This is the first time in a while that I have felt so rattled after reading an article. Usually when I begin to read a piece concerning the degeneration of our society and people, I tend to not finish the article. And the closer I can relate to the topic, the faster I will stop reading. Because the truth is, I’m scared. I think that everyone is unconsciously aware, if not consciously, of their own faults and weaknesses. I know I am. So it’s quite natural that I don’t want to be confronted of my imperfections by some words written by a stranger, whether it will be beneficial to me or not.
This book was better than crack. But I never tried crack so…I actually don’t know
But, alas, this particular article was assigned as homework, so I couldn’t simply run away from it. And for better or for worse, Nicholas Carr’s article really hit home. When he described the negative consequences the internet has on us, I realized that every single one of those symptoms are very apparent in my life. I used to be an avid reader, but the number of book I read per year has been on a constant decline since middle school. Just ten years ago, I could sit through 500 pages of Harry Potter books with ease. Sure that might have been due to the fun-nature of the Harry Potter series, but now I can’t even finish reading a 500 word blog post without checking Facebook once or twice, regardless of how interesting the post is.
It’s not unusual to begin reading a Wikipedia article then find yourself an hour later with a dozen tabs of unrelated Wikipedia pages open on your internet browser. And how many of these do I read from top to bottom? Zero. I think that our immediate access to the vast pool of information allows for a notion that we don’t have to know how things work, but rather be aware of their existence. Because with the internet, we don’t have to remember how things function; the internet remembers for us. So all the users have to know is what to search for. Unlike the previous generations that knew about things, the current generation only know of things. Probably much more than the people of the past, but we can’t explain one damned thing in detail. And I absolutely agree that this particular change in us have made us more shallow, at least intellectually.
Of course, I can talk about how hopeful I am of the future. That if our brains are malleable for us to regress to this state, restoration and improvements are possible. That if we change our culture to shift away from the current one of internet dominance, we will be able to revert back to the better days. But I won’t say that. I won’t say that because I truly believe that the internet, technology, and “systems” will only grow to be more prevalent in the future. These are some scary thoughts and facts, but they are the ones that people like me need to stop being scared of and start caring about.
Intro. to Multimedia Comp SP14 
I completely agree with your opening paragraph. I feel the exact same way when I hear about technology and how it is taking over pretty much everything. I always stop reading when I feel the article is too accurate with what is going on in today’s society. I like how you brought social media into your post. I think it depicts a typical college student who owns every form of social media from facebook to twitter. I always have to check my social media sites in between watching shows or reading articles. It is kind of sad now that I really think about it.
Your statement of the past generation compared to our current one of knowing things versus knowing of things was so interesting. I never thought of it that way and now I come to realize how true that is. That statement you made really stuck out to me and kind of scared me a little bit for what our very own future holds. How is it going to be for our future children in the American school system? That thought lingers through my mind quite frequently.
Your post really was an eye opener and challenged my narrow mindedness about certain things! Great job!
I think your point about how many people, with the use of the internet, know about a wide range of topics but don’t necessarily know a lot of in depth information about them is very thought provoking. I mean, its true, there are many situations where something read on the internet serves its purpose for the moment and then is thrown out of our memories. The other day, I looked up how to cook a certain food, but I could never recite it now because I read the directions directly from my laptop without absorbing it. However, its interesting to consider whether this is the worst thing in the world or not. I just feel like, on one hand, certain things are worth remembering while other resources on the internet serve their purpose without needed to be memorized or closely analyzed. So, I’m kind of on the fence on that point and you’ve definitely caused me to keep thinking about my answer. Your reference to days without internet as “better days” was also interesting to me. I can tell you definitely agree with Carr that perhaps the internet does more harm than good. I realize the internet has its flaws and I think our generation is experiencing them first hand, but I don’t know that the days without internet were necessarily better, maybe just different. Each new innovation brings with it some nostalgia for the “old days” but, in the end, I hope nostalgia and fear doesn’t stop people from realizing the full potential of the internet.