Ruben Chavarria

Koch’s Comp 1
Final Draft Summary Response
date
1
Adapting to the New Age of Technology

If you were given the option to read an article online or on paper would you stick with the

old-fashioned ink and paper, or would you switch to the digital screen without questioning the

contrast between them? Since the introduction of Google it has not been as difficult to find

information as it once was, with just a couple clicks on the computer to find the answer to many

given questions. Even though it has been easier than ever to find information on the internet, one

widely written author by the name of Nicholas Carr questions what price we are paying for this

incredible access to information. Some aspects of Carr’s research would be very useful to how

thinking has changed historically, because of how relatable the article is when mentioning the

internet taking over technology.

Nicholas Carr first introduces his problem with his growing fight with reading. Carr

relates his struggle with reading to the time he spends online, and how he feels as though it is

taking away capacity and concentration from his brain. Although Carr does believe that the

internet is the reason for his battle with reading, he does admit the usefulness of the internet

when it comes to writing. After the realization that Carr has trouble reading long texts, he

questions if acquaintances of his share the same experience, in which their answers were similar

to his experience. The rise of technology usage, and the idea that the human brain is ductile,

leads Carr to the thought that we manifest attributes of those technologies. This has shown itself

to Carr in the way we compare ourselves to tech, and the foundation of each day we live,

retuning our decisions to do things based on the hour of a clock and not when we desire to. At

this point in the essay, Carr has already explained his distress on the internet affecting our minds,

but now his worry is on the net taking over other technologies. Carr’s worry about the internet
Ruben
Koch’s Comp 1
Rough Draft Summary Response
10/11/2022
2
taking over technologies has grown to users' working style, with systems making sure something

is done with full efficiency. After Carr’s search for the cause of his struggle to read he has found

the internet to blame, and yet he finds himself with the question that it would be better if our

brains were replaced with an artificial intelligence. All of these ideas entering Carr’s head end up

confronting his own assurance, whether his opinion should be trusted.

Everytime Carr wants his opinion to be seen he guides us through them, bringing up

topics most of his readers can relate to. Throughout Carr’s proclamation of how the immerseful

internet is affecting us, he shared many thoughts that made me dive deeper into what I was

reading. Carr does point out important factors to help this claim, for instance “In deciding when

to eat, to work, to sleep, to rise, we stopped listening to our senses and started obeying the

clock”(pg.741). This shows a contrast of immediate want into scheduling, unfolding the reader's

mind to self-unclarity. I feel Carr includes this idea because he feels as though the majority of

people reading will relate to it, and when I first read it my attention was drawn towards it.

Showing that Carr really knew how to keep his readers captivated in his writing.

With new technologies come new ideas, and these ideas bring change to the world around

us, even warping past technology into new ones that we made ourselves. While Carr is tying

together the idea that reading on the web makes our brains think differently, he states “not to

mention the popularity of text-messages on cell phones, we may well be reading more than we

did in the 1970s or 1980s”(pg.738). This assertion made by Carr intertwines with his previous

statement that he lost the ability to read long articles, I believe this quote insists on the

transferring onto technology from books. Although Carr doesn't directly put together the two
Ruben
Koch’s Comp 1
Rough Draft Summary Response
10/11/2022
3
facts, it is believable that the reason for his struggle to read can be tied with technology taking

over tech.

Over the years most technology that we utilize daily has been built into our vast access to

the internet, showing that over time if we find a simpler way to do things we will make changes

based on what is easiest for our brains. I do agree with Carr’s belief that the internet is taking

over, not only our mind but also our technologies. One fact that Carr states to keep me, as a

reader, by his side is “It’s becoming our map and our clock, our printing press and our typewriter,

our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and TV”(pg.741-742). Everything that Carr lists

here can be found on the internet, showing the takeover of other technologies by only one

growing technology. I believe that this statement leads Carr to his scary thought, of would we as

humans be better with technological advancements done to us.

In closing, Carr’s relatable struggle with reading long passages ties to the way thinking

has changed throughout history, and the takeover of technology by the internet following it.

Ultimately, these ideas direct us to the bigger picture of adapting to the change onto the internet.

Technology will keep on growing with or without you following it, so would you rather be lost in

your own thoughts, or continue on with the trouble-free access to information.