This week, our readings (Nick Carr's "Is Google Making Us Stupid" and Net Smart Chapter 1: Attention!...) were heavily based on how the internet is shaping our attention spans. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, both authors agree that the internet is definitely affecting our abilities to focus on one thing at a time.
One thing that specifically stuck out to me in Carr's article is that he was now unable to concentrate on reading a long novel. Before I truly became addicted to the internet, I was reading a lot, and often. For me, summers were three months of solitary reading time, uninterrupted by the tediousness of school. Now, however, it seems so hard to be able to finish a full length novel with the same enthusiasm I had in my childhood.
I realized that I have become a slave to my MacBook, iPod, and Galaxy S3. I honestly cannot remember the last time that I have opened a physical dictionary, or consulted the library instead of simply googling a combination of words to find an answer. As Carr states, this is both good and bad. It is good because no longer do we have to partake in that time consuming task of looking up a fact in a reference book. In fact, the internet has helped society advance and communicate ideas and incredibly fast speeds. No longer do we have to wait until the Omaha World Herald relays information to us about current events--events their reporters would have had to wait to be informed of themselves. Now, we can rely on online versions of newspapers, as well as solely online news sources, to keep us up to date.
Yet, herein lies the problem. We go to the internet as a reference and this may lead to a few problems. The first being the basic problem that was discussed in our readings today--distractions. Even as I am writing my blog post now, I keep looking up to the open tabs at the top of the window and see that the "cat gif" search on tumblr is still open. I may or may not have already clicked on it a few times to browse over more adorable, majestic cuteness. While I was reading both of the assigned readings for today, I found myself opening the new Tweets at the top of my Twitter timeline or checking my notifications on Facebook. It even took me a few seconds to realize what I was doing--and to realize the irony of what I was reading.
However, our short attention spans are a small price to pay for what the internet gives us--knowledge. Whether you use that knowledge to learn how to make a scarf for a friend's birthday, save your cat from an allergic reaction, or find trustworthy resources to reference in your research paper at 3:30 am, the internet remains infinitely valuable to our personal and professional lives.
I literally had the same problem this summer. I would read books upon books all summer until I slowly just stopped. Instead of reading a book while I ate cereal I would just be on my phone,no more car rides with books, my phone was all I needed. Like you said in class it is kind of sad when you think about it. Though now that I notice my lack of reading, I feel like I will try and make time to just sit and read for however many hours like I used to. Now to a different topic,I agree with you when you say our short attention spans seem to be a small price for what the internet gives us. Besides we could always just improve our attention, our brains could also just adapt and soon we might not even notice it.
ReplyDeleteIsabel, I love that you looked at both sides of the situation! That made your blog more interesting to read because I wasn't just reading about one solid opinion so kudos on that! Also, I like all the voice you include in your blogs, all the cat references and what not. The irony in how much I was distracted while just trying to write this simple comment is almost comical...
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