Google, Illiteracy, and the Effects in America Today

Nicholas Carr asserts the idea in his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” that our minds are being changed by this new digital era. The Internet is so vast and so immediately accessible that it becomes a sort of “skimming activity.” The ability to use Google is a powerful tool but other processes that inspire creativity and critical thinking must counteract it. Some research also indicates the instant-access nature of our modern Internet is causing Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Presented with the statistics below, one should definitely be concerned.

Chris Hedges write in his article, “America the Illiterate” some disturbing facts that I’d like to show.

-       There are over 42 million adults, 20% of which hold high school diplomas, who can’t read.

-       50 million adults read at a 4^th or 5^th grade level.

-       Nearly 1/3 of the population is illiterate or barely literate.

-       42% of high school and college graduates never read a book outside of school.

-       80% of families did not buy a book in 2007.

These are just a few deeply disturbing statistics involving the lack of literacy, competence, and intelligence in America today. Hedges writes about how the illiterate barely vote, and the uneducated and barely literate, which are a large portion of America, vote based on propaganda based on stirring up emotion and false empowerment. Campaigns are now attempts to comfort and trick people with idealistic and vague slogans such as, “Yes We Can,” or, “Change.” Hedges writes, “We confuse how we feel with knowledge,” and I could not put it better my self. So often I speak to fellow votes that essentially made his or her decision by a 30 second commercial, or a slogan, or even how “cool” the candidate or proposition seemed. Hedges also goes into how the illiteracy in America effects the economy. He asserts that they do not make rational decisions when it comes to loans, payments, bills, and so on. This may have some validity to it. He goes on to write, “We ask to be entertained by clichés, stereotypes, and mythic narratives that tell us we can be whomever we want to be, that we live in the greatest country on earth…” and that for some reason we naturally possess greater moral fiber than the rest of the world. Amidst all these slogans, scams, and lies, many still believe it all. In a great line that stands testament to so much wrong-doing and negligence in this country, Hedges writes, “It feels good not to think.”