Is Google Making Us Stupid?

When thinking about what Carr is proposing I am on the fence of whether I agree or disagree. However, I do not think that Google single handedly has made us "stupid". If I were to refocus the question I would say, is technology making us stupid? Then, my answer would be yes. When I was younger I constantly remember my parents telling me that reading makes your more intelligent. The more books, newspapers and articles you read have you constantly learning new words, new concepts and new ideas. Has technology stopped this? Yes, I do think that we no longer find the urge to read because technology has distracted us. I do agree with Carr when he said, " It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense." Of course we do! When looking for research we now rely on the Internet; we no longer search the library databases and books. It is faster and much more efficient to use our computers instead of wasting time reading through several pages only to discover that that book doesn't have what your looking for. In a way I don't think we are stupid for doing this because in our society today we would be considered stupid for wasting our time in the library when what we need is right in front of us. Maybe it isn't just technologies fault. Maybe it’s the way our society is so dependent on it that it has trained the youth to rely so much on our machines. When thinking about myself I take into consideration not only reading but math. Being that math is my major I am constantly using one particular machine, my calculator. When doing long, paged length calculus problems I don't waste time to stop and think what's 16 x 3. I automatically turn to my fingers and instantly plug in the numbers. It is sad to say that I do rely on my technology. Instead of using my brain for simple mathematical problems I have to turn to technology. Friends constantly make fun of me that I am a calculus wizard but cannot simply solve a multiplication problem in my head. Even something as simple as my spelling has gone out the window! I am probably the worst speller due to the fact that since I am always on the computer I constantly have a spell check to rely on. When writing using an old-fashioned pen and paper, I struggle to spell simple words that I probably knew in my elementary school days. Google has not done this to me; Technology has. Going back to reading however, I too find myself distracted when reading long wordy books or articles. However, I do say that I still enjoy reading my Nicholas Sparks love stories during my leisure time. Teenagers today do not spend most of their time reading or watching TV. As Carr brought up, most of our time is spent on the Internet. An interesting thought popped into my head when I read: “We are not only what we read,” says Maryanne Wolf, "We are how we read.” If you think about the amount of time the youth spends on the Internet, it is not being spent “Googling” research and important information. A majority of today’s youth is addicted to Facebook or Twitter and that is where our Internet time is being spent. Instead of reading or even skimming important information, we are busy gossiping and reading about our friend’s latest news. That type of reading alone is making us lazy. People aren't Twittering about new dictionary words. We aren't learning from reading someone's Facebook status. But when that moment comes and we do need to figure something important out, we type our few words into Google and bam there it is. Easy step... 1, 2, 3. Do I think Google is making us stupid? No. I think it has made us lazy and dependable. Our constant force to rely on technology has made us spoiled and makes us no longer have an urge to do anything on our own when a computer can just do it for us. I wouldn't say we are "stupid" because when researching you still do learn, but maybe not as much as you would have if you were actually reading instead of skimming.