The Internet is already, for many, the largest channel of information. More and more time is spent browsing, whether reading the news, checking email, watching videos, listening to music, consulting encyclopedias, maps, talking on the phone, and writing blogs. In short, the Internet filters much of our access to reality. The human brain adapts to each new change, and the Internet is unprecedented. What will be that influence? For some, it could decrease the ability to read and think deeply. For others, technology will combine in the near future with the brain to exponentially increase brainpower.
One of the most recent to raise the debate has been the American essayist Nicholas G. Carr. He assures us that he no longer thinks like before. It happens to him, especially when he reads. He used to immerse himself in a book and was capable of gobbling page after page, hour after hour. But now, he only lasts a few paragraphs. He loses concentration, gets restless, and looks for something else to do. "The deep reading that used to happen naturally has become an effort," Carr notes in the provocative article "Is Google making us stupid?".
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