Nicholas Carr writes of his concerns regarding the effect of technology on people today, echoing fears that we as humans are becoming, “pancake people” rather than the “cathedral-like people” of “complex and inner density” that used to exist. While many of his concerns are valid, it is my belief that the extent to which can be debated. Regarding technology, writing, reading, thinking, and the internet, it is inarguable that technology has had an effect. As technology has expanded, skills such as reading comprehension and writing have diminished, yet new skills have also increased. Overtime, we have become more technologically savvy, learning to understand and use new devices that many argue enhanced our day-to-day life. So, although Nicholas Carr clearly is valid in many of his concerns, I believe that it is not a loss of highly educated and thoughtful people, but rather a change in education and thought. 

            Along with the expansion and prevalence of technology, new tools have emerged and transformed reading and writing all together. Tools such as spellcheck and Grammarly have completely shifted the way in which we write, as we no longer must try as hard when writing, spelling, or reading. Even in my own life, I can, and do, rely on technological tools such as spell check and Grammarly to do a vast majority of the work for me. When writing, I do not feel the need to continuously think about my spelling or grammar, and often write entire essays without checking these things, as I know technology will do it for me once I have finished. This has led to an overall downturn in my ability to spell and need to have proper grammar, as I no longer need to focus on these aspects while writing and can instead rely on technological devices to do it for me. Many may see this downturn in overall ability to spell and grammar as a negative, supporting Nicholas Carr’s opinion on the loss of high education, however arguably these tools have lots of positive effects as well. While it is true that grammar and spelling may have decreased, new knowledge such as computer navigation and understanding has increased. People are now able to quickly navigate different domains to check their grammar, fix their spelling, or cross reference for plagiarism. In fact, every time I use a new website or app, I feel as though I am learning new things, continuously expanding and gaining new knowledge. A prime example of this is the newfound knowledge of how to use ePortfolio, as prior to this semester I had never heard of, let alone know how to navigate said webpage. These aspects and new learnings are all huge benefits, and knowledgeable skills that are essential in the technological world we live in.

            Along with the decrease in grammar and spelling, a shift in quality of physical writing can undoubtedly be linked towards the increased use of technology. A large example of this is in my handwriting, which has progressively gotten worse over the years. This is likely due to the shift from handwriting to primarily typing, and thus since I no longer have the need to write everything, I no longer have the need for good handwriting. While in many aspects this is a negative, along with the decrease in my handwriting has been an apparent increase in my ability to type. Over time, I have consistently gotten faster, and much more accurate in the ability to type. As a result of this, I am now able to write faster and get more of my thoughts out all at once, thus becoming more productive. This is extremely beneficial, as what might take me an hour to hand write can take me twenty minutes to type. Consequently, I can do more work more efficiently and debatably learn more as I no longer need to spend as much time writing.

            Furthermore, Nicholas Carr presents the idea that as technology has increased, humans have lost the ability to read deeply, and instead have begun to skim rather than read completely and intellectually. While I don’t disagree with Carr on the idea of skimming, as I skim daily, I believe it should be questioned the effect that technology has had on skimming. It is hard for me to believe that before technology existed, people did not skim textbooks or newspapers, and that the invention of technology completely changed the way we read. Additionally, if technology truly has had such an effect, is this effect not beneficial? By skimming, we can pick out the pieces of information and are important, and then if needed read further on said information. When reading articles or textbooks I will often skim, looking for the big ideas and then once found, reading further and deeper on that specific point. This allows me to save time, prevents me from getting burned out while reading, and focuses my attention on what is truly important. Moreover, if Carr is correct, and skimming truly has emerged as an effect of technology altering the way we read, then I am of the belief that this is not a point supporting the loss of education and thought, but a point supporting the change in it. Creating a new, arguably better, way of reading. 

            In the end, the effect of technology is a hard question to answer, it’s not black or white, and perhaps it’s not even gray. Good and bad, technology has had an effect, that point is undebatable. Yet to blindly stand by Carr’s opinion, to condemn and blame all technology, stating that it is causing a loss of highly educated and thoughtful people is perhaps too far. I am not here to argue against Carr’s belief that Google is making us stupid by arguing that it is making us smarter, because I don’t necessarily believe that it is. Instead, I am of the belief that one should simply shift their perspective, looking not towards what is lost, but towards what has been gained. To return to Carr’s statement, perhaps he is correct, we are not the cathedral like people of the past, but instead we are becoming the skyscraper people of the present, changing and growing to become something new.