Reflection on Carr

Reflection on Carr’s The Shallows:  What the Internet is Doing to our Brains

Heidi Hopp

October 2011

As I began reading Carr’s book, I could easily relate to his description of his lack of concentration and ability to focus while reading.  His mind was scattered and distracted, often forcing himself to focus his attention back on the text he was supposed to be reading (Carr, 2010, p. 5-6).  After I was a few pages into the book, I stopped and thought, “Wait a minute, that’s me, too!”  I find myself feeling a pull to my computer when I am away from it and a sense of needed connectedness when I am in front of it.  I also feel like my mind drifts away when I am reading, or I get the feeling that I should be doing something else.  In his book, The Shallows, Carr points to the Internet as the reason for this lack of linear, deep thinking that seems to be disappearing from society.  He fully examines what effect the Internet is having on our brains and our learning.

Carr begins his journey by studying the scientific aspects of the brain and its connections.  It was once believed by scientists that our brains formed connections early on and once we were an adult, no more connections could be made.  Contrary research describes how our brains are “plastic” and are ever-changing in response to our experiences and our environment (Carr, 2010, p. 20-21).  As humans, we seek patterns and repetition.  The Internet does just that for us.  We click, we get information.  The more we click, the more we want.  “The Net also provides a high-speed system for delivering responses and rewards- “positive reinforcements,” in psychological terms- which encourage the repetition of both physical and mental actions” (Carr, 2010, p. 117).  There is some evidence that supports the belief that due to our constant tuning into the Internet, our brains are becoming rewired (Carr, 2010, p. 32).  This may help support what I am seeing within my own students today.  I have noticed that when I give them a choice and put a written book in front of them to read on their own or an ipad that can read a story to them, they often choose the latter.  It might be that they don’t want to or like to read, or it might be the fact that the ipad is more engaging and offers more opportunities for interactivity.  I think it is important to deliver instruction in a balanced way:  some with technology and some without.

I feel that our roots in becoming saturated in a computer rich environment stems way back from human beings needing and seeking information.  Thousands of years ago we shaped an oral culture that was passed down from generation to generation.  People relied on their memories to retell the information.  Then, slowly societies began to write more thoughts down on clay tablets, scrolls, and wax tablets.  The invention of the book came along next, and we had numerous sources and types of print to choose from (Carr, 2010, p. 59-60).  Finally, we have entered the information age with the computer at the helm.  Now we can search, click, and link using several forms of multimedia.  With each invention, we are relying less on our own minds and memories and more on what the latest and greatest technologies can do and remember for us.  This isn’t always such a great advantage.  “As the many studies of hypertext and multimedia show, our ability to learn can be severely compromised when our brains become overloaded with diverse stimuli online.  More information can mean less knowledge” (Carr, 2010, p. 214).  After reading these sentences it made me think about how we really are relying on a machine to do a lot of the grunt work that our own brains used to do.  Is this a good thing for our future generations?  Students need to be taught what to do with the information they find, as well as deciding if it is a credible resource, providing a reasonable answer to the questions they are attempting to answer.

Carr then proceeds to uncover a huge concern that he has with an increased use of the Internet.  There is the possibility that as we become more engrossed with technology we may begin to lose some of the humanness of our culture.  Weizenbaum feels that, “The great danger we face as we become more intimately involved with our computers- as we come to experience more of our lives through the disembodied symbols flickering across our screens- is that we’ll begin to lose our humanness, to sacrifice the very qualities that separate us from machines” (Carr, 2010, p. 207).  Feelings of compassion, understanding, and empathy may become emotions of the past.  It is so comforting for me to know that I have someone to go to and talk to when I am upset, hurt, angry, or just need a human being to talk to- and it is a real person, not a computer. 

Another concern is whether or not students will be able to tune out technology, even just for a little while.  “There is no Sleepy Hollow on the Internet, no peaceful spot where contemplativeness can work its restorative magic” (Carr, 2010, p. 220).  When we are online we are constantly being bombarded with information and stimuli.  There needs to be some down time, time when we aren’t glued to our computers, to allow us to think deeply and be reflective.  Will creativity suffer as students are able to access the Internet, find their quick answers, think only superficially and then move on to the next link?   

What does all of this mean for students and teachers in the 21^st century?  First, I think that we need to realize that the students we are working with today learn differently than students did in the past.  I have been teaching for fourteen years, and I can honestly say that I have noticed a difference in the way students learn, and I am not teaching the way I once did.  In the past, students were able to complete paper and pencil tasks for longer periods of time.  Now, I deliver more snippets of information, and full lessons are much shorter.  More student movement is incorporated in the activities to help sustain their attention.  It seems as though we are teaching less of our subjects with in-depth coverage, often skimming the surface of the topics we teach.  After recently looking at the common core standards for the state of Wisconsin, I would have to agree that we are expected to teach numerous topics, but never go in depth with many of them.  If information is just a click away, they seldom have to do any deep, critical thinking, only a shallow understanding is expected.  I have to wonder if this is a good thing for the students we serve?  Will we need to teach reflective, critical thinking skills or will they become a thing of the past?

I think schools have responded somewhat to the digitized age where information is less linear and more scattered.  We are in some ways, “between two technological worlds” (Carr, 2010, p. 77).  We still find books and printed resources in our classrooms, as well as an increase in the technologies.  In addition to the SMART board, I have ipads and an ELMO document camera.  In order for schools to meet the demands of technology, I feel that enough time needs to be donated to effectively train staff how to use these technologies.  It is not enough simply to drop them off at a teacher’s doorstep.  Careful planning, training, and learning about the best practices for how to implement the technology into my classroom will help everyone utilize the technologies to their maximum potential.  In my mailbox at school, I received an e school news newsletter that outlined the five traits of an effective 21^st century teacher.  According to Stansbury (2011), these teachers are able to, “anticipate the future, be a lifelong learner, foster peer relationships, teach and assess all levels of learners, and is able to discern effective vs. non-effective technology.” 

There certainly are advantages of using the computer and the Internet.  Today we embrace “…the benefits of speed and efficiency…” (Carr, 2010, p. 224) that the Internet offers.  However, these benefits come with a price.  We may be losing some of our humanness from our culture and some of our own intelligence because we are relying on machines to do our thinking.  Change is inevitable, and it is not a possibility to turn back time and do away with the technologies in our society.  Our brains will continue to be rerouted and rewired according to the technologies we embrace.  According to Carr (2010), “What matters in the end is not our becoming but what we become” (p. 222).  I think it is best if we “proceed with caution” as we forge ahead in the age of the Internet.

References:

Carr, N. (2010). The shallows:  What the internet is doing to our brains. New York,     NY:  W. W. Norton & Company.

Stansbury, M. (2011, September). Five characteristics of an effective 21^st- century educator. Retrieved from http://www.eschoolnews.com