BIG question
The internet has changed us in many ways; in good ways and in bad ways. It has
changed our thoughts, actions and even personal appearance. There have been many
studies to why the internet has changed our society, but a study that was conducted in
England surprised me. The outcome was that kids are actually happier with their virtual
lives rather then their actual lives. Kids can be whoever they want to be when they are in
their virtual lives. Nicholas Carr, one of the blogosphere's most prominent (and
thoughtful) contrarians, wrote an essay titled “Is Google Making us Stupid?” His
argument in the essay was that since we depend on the internet for pretty much
everything is changing the way we think and actually restructuring our brains. “The
internet is similar to a weight-training machine for the brain, compared to the free
weights which are similar to libraries and books.” Says Sara Churchwell, academic and
critic. “Weight machines are directive and enabling: they encourage you to think you've
worked hard without necessarily challenging yourself. The internet can be the same: it
often tells us what we think we know, spreading misinformation and nonsense while it's
at it. It can substitute surface for depth, imitation for originality, and its passion for
recycling would surpass the most committed environmentalist.”
Students (kids and teenagers) are the main people who have changed the way they
think because of the internet. Like I have already said, in a study, they prefer their virtual
lives over their actual lives. Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are the main reasons for
this. Social media has both helped and hurt our thinking process. It hurts in that kids and
teenagers spend more time on their social media websites rather than their school work. I
helps because in a recent study reported by Eurostat, kids who like to write blogs, do
status updates and text messages actually motivate them to read and write. The National
Literacy Trust released the results of a survey of over 3000 children. They observed that
a contrasts between their social media and their literacy. They reported that Social Media
has actually helped children become more literate.
The internet and technology has changed our physical and mental appearance the
most. Since the internet has started kids and teenagers have become less active which has
caused the obesity rate to spike very fast. Also since the creation of online video games,
kids have become more aggressive and angrier. Kids are also becoming less social and
won’t leave their house for entertainment, when they already have the internet and video
games in their homes. The internet and technology has also helped keep us updated with
the world. Before the internet and technology like the television, people wouldn’t know
about big events across the world. Now since we have the internet, one click of the
mouse and we know what everything is happening around the world. We also get to
know the weather, sporting events and wars with just one click of the button. With new
technology we also get to stay in contact with friends from around the world.
With the internet and social media websites and writing blogs people get to share
their inner thoughts and feelings more often. This leads to interesting feedback that some
people would never think about. While writing your blog though, you get to see different
blogs with the same topic, which could cause you to change your opinion on that matter.
The internet also provides a vast variety of very good resources to use for writing a paper.
Since I have been writing this paper, I have found many resources that have different
opinions on the internet and technology. About 15 to 20 years ago, if you had to look up
something, you had to go down to the local library, but now you just type in what you
want to know, and the internet gives you many websites to look at.
Overall the internet has caused us to change the way we think and. There are a
variety of pros to this but also a variety of cons to this. In the next twenty years there will
be new inventions that will cause us to change once again.
1. “The internet: is it changing the way we think?” The Guardian/The Observer. 27
August 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/15/internet-brain-neuroscience-
debate
2. “The Impact of The Internet.” Oracle Think Quest.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C0124364/impact_of_the_internet.htm
3. “How Social Media Has Changed Us.” Mashable Social Media. 7 January 2010
http://mashable.com/2010/01/07/social-media-changed-us/#
4. “Shaping the Internet Age.” Microsoft News Center. December 2000.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/writing/shapingtheinternet.mspx
5. “How the internet is rewiring our brains: The web is a treasure house of
knowledge - but it's making it impossible to concentrate any more.” Mail Online.
7 June 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1284564/How-
internet-rewiring-brains-The-web-treasure-house-knowledge--making-impossible-
concentrate-more.html
6. “How Technology Has Changed Society As We Know It.” All Best Articles.
http://www.allbestarticles.com/society/how-technology-has-changed-society-as-
we-know-it.html
7. “Is Instant Access Media Changing the Way We Think and Act?” Massive Links.
14 October 2010. http://tech.massivelinks.com/index.php/tech/article/is-instant-
access-media-changing-the-way-we-think-and-act
8. “5 Ways Technology Has Changed the Way We Do Business.” Global Guru. 1
June 2009. http://intellacore.blogspot.com/2009/06/5-ways-technology-has-
changed-way-we-do.html
9. “The Internet Transforms Modern Life.” CNN Tech. 10 October 2005.
http://articles.cnn.com/2005-06-23/tech/evolution.main_1_netscape-browser-
world-wide-web?_s=PM:TECH
10. “Is the Internet Changing Us?” Stuff.co.nz. Business Day. 21 February 2011.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion/4682964/Is-the-internet-changing-us