Techno-Speak

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The short answer, quite possibly yes, at least in the sense of memorization and such, but the more important question for me would be, is it worth it? Are there benefits to having a wealth of human information at our fingertips that makes losing the ability to retain it all worthwhile? Before humans began writing information down, people had herculean memories. In comparison, the brains of today are rather puny in their ability to recall facts. Studies have shown that when people believe that a piece of information will be available to them later, they are more likely to forget this bit of human knowledge. Nicolas Carr’s aforementioned question raises issues of minimal memorization, lack of concentration, and technological dependence. It is the last line of Nicolas Carr’s article that is especially unnerving: “as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence” (Carr).
By now, many of us must realize what we are losing through Google, through the internet, through 24/7 distraction, but we are still plugged in. We therefore continue because we believe the damage to be worth it, so what do we gain? In terms of essay-writing, we stand to gain much from the advancements in technology. Hyperlinks, in particular, help to facilitate the creative mind. Adam Kenney’s digital interactive cyberdrama, The Museum, is composed of text and hyperlinks, leading the reader in whichever direction he wishes to go, much like a real museum. Kenney’s choice of media works to simulate the actual experience of a museum, making this particular medium far more effective than pen and paper for this particular message. These elements of choice and interaction in The Museum work to push the limits of the traditional reading experience. Janet Murray, author of Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace, notes that her electronic fiction students are becoming more and more comfortable with the electronic medium and she expresses excitement at the implications that this knowledge will have on the future of electronic writing. She writes that “every year [her] students arrive feeling more at home with electronic environments and are more prepared to elicit something with the tone of a human voice out of the silent circuitry of the machine” (Murray 9). For Murray, the increase in electronic advancements is thrilling in that it allows one to test the boundaries of creativity. Hypertexts, video, audio, images are all available to a writer working in the electronic medium.
If Google is making us stupid, at least the rest of the internet is making up for it. Although yes, our memories are not what they used to be, and yes we are more easily distracted, these are inevitable byproducts of the changing times. We keep using the internet because it is useful. The internet is a powerful tool for the writer and provides a medium for creative expression that would not be possible with mere pen and paper. Learning to tune out the distractions of the internet seems to me to be a more realist and useful objective than unplugging oneself completely. Stop using Google. Grab a dictionary, an encyclopedia, a novel. Turn off the computer and focus. It will not be easy. The internet has a lot to offer for the writer, but just like any tool, he must learn how to use it productively.