After having the works of Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Nicholas Carr presented, it is very evident that their takes on how the internet shapes the way we read, write, and think are extremely different. In Fitzpatrick’s “Reading (and Writing) Online, Rather Than on the Decline,” she observes that in today’s world, books and print are hastily being replaced by online modes of literature. Although this is an undoubtedly new and different medium for literature, Fitzpatrick hints that this is not necessarily a bad thing—sure, more online devices have and will result in less books being read globally; however, the author overturns this seemingly negative statement, asserting that “if more people are reading online, more people are reading, period.” Fitzpatrick then goes on to reminds us that the internet “exists as much for scholars as it does for students,” outlining more positive implications that reading and writing on the internet can have; implications that include collaboration, engagement, accessibility, and more. Ultimately, Fitzpatrick insists that reading has increasingly shifted to online modes “where it has taken on an increasingly social, increasingly active form,” suggesting these online modes are better compared to traditional print sources.
On the other hand, however, in Carr’s essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” he argues against the use of the internet in relation to literature. He believes that the internet is reprogramming our brains, embedding this system that values “‘efficiency’ and ‘immediacy’ above all else,” training us to “zip along the surface,” searching for “quick wins.” Carr insists that this system is “chipping away… capacity for concentration and contemplation” making it harder and harder to sit down and delve into dense prose—or even a “blog post of more than three or four paragraphs.” However, despite all the claims and complaints, Carr does acknowledge that the internet is not all bad, admitting that “the Web has been a godsend… as a writer. Research that once required days… can now be done in minutes.” Carr’s main protest against the internet is its ability to warp the way our minds work and how we think, shortening our attention spans, concentration, and engagement while reading literature.
Work Cited:
Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 June 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/.
