agree with the article. i believe that the internet helps us more than it harms. having the internet makes doing research much more convenient. I dont read that often, but that is because I have never been a reader. If i have to read something, I will. I typically dont have a hard time comprehending what I read.
ReplyDeleteI do not personally believe that google stupid. The results that are returned are are no shorter than what you would find in a newspaper. Google simply gives us an easier way to access it.
ReplyDeleteI do believe,however, that google is making us lazy. Researching a topic has evolved from going to a library and spending hours on end thumbing through books to simply sitting down at your computer. I do not believe this is a bad thing about google.
I believe that google has actually made me read more than i normally would. Everything in the world is at my disposal.This article did make me realize that normally everything i read i skim through
I do not believe that things, expeciallly the internet, are making us stupid. However, I do believe that if people quit reading out of books they will tend to lose patience when reading a book. If you read a lot of books do not read a lot on the internet, and vice versa. When you get accustomed to reading one or the other you tend to have problems.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that it has changed the way we interpret texts as much as we think it has. Yes, it's true there are texts that can cause mixed emotions and confusion, but the way we interpret said text is dependent on the author of the text and our emotions and relationship with that person.
ReplyDeleteGoogle and other texts have in a way changed the way our minds work. Our minds aren't having to solely depend on the writings of emotionless or overly emotional authors of books. We can now, as a technological generation, go to the internet and "google" the information we need. With that said, because of the generation we live in we don't actually "read" an article on the web. We skim, or find key points that we deem important.
I am an avid reader, so I am not going to fully commit to agreeing with Mr. Carr. However, I do find that when I read online, even in a book or magazine, that I will skip over "unimportant" sentences or even whole paragraphs at times. Most often, I'll read a sentence or two and then deem that paragraph important or not. Or sometimes an entire page. (Not good for a reader like me.)
I do believe that after reading the article that Google has affected me, because I catch myself skimming through the books I read (if the book has become boring) for some action or some type of movement with the story line.
Oddly enough, I still skim through the things I read. And I don't think that's going to change. I am part of a generation that has access to just about everything and I don't have to go to a book for it. I have Google.:)
I don't think that has change the way I read things. Google is just a search engine that helps us learn new things that are happening around the world. It's probably one the best inventions of the 2000's.
ReplyDeleteI hardly ever read book. All my reading is online. It's the easiest way for me. I read everything from history to short storis. The internet has opened a lot of doors to normal every day people to get the voice heard. I realized in most case is that I skim the text.
I have had years of school and the teachers has tought me to read and understand things. Do I think just becuase google has came a long and had thing easier that I am stupid not to learn anything new, no. I love google and bing and all the others because they all open doors :)
I believe that, although a wealth of information at our fingertips can be useful and practical, it is, at times, biased.
ReplyDeleteIt is diffiuclt to submerse yourself into literature if all you are reading is a summary or a perspective of another. It is easily accessible and time should not be an issue.
To develop or formulate an individual opinion it requires one to immerse themselves in the material they are reading, not just browse. How may people had a difficult time focusing while reading this ENTIRE article?
Online reading has, without doubt, changed the way we interpret text that we read. With endless information at the click of a button, how can it not? We have to go through so much to actually get to the information we maybe looking for, example, how many sites came up when we Googled this specific article??
ReplyDeleteChanged the way our minds work? Absolutely, we use on-line access for everything. Even for everyday problems we face. From simple math problems to everyday illnesses. There are many people, that using WEBMD, would diagnosis themselves with a illness rather than going to the doctor. Assume they may have something more seriously wrong with them than what actually is.
On-line reading as affected me personally, yes. With school now having started, it does make the ability to research things easier, however, like I said the amount of information needed to be gone through is sometimes is more time costly than helpful. I do feel like I read more now on-line, but I don't believe it is do to the ease and ability to get the information. If the internet was not so accessible, I would be fine with more traditional methods of research.
I believe, I personally, process information the way I always have. Having more information at my finger tips, does make life easier a times, but not always time costly.It is a matter of how much information you are willing to look at to get the answers you are looking for, and how much of the information can you be certain is true.