What is the internet?
Asking someone what the internet is poses an opportunity for a variety of responses, as that is a main component of the internet: variety. After reading the opinions of various authors on the internet and its effects on society, I can attempt to define the internet as an adaptable universe. In the first chapter of Small Pieces Loosely Joined, David Weinberger discusses the fact that the internet is created as humans explore it, showing its ever-changing capability, but how we perceive the internet also plays a major role in its functioning. In “Does the Internet Make You Smarter?” Clay Shirky describes the internet in a way that seemed to me like an energy that has the ability to morph and adapt instantaneously. This energy affects every aspect of the individual interacting with it, which is a topic Weinberger touches on in Chapter 1 as well. Our personalities are very affected by the internet, as we continue to discover our “internet voices.” Weinberger mentions that we find new, hidden parts of our personalities through our internet usage, parts we would not have uncovered on our own. The internet not only changes our personal composition, but the composition of those around us. The internet has created new perceptions of writing and what is denoted as unsavory content, which causes all of society to think differently.
In thinking of the internet as energy, it is everywhere. Like energy, it is adaptable, but also can experience many bumps and turns. As Weinberger discusses in his preface, the internet is “loosely put together,” and is meant more for accessing large amounts of information than perfect, smooth functioning. Perhaps the adaptability of the internet comes from its loose nature, and the fact that it is almost self-run. It is easy to break links and make new ones, as the internet can be edited by many people. This is a bit scary to think about because it almost seems like a system of chaos, that is controlled by many people. This may seem almost disorganized, in a way. However, there are many negative opinions about what the internet has done to society, and how it only poses detrimental effects. In the video entitled, “A Vision of Student’s Today,” college students show how there are many problems in the world posed by technology. Nevertheless, the students also emphasize the importance of modern technology, and say that it is a privilege that can actually save society in many ways. In Shirky’s article, I found that we cannot only form negative opinions about the internet because it is responsible for many sources we hold on pedestals, like books and newspapers. Something that really struck me was that in history, an education was required to operate and understand print material. We constantly forget that there is a learning curve to internet usage as well. Efficient usage can only come from efficient learning. Personally, I think the reason it is so easy to bash the internet and social media is because we have not taken the time to learn about them. We are entering a new age, and our sense of denial is something that is truly repetitive of encountering new technology in the past. Yes, the internet may have some seemingly pointless aspects, but so do print sources; complete perfection in sources of knowledge is extremely difficult to achieve. This idea was groundbreaking for me, as I am a big fan of going the paper route, and this is probably due to the fact that I am a bit uneducated in internet usage. However, this poses the question of how are we supposed to learn the workings of a system that is constantly changing, especially since our learning ability has been impacted by the internet?
In Nicholas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” he mentions that the internet has changed our learning ability, in reading and interpretation. He says that he has noticed a decrease in his attentional span when reading after long-term internet exposure. As an avid reader when I was young, I have also noticed this phenomenon, even though there is not too much research on this topic. Carr says that we are malleable, and that we take on qualities of technology when reading, and even in our basic cognition. We have developed adaptive brains, that are incredibly efficient, much like technology. When we read, Carr says we are much more inclined to power-browse or skim, as we are now more concerned with amassing information, than analyzing it. This is a scary concept for me, especially since it mentioned that what we use to absorb information affects how we think about that information. Are we programming ourselves to be more efficient, and less about interpretation and analysis? How does the internet impact our creativity?
I feel that I have talked about many fears in this analysis of the internet, but there are definitely many benefits to internet usage. Yes, maybe we are becoming more efficient, but with the vast expanse of digital sources we now have access to, that is an important tool to have. It is evident that we must become more like the internet in terms of adaptability, which is core to human nature. We are adaptable creatures, and our print brains simply need to learn to accommodate a new aspect of life that brings a great deal of good to the world. I believe that through learning the workings of internet, we can eliminate negative perceptions of the internet, and uplift the internet in the eyes of society. We can increase our connectivity, with the Internet as our tool.
#Dgst101
