Jamie McDowell

RWS 100-52

11/2/15

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

     As time moves forward, we move with it. We change, adapt, and evolve. We have seen this time and time again in history, evolution comes in many forms. We see this most recently—and blatantly—in technological advancements. In my twenty-six years alone, I have not only owned, but also relied heavily on a plethora of technological devices: the tape player, the VCR, the CD Player, the PC, the MP3 player, the iPod, the iTouch, the iPhone, the Nook, Macbook Pro, to name a few. Owning these items is just one indication, and my personal participation, of the transition to an almost exclusively digital era. Our dependency on technology has sparked controversial discussion about our technological interactions. In the article Is Google Making Us Stupid?, Nicholas Carr shares his concerns about how the Internet is changing our brains. Admitting that he himself has seen detrimental effects in his own habits, Nicholas sheds light on the issues that, he believes, come hand-in-hand with this blind reliance. In order to convince his audience, loyal readers of the Atlantic.com and any concerned digital citizens, he employs a variety of strategies, some more effective than others, to encourage a collective awareness in the public’s eye.

Particularly effective and consistent throughout his article is Carr’s ethos and readability. Carr begins with a recount of a memorable scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey to serve as a hook and lead the reader to issue at hand: “’Dave, my mind is going,’ HAL says, forlornly. ‘I can feel it. I can feel it.’ (Carr, 1).” . By describing a scene from a popular movie, he draws on both the public’s interest and potential fear of technology’s unknown and seemingly limitless consequences. Immediately repeating what the supercomputer says, he admits that he is experiencing what he believes to be the effects of utilizing the available technology: “I can feel it, too. (Carr, 1) He smartly parallels HAL in order to transition from fiction to reality, and additionally, to bring his desired topic of discussion to the surface. Carr confesses that he can no longer focus the way that he could in the past: The deep reading that used to come naturally to me has become a struggle”. He attributes these newly developed difficulties with focus, reading, and writing to the time he spends online. He does so by merely sharing. He shares details about his own online habits, his interactions with the media, bouncing from article to article, from hyperlink to hyperlink (2). And yet, these personal habits are not so personal. Carr knows this, and quickly moves his readers into the larger issue: it’s a “universal” problem. By claiming “the Net is becoming a universal medium” Carr invites his audience to invest personally in this debate.

1. In your assigned partners, please practice peer review on this sample introduction and body paragraph. Look closely.

• Has the writer properly answered the prompt in the paragraphs present?

• What could be improved?

• How could you elevate the analysis?

• On a language level, is it clear?

2. Consider the MLA Handout. Find and fix the errors in this document.