The effects of our nations' dependency on the Internet cannot only be seen in the baby
boomer generation but, especially, when comparing it to the two generations that follow. The
average student spends more time on their phone or on their computer than socializing or doing
homework. Adults can become engrossed for just as long, if not longer periods of time,
depending on their jobs. Understanding the effects of Google and long hours online is crucial to
helping younger generations and those to come. Children are learning research strategies
involving Google and online databases as opposed to reading books. Instead of sitting down and
falling in to a good story or immersing oneself in a book for research, individuals 'google'
whatever information they need to know and often do not have to read more than a few
paragraphs.

The pertinence of this topic can be seen in Carr's examples involving the way his mind
now organizes information. He describes the process saying, 'my mind now expects to take in
information the way the [N]et distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was
a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski'.
Through this example and other similar ones, Carr shows that adults and
adolescents of all ages seem to be having the same problem due to Google, and the internet
overall, that will only worsen with time. Some examples and correlations to the audience seem
outdated. There are not many, if any, direct correlations to younger individuals, but many of
Carr's quotes can be applied to a vast array of people and ages depending on their personal
experience(s).

Despite Nicholas Carr's two books, 'Is Google Making us Stupid?' was originally
published in The Atlantic. The Atlantic is an online and print-based magazine geared towards
'serious national readers'. As stated by The Atlantic on its online source, 'The Atlantic
advances bold ideas on the urgent issues of our time. Since its inception in 1857, it has evolved
into a multi-media must-read, illuminating fresh thinking on politics, business, technology,
entertainment, and culture. It stirs vital national conversations through groundbreaking
perspectives and a distinctively unbiased approach'. While the audience reading
The Atlantic have specific interests, Carr's argument is being made to individuals who likely
already agree with him based on some of the quotes given in the article he wrote. Also, the vast
majority of individuals who could be affected by, or have a response to, the argument might not
ever see it. Despite the magazine typically publishing articles involving major issues and
contemporary political issues, using it as the host of an argument discussing how individuals
only skim what they are reading and looking for the most information within the shortest
paragraph seems flawed and almost hypocritical. While Carr is discussing the issue of no longer
being able to focus and read through an article or published story, he is writing one about these
effects and expecting individuals to read it. Despite the higher level of thinkers the argument is
directly presented to by publishing it in The Atlantic, not much can come from those who agree
with Carr and those who do not think Google is 'making us dumb' might not ever see the points
he makes.

The entire argument Carr has developed is centered around the seriousness of the issue
and the negative impacts of the beliefs of those in disagreement. 'If we lose those quit places, or
fill them up with 'content', we will sacrifice something important not only in our selves but in
our culture'. By forming his argument this way, Carr essentially allows for
dispute and counter acts it at the same time. Carr compares the work of Frederick Taylor in the
steel plant to Google. Taylor's improvements in manual labor efficiency are arguably compared
to the effect of Google on an individual's mind. Portraying various examples and giving quotes
from other individuals who have the same view as Carr, and a few from those who do not, allow
for endless types of conversation. Carr's argument can not only be disputed by those who do not
agree with his view of Google, but it can be disputed from multiple standpoints because he offers
up examples himself.

Carr's argument leaves readers wondering what other effects Google could be having on
individuals, especially younger generations who are growing up constantly exposed to it. Carr
describes this internet as '' a machine designed for the efficient and automated collection,
transmission, and manipulation of information, and its legions of programmers are intent on
finding the 'one best method' ' the perfect algorithm ' to carry out every mental movement of
what we've come to describe as 'knowledge work''. The inability to maintain
focus throughout an article or to read a book for research could be due to gradual negative effects
on cognitive aspects of our brain. With the apparent reliance on Google, how do kids stand a
chance at making good grades in school without the constant Internet access they are becoming
so used to? Even though the example is explicitly stated, Carr's comparison of Taylor's effects
to those of Google implies that individuals are no longer, or close to no longer, capable of
understanding and thinking things through logically without the shortcut of Google.

The capabilities and advancement of technology are seemingly never-ending with
companies like Google wanting to make some form of artificial intelligence linked to human
brains. As stated by Carr in his argument, 'In Google's view, information is a kind of
commodity, a utilitarian resource that can be mined and processed with industrial efficiency'.
Though movies containing robots or in the Sci-Fi genre overall are growing in
popularity, most individuals would not want to live in a world where they are completely
controlled by a processing chip embedded in the metal that attempts to mirror human
appearance. Many individuals value their freedoms and the rights they are currently awarded.
By raising the possibility of technology advancing to the status of human brains, Carr is taking
his argument to an entirely different level. If Google really is 'making us stupid' and individuals
believe in and value their needs and desires for freedom, someone with an opposing viewpoint
could almost instantly be made to agree with Carr's argument and views.

Carr heavily relies on how he evaluates his argument, how others would evaluate his
argument, and how those who disagree would evaluate his argument to get his message across.
He explains, in detail, how something that was originally so beneficial to society is turning out to
have highly negative effects on individuals in the long run. Though we can read the same
information online as in an article or book, it does not stimulate the human brain the same way;
nor is the information processed in the same way. Carr also relies on the existence of the
growing concern of how far people want technology to go, what he and others are considering
about the effects of Google, and what Google actually is to portray its effects on individual's
ability to read and learn like they used to before the Internet. Conjecture, definition, and quality
serve to make readers understand the importance of the issue at hand as well as Carr's viewpoint
on the issue. Without them, obvious and important aspects of the argument would be lacking
and, therefor, Carr would not have been able to make much of an argument.

