Carr reflection - Book Report/Review Example

Effects of the internet on memory, thinking and intelligence Assignment As more information and data is stored on theinternet, it is no doubt that human thinking and intelligence are affected. In the book by Nicholas Carr (2008), the author highlights some of the negative effects associated with the increased reliance on the internet and search engines. Based on the arguments in Carr’s book and general experiences with technology, it is clear that the internet has had two major effects on human beings.

First, the internet has greatly altered the way people think and store information. Carr (2008) rightfully notes that the reliance on computers is making humans dependent on what computers know. People are no longer interested in what they know but rather focus on what the computer or internet provides. This affects our thinking. Computers are making people access information faster, leaving no time to think about anything. In the modern world of computers and internet, people are no longer interested in critically thinking and analyzing texts and information; this task has been left to the computers.

We are no longer obliged to store a lot of information in our brain. As noted by Carr (2008), a person is willing to ‘Google’ for the same thing more than ones rather than trying to recall it. Therefore, internet is gradually substituting our memory. In a study by Betsy Sparrow, Jenny Liu and Daniel Wegner (2011), the authors also emphasize this fact. These researchers carried out experiments aimed at examining if people recall information or the sources of the information. Based on the findings, it is clear that the internet has become our external memory.

In this case, people no longer store information within themselves but rather on outside machines. Overall, as the amount of information on the internet increases, more people continue to rely on what is stored on these machines as opposed to what they store in their brains. Secondly, the overreliance on the internet and computers has made people less intelligent. Because more people are spending more time on the internet, the devices connected to the internet analyze our thoughts and actions based on what we do online.

As a result, as noted by Carr (2008), people’s actions are turned into software programs. In the end, we end up working for the machines as opposed to having the machines work for us. This makes human less intelligent. People’ minds are increasingly merged into the internet, making us servants to the computers. People perform tasks using software programs without really understanding the meaning or reasoning behind these actions. There are however those who argue that the increased information on the internet makes people more intelligent because it increases the volume of information they can access.

For instance, in the article by Alan Greenblatt (2010) in the CQ Researcher, the author notes that some researchers content that the use of the internet will make people smarter and will make better choices because the internet will have huge volumes of information. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Although the internet increases the volume of available and accessible information, it gives no room for better analysis, synthesis and deeper understanding of such information. In the end, people access information they do not fully understand.

This makes us less intelligent. The internet is simply encouraging people to look for information in specific areas but offers little in terms of understanding of this information. Human intelligence is thus diminishing. ReferencesCarr, N (2008). iGod. In The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google. Pp. 211- 229. W. W. Norton & Company. Greenblatt, A (2010, September 24). Impact of the Internet on Thinking: Is the Web changing the way we think? CQ Researcher, 20 (33). Pp. 773-796.

Sparrow, B., Liu, J & Wegner, D (2011). Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips. Sciencexpress. Pp. 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~wegner/pdfs/science.1207745.full.pdf