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The Shallows Critique Chapters 7&8

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The Shallows Critique Chapters 7&8
The Shallows Chapters 7 & 8 In chapters seven and eight of the book The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains Nicholas Carr discusses the effects the internet has on our brain, and the changes it causes not only in our mind but also in our daily lives. It is becoming apparent with every click of the mouse that the internet is not only changing our minds, it’s changing our whole lives and society. Carr seems to have one main purpose in chapter seven, to drive home his point that the internet is changing the way we think, and process information that we are reading. Carr writes “When we go online we enter an environment that promotes cursory reading, hurried and distracted thinking and superficial learning. The net seizes our attention, only to scatter it. We become mindless consumers of data.” He makes a strong statement here that could undoubtedly draw criticism however I completely agree with his analysis. Throughout this book Carr has at times been a little harsh but his message is clear and the “juggler’s brain” has been the most thought provoking chapter yet. I can relate to not being able to concentrate on one particular task and some of the things he discusses in this chapter sound like they were written in reference of me. My mind jumps constantly between thoughts and it is difficult to stay focused. Even while writing the paper I am thinking about laundry that needs to be started, if I programmed the DVR to record a show I wanted to watch, and what my plan is for dinner tonight. The scary part is I can remember a time when I wasn’t so distracted, when I could actually take the time to sit down and enjoy a good book. Prior to starting this book I blamed my ADD like behavior to “Mommy Brain” but the farther I read into this book the more it sounds as if I along with many others suffer with a classic case of juggler’s brain. Although it is important to get the point across, I feel Carr spends a ridiculous amount of time in chapter seven presenting all the studies and research he has collected to strengthen his beliefs about the internet. I realize that each example or experiment mentioned may be slightly different but they all lead us to the same conclusion. It could be possible that his intention was to be repetitive and help get his point across to everyone including the skimmers. However at times his text seemed very redundant and hard to follow, Even though his overall message in this chapter was very thought provoking I found myself zoning out at times due to the endless studies that were being discussed. Carr states that “We gain new skills and perspectives but lose old ones” which answers the questions of why I seem to be growing more absent minded by the second. Just like with most other things in our bodies, if you don’t use it you lose it. I have replaced the portion of my brain that allows me engulf myself in a good book with a more fast paced skim across the words mind. Carr also talks about how the internet is teaching us to multitask. This gives a little hope that maybe it isn’t such a bad thing that the internet is training our minds to process several thoughts at the same time . Carr states that “What we are doing when we multitask is learning to be skillful at a superficial level” (120). Maybe the internet isn’t so bad after all….

Works Cited
Carr, Nicholas G.. The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.

Cited: Carr, Nicholas G.. The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.

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