Blog Post 9

So far in The Shallows by Nicholas Carr, I have had some mixed feelings about his way of arguing. I completely understand the way he is doing it, but personally, I do not think it is effective for me. He is giving a lot of background information of the evolution of literature and technology. He is also giving different viewpoints/opinions on the subject of how technology effects us as humans. His first chapters had me interested, but then when I got to the third and fourth, I found myself wanted to skip over parts and get to his main points. The first chapter caught my attention the most. When Carr talks about how his way of reading changed over the years because of the improving, advanced internet. I could relate to what he was saying about reading because I also find myself struggling to read long articles. It is hard for me to sit, read a book or long article because my attention span does not last long. I find myself getting bored of reading the same material and I do agree that the internet and technology is the main cause of this. I chose a quote on page 6 that reads, "The Net has become my all-purpose medium, the conduit for most of the information that flows through my eyes and ears and into my mind." This quote made me think deeply about how important the internet is, especially as a student. The immediate access of the internet is so crucial to me as a student because, for instance, writing papers would take so much longer due to the sources needed. It is very hard to even think about life without the internet because it is used in so many ways and for so many different reasons. I still cannot decide that because the internet effects our reading abilities, if it is a negative aspect. I look forward to reading Carr's argument about this, after he finishes giving background info and different viewpoints.