Well, IS Google Making Us Stupid?

A while ago for class we read and discussed the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?- What the internet is doing to our brains" written by Nicholas Carr. I do not know about the rest of you, but this article actually bothered me quite a bit. The truth in the article is as loud as a siren screaming out to warn us of what is to possibly come if we do not step away from our computers and get back to the real world. To so many people, the "real world" is what they see through their computer screen as everything else passes them by. I, for one, do not think that the internet is evil- I just think that we need to use it wisely without letting it take over our lives.

After reading over this several times, I started paying attention to how people actually use the internet and what sort of things they search for. After spending a weekend at home, I think that it is safe to say that my mom and dad use the internet in a positive way and their lives do not revolve around it. When I got home that Friday I told my mom that I wanted to make homemade cupcakes and asked her if she knew of a good recipe. She told me that she did not think that she had one and suggested that I look one up on FoodNetwork.com or another recipe site. Great idea right? I thought so too. After doing some searching I found tons of tasty cupcake recipes to chose from. Saturday evening, my dad used the internet to get directions to someone's house by using mapquest. Genius right? I thought so too. I felt reassured after I left home because I had seen first hand that people do know how to use the internet in moderation and it is in fact not taking over their brains.

Although I felt much better, I was not completely convinced. My mom and dad come from an older generation that did not grow up with the internet so it does not seem as "essential" to them. I took a step back to think about what I use the internet for. Am I consumed by surfing the web? Has my lap top become my new best friend? I pondered for a while about what I had used the internet for just this weekend. I had not taken my lap top home so any web time was done on my mom and dad's PC in the office. Friday I had checked my email which seems pretty innocent to me, and Saturday I had checked my Facebook once when I had woken up. I can admit that Facebook is becoming a bit of a problem for me. I spend much more time looking at other people's profiles than I would like to, but then again, it is a great way for me to keep in touch with people that I do not get to see as often. The verdict: I am okay, but need to spend less time creeping on the 'book.

However, the idea of the world being taken over by computers would not escape my mind. That week I paid close attention to my roommate's computer habits and was slightly irritated with what I had found. Was she always like this? Please tell me this was just a "special" week or something. It seemed like her computer was on her lap at ALL TIMES! Either she was mindlessly wandering through Facebook or Twitter, or on a company's website browsing around for items to purchase with no intent of purchasing anything. The thing that astounded me the most was that while she was on the internet, she was watching television the entire time as well! Talk about melting your brain. I felt like this was the picture that the article was painting. This kind of behavior is the problem that needs to be addressed and changed.

After reflecting on my observations, I think it is obvious that my generation and younger are the brains that we need to be worried about. The internet is in fact completely changing the way that people spend leisure time and is taking away from activity. People become obsessed with new things and the idea of something different. I, for one, hope that this obsession is just another phase in American History; one that will eventually fade away as another new and interesting thing is shoved in our faces. In the meantime, it is necessary for those who see this as a problem to encourage these younger generations to close the computer and do something else! The internet is a remarkable invention that helps us in so many ways; but it was created as a tool, not a new way of life.