The Internet's Impact on Cognitive Processes and Brain Structure

This report delves into the effects of internet usage on human cognition, drawing upon the insights of Nicholas Carr and other researchers. It highlights the argument that the internet is not only changing how people read and process information but is also altering the brain's neural circuitry. The report discusses the impact on reading behavior, concentration, and cognitive processes, emphasizing the widespread changes in how people think and interact with information. It analyzes the dependence on networking technologies and their impact on cognitive functions and brain structure, providing a detailed overview of the effects of internet use on human cognitive abilities. The report references sources to support the arguments on the internet's impact on human cognition.

Running Head: DEFINITIVE PICTURE OF HOW INTERNET USE AFFECTS COGNITION
A Definitive Picture of how Internet use affects Cognition
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DEFINITIVE PICTURE OF HOW INTERNET USE AFFECTS COGNITION
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According to an article published by Nicholas Carr and titled “Is Google Making us
Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our Brains”, it is quite apparent that the use of the internet
is actually changing or altering the way in which human beings thing. Based on the American
writer (Nicholas Carr), it is claimed that the use of the internet has not only shaped people’s lives
physically, but it has also altered human brains thus leading to a “lively and ongoing debate”. To
quote Carr, “…I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering
with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, remapping the neural activity, reprogramming the
memory…” (Hooper & Herath, 2014). This is a clear indicator on how the use of the internet
alters human brains and thinking. It is now quite apparent that lots of people across the world are
also in the situation that Carr is in because they now struggle to read the physical books,
something that was quite easy before the invention of technology and more so the internet.
People’s concentration has now drifted to about two or only three pages due to being addicted to
reading online as opposed to reading conventionally.
Carr’s overall argument is that it is not only the search engine or the internet that should
be blamed in totality but rather, it is the “ubiquitous impact” that the internet has had on the
networking cognitive processes of people (Citron, 2015). Carr’s argument was that people’s
deepening dependence or reliance on the networking technologies has not only changed the way
people think, but it has also changed individuals’ brain structure.

DEFINITIVE PICTURE OF HOW INTERNET USE AFFECTS COGNITION
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References
Citron, R. D. (2015). Book Review of The Glass Cage: Automation and Us, by Nicholas Carr.
Journal of Legal Education, 64(4), 712-714.
Hooper, V., & Herath, C. (2014). Is Google Making Us Stupid? The Impact of the Internet on
Reading Behavior. In Bled conference (p. 1).