Compare And Contrast Hal And Me By Nicholas Carr

The internet. Such an ubiquitous entity, an omniscient presence in our lives that it is practically impossible to imagine a world without it. Especially in a country like the United States, nearly everyone’s lives revolve around it. In Nicholas Carr’s Hal and Me, he explores how much the internet has become essential to everything we do, from our work, school, and social lives. He also stresses how it has altered our very own way of thinking, how we are basically wired to think like the internet, but is that really so bad?
Growing up in a third world country, I didn’t entirely experience the full potential of the ‘digital age’. I still remember how I used to conduct research for my homework during my elementary years. The Dewey Decimal System was my best friend; I used it to find the appropriate books I needed to help me with my homework and papers. That process felt natural, as natural as eating cereal for breakfast. But then I moved to the United States and found out about the internet. I was quickly enamored, wishing that it had existed with me the whole time. I
This is not only happening to the author; it is also happening to everyone that constantly use the internet. The way we process information is evolving in a different way we used to. The internet has made us impatient —we do not read, we skim. But there is more information available and it is even faster to obtain it. “All three know they’ve sacrificed something important, but they wouldn’t go back to the way things used to be.” This particular line stood out to me because it is exactly what I feel about the internet. I felt like I lost something essential, but would I go back to the time back in my elementary days when I had no internet? Of course