Internet: A Boon plus a Bane - Essay Example

“Internet- A Boon plus a Bane” “INTERNET” is just an eight lettered word but it engulfs the entire universe in it. Whether it is a boon or bane is very much debatable and yes, it has been debated upon many a times. Honestly speaking, it amuses me when people try and find answers to questions like “Is the internet considered good or bad?” on the internet itself. Somehow I feel that the question-whether Internet is good or bad has become somewhat hypothetical; almost similar to “what came first chicken or egg.” Personally, being a student of this new age tech-active generation, I am aware how impossible our lives would be without the Internet but then I cannot be blind towards the negative side of the Internet. Nicholas Carr wrote on a really stirring topic-Is the Google making us Stupid? He is of the opinion that Google has destroyed his capability of paying attention and that his mind is changing in some way. Carr says that within the sea of information our mind skims through it instead of any in-depth search and this claim has been supported by a research study conducted by some scholars at the University College, London. The study demonstrated that Internet users use online information in a very “skimming” way; they barely read the entire article and often hop to another internet site to read something relative to the search. This proves that Internet users neither have the patience nor feel the need of the entire information, instead they pick what little part they want to use. Nicholas Carr describes in his writing how Bruce Friedman, a blogger he regularly follows had blogged that using internet regularly had taken away his ability to read long articles or books. What Carr wants to say is that the Internet gives us information no doubt, but it has altered our though processes in such a way that we are always looking for a shorter version of everything. Carr completely disagrees with Google inventors, that the brain is “an outdated computer that needs a faster processor and a bigger hard drive”. The author says that all digital sources have been commercialized which is the reason why pop ups and advertisements feature on every page of information. On the other hand, Tyler Cowen, an economics professor at George Mason University has embraced the Internet along with its negative features. He agrees that the Net is commercialized and that reading has taken a back seat but he also believes that with the help of the Internet I.Q’s are on the rise and that the internet is actually enhancing our capability of multitasking. In his article- Three Tweets for the Web, he points out that the big plus is that, the Internet makes us pay more attention to information. He argues that Internet usage is making the population dumber and less attentive because the Flynn effect shows otherwise. He also believes that the web lengthens our attention span instead of diminishing it. Now, we can follow a particular story for months and years instead of reading it once and for all and then forgetting all about it. The internet has enabled us to follow up on the most recent updates too. The internet seems to me like a coin with two sides one standing for good and the other standing for bad. Carr says that we spend too little time reading books because we rely too much on the Internet and Cowen contradicts this in his article by pointing out that the Internet saves us both time and energy and gives us more time to concentrate on other things. When there’s a battle between 10 seconds of Google search versus 10 minutes of mechanical book search, I have a feeling that the as humans we cheer the former. But, this rips open yet another point that the Internet has indeed made us really lazy. I have personally experienced this tech induced laziness. Whenever I come across a hard word, Google becomes my Thesaurus or whenever I have the need to look up atopic or read something, books and articles are not the first things that come to my mind and it does not end there I rely on the internet to write down beautiful poems on Birthday cards or festival cards. Albert Einstein had said –“I don’t need to know everything, I just need to know where to find it, when I need it” and our new generation firmly believes in it. Psychologists say that such an attitude may prove to be detrimental too because our brain becomes accustomed to thinking “where to find” instead of finding. Carr believes that the Net has chipped the ability of the mind to contemplate or think. People want everything served up in front instead of trying to find things the hard way. Being a student I know that this point is strong. Whenever I am stuck at some work, I know I’ll always find the answer on the Internet. For a short run it is good, because I don’t lose time and energy on thinking about something but when I think of the long run, this habit is not to be applauded. If people stop thinking the brain may also develop a diminished ability to approach a problem and we lose the “rich mental connections”. Cowen says that the wide array of information widens the horizon and gives one, much more information on a wide variety of subjects than just one article written on just one subject matter. Social Internet sites like Facebook and Twitter has mesmerized people like Cowen. Social internet is considered good because it provides “a window of opportunity” to those people who feel alienated or are shy in company. But the same social Internet gives way to anonymous misuse which may include threats, abusive remarks, extra marital affairs etc. You have much more access to up-to-date information. Like Cowen says in his article that in case his favorite singer Paul McCartney comes up with a new song, he will be among the first ones to hear it. In fact any desired piece of information can be procured in a jiffy from any part of the world; you just feel connected to everything else around you. The Internet has become an indispensible part and Carr has correctly pointed out that it had replaced “clock, our map, our digital press and our type writer” and it has altered our tastes in such a way that in order to stay in business newspaper have shortened the articles, introduced summaries and television channels have introduced crawling texts to include latest information. The traditional media has changed because of the influence that the Internet has on us. However, Cowen believes that we are in the midst of a radical change in culture. In his article Carr says that we have lost the ability to concentrate on one thing for more than a definite period of time but this is contradicted when Cowen points out that we choose things according to our moods. Say, a sad tune for our grey moods, a funny joke when we want to laugh and an important political article when we want to increase our general aptitude. Not everything needs to be solely black or white; there may be some grey and a few dashes of yellow, red and blue. In a similar way I really cannot take a side, I cannot just proclaim right or wrong, good or bad, for a change, I prefer being in the middle. Like I said before, a debatable topic is not something to takes sides of. One needs to measure the pros and the cons. I accept that the Internet is really important and is a blessing along with the few negative things that it comes with. I embrace the fact that Internet is both a boon and a bane. REFERENCES Cowen. T. Dialogues by Gary Goshgarian & Kathleen Krueger 7th edition. Tweets for the Web, 578. Carr. N. Dialogues by Gary Goshgarian & Kathleen Krueger 7th edition. Is Google Making Us Stupid? 559 Sudeman.P. . Dialogues by Gary Goshgarian & Kathleen Krueger 7th edition. Treading Water in a Sea of Data, 585. Young. B. Development and Society. A study on the effect of internet use on academic performance, 107-123. Read More