Essay Sample about The Internet

The people of today have become too comfortable with using the crutch of modern society. The internet has become a regular part of day-to-day life for many people and has caused them in some ways to lose the ability to concentrate or focus. Although the internet has greatly contributed to the growth of knowledge, it has been opposed by people arguing that it has numerous negative implications for innovation and creativity. It has become a common practice to just look things up instead of working towards a solution. People are losing the ability to think for themselves, so in a way, they are becoming “dumber”.

As the internet becomes our primary source of information, it begins to affect our ability to read books and other long pieces. The author of “The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains” agrees by explaining “When the brain is overloaded by stimuli, as it usually is when we’re peering into a network-connected computer screen, attention splinters, thinking becomes superficial, and memory suffers. We become less reflective and more impulsive. Far from enhancing human intelligence, I argue, the Internet degrades it.” The internet is a fast tool that changed the way that people do things. And in a way, it has rewritten our brains. People get frustrated when their browser doesn’t load immediately, or they can’t find something. The concept of time is different than it was years ago. When people do sit down to actually read, most get bored or distracted easily, and find it hard to focus. This just shows how the internet has affected our ability to do things, even simple tasks. It also encourages people to be lazy and unproductive out of convenience. 

The internet has also changed how we socialize. According to Bonnie Kristian, Contributing Editor at The Week “Many people have “a lack of intimate friendships and hobbyist communities. In the absence of that emotional connection and healthy recreational time use, this media engagement can become a bad substitute.” The new normal is to text or call instead of talking face-to-face, so really conversations have become human-to-machine. This makes people awkward or nervous when they have face-to-face interactions. Everyone is used to hiding behind a screen, having time to think before responding, etc. People can’t properly experience the world through a screen and it puts them at a disadvantage later in life. In addition, the internet creates distractions, endless streams of media on tons of platforms. People lose track of time mindlessly scrolling, and they aren’t benefiting from most of it.