In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicholas Carr he states that the extensive use of Google and the internet is leading to a decline in the attention spans and capacity for deep thinking among individuals in Western society. According to Carr, constant exposure to different digital tools impacts our abilities. Particularly our engagement and attention span with long written content. additionally, he mentions that easy access to online information may contribute to our short attention span and our preference for surface-level information rather than extensive writing. ultimately affecting how we process and comprehend information in the modern era.

I consider myself 100% a victim of Google and the internet. I cannot stand reading lengthy written content, and I don’t remember the last time I read an entire article in just one sitting. I catch myself looking for websites that read the content to me and I take my headphones and prefer to listen while I do something else. My attention span has reached an all-time low and I am not sure how to fix it. Because my first language was not English, I’ve always found reading difficult and I have always said that if a written piece was in Spanish, I would be able to understand and pay way more attention, but now it does not depend on the language and I realize sometimes while reading, I don’t remember what I read just 5 minutes ago.

Most people cannot gather information as they used to anymore due to how easy we have access to look up any question online, this also goes hand in hand with human nature and it is that we seek convenience. but I know for other people who have always liked to read now it’s become in some way harder and as Nicholas Carr mentions “deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle”.