Outlines
This part of the study guide will provide you with outlines for each of the texts which will help you get a good overview of the different issues, aspects, and opinions related to the internet and technology, expressed in the source material.
Does technology rule us?
Author: Veronica Belmont (BBC News)
Genre: Video
Year of Publication: 2012
The video report investigates the impact of the internet and technology on people’s lives.
Veronica Belmont from San Francisco describes herself as someone who is dependent on modern technology both in her job and personal life. This has made her question whether technology controls her and whether modern technology has more negative effects than positive ones.
Nowadays, people are constantly online on various social networks and apps, not only on their PC but also on mobile devices. Belmont argues that we are living in a “tech overload world” and that this has a serious impact on relationships, time management, and even people’s minds.
The video presents the opinions of three of Belmont’s online connections. A man claims he avoids social media precisely because of the information overload it offers. Another man thinks that modern technology is a double-edged sword.
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Conversation: Nicholas Carr’s ‘The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains’
Author: PBS News
Genre: Video
Year of Publication: 2010
The video report is an interview with Nicholas Carr, the author of the “The Shallows”, a book that discusses the way the internet affects people’s brains.
The anchor introduces the writer and mentions that the book began with an article written by Carr, titled “Is Google making us stupid?”. To the author’s surprise, that article received a lot of criticism and led to considerable debate on the topic.
Carr explains that he wrote the article as a personal essay, based on his experience with the internet and technology. He explains how he realised his habits had changed, after ten years of active internet use. He could no longer focus his attention on reading a book for a long period because he was used to his behaviour on the internet, where he would surf through various web pages at the same time.
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Does the internet rewire your brain?
Author: Tom Stafford (BBC News)
Genre: Article
Year of Publication: 2009
The article was published on the BBC News website and discusses the way the internet affects people’s brain and its possible consequences.
The author argues that everything people do affects their brains in one way or another; it’s not only the internet which affects our brains. He presents research that suggests the internet causes addiction and affects people’s brains in a way similar to drugs or alcohol.
The writer shows how some have been quick to make a profit out of people’s anxieties about the ways the internet affects their brains. He gives the example of Amazon, which sells numerous books on brain training.
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How The Internet Affects Your Brain
Genre: Article
Year of Publication: 2009
The article presents an analysis of how the internet affects people’s brains.
According to research, the internet makes people’s brains function more like computers; it improves people’s ability to process, decode, and store information faster than before.
The article cites a 2008 study which found that browsing the internet has a positive impact on the brains of older people.
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