Artifact #3

How is the internet changing us as human beings?  This is the question that Nicholas Carr proposes in his book, "The Shallows."  I agree with Carr that even though the book and the internet share the same general purpose, (to gather information), they are also very different.  Back when the first book was created, one would sit and read it and solely focus on that one particular thing.  Reading a book requires a person to be fully engaged in what they are reading; paying attention to only one thing at a time.  It allows you to filter out what is going on around you because you are distracted by the words you are reading.  Today, we are a people of multi-taskers.  For example, when a person gets on the internet, they will usually do multiple things at one time:  check email, check Facebook, watch a Youtube video, etc.  The internet is filled with distractions.  It allows us to navigate very easily between multiple things at a time.  The internet is also an interruption system.  It promotes multi-tasking which is a big reason why it interrupts us from doing something.  Carr mentions that as a society, we crave new information.  We are constantly checking our email, Facebook, news updates, etc.  If new information is able to be accessed, then we will most likely stop what we are doing to see it.  All these little glances we do when we are doing multiple thing at one time are little distractions that change they way are brain runs.  Carr mentions that a study was done that showed office workers, who worked with computers, would glance at their email 30-40 times in an hour's time.  I actually wouldn't be surprised if the number of times I checked my email was close to that number. I am constantly checking my email and my Facebook because I thrive on getting new information sent to me.  The problem with this, how Carr describes it, is if we are gathering all of this information at one time and it is all being put into our brains so fast, then it denies us the ability to move messages from our short-term memory into our long-term memory, which allows us to connect other information that we have remembered to our experiences.  So, if we are constantly getting new information and constantly being distracted, then we can never really store that new information into our long-tem memory.  I am very dependent on the internet.  It would be very hard for me go even one day without using my phone or the computer because I am so dependent on them.  Like Carr mentions, the way we receive information and stay updated with what is going on is usually through Facebook or Twitter or text messaging, and that is exciting to us.  He gave an example of well-known artists who built our amazing monuments and sculptures.  That was done by deep thought and full attention.  Today, because of the internet, we don't usually use that mode of thought.  I believe that as technology advance, this form of thinking will no longer exist.