Natalie Bell

ENG110

Professor Jesse Miller

22 April 2025

Technology’s Grip on the Mind

            As we continue to advance as people, we continue to advance our technology. Advancements in technology have their benefits, like being able to stay in communication, being able to set alarms, however, maintaining a balance between oneself and technology seems to be a struggle for many. In a very thought-provoking article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Harvard and Dartmouth graduate Nicolas Carr explores how a constant use of technology is rewiring our brains and overall making it harder for us to really engage in deep thinking and concentration overall. In comparison, Myli Petrocci, a first-year student at the University of New England, shows a more personal perspective on technology in her essay “A Teenage Girls Relationship with Technology in the 21^st Century. Petrocci shares evolving relationship with technology as a teenage girl and expands on how her relationship has begun to evolve with the advancements of technology. Writer Faith Santiago who wrote “Technology: The Double-Sided Coin”, makes aware the influence technology has on everyone’s everyday lives. Together, these three authors contribute to a bigger and more broad conversation about what role technology plays in this modern society. While technology offers undeniable conveniences, as well as connectivity, its revealed that maintaining a healthy relationship with technology requires conscious effort, reflection, and balance. Each of these explore how our dependence on digital tools can hinder but also help personal growth and well-being.

            Technology nowadays has people ever so easily wrapped around its finger. One slight tug, and we move with it. Technology has been able to creep its way into everyone’s everyday lives in this time. In both Carr and Santiagos article, they express their overall concern over the negative effects of modern technology, especially how it can impact attention spans.

“On YouTube, I have learned about media analysis and how to think critically about entertainment content. I have gained so much from the internet in these ways, and what I would not be as critical of a thinker as I am without the internet making this intellectually stimulating material more accessible. These sources of information are works that someone took the time to research, write, and meticulously revise in order to provide the best information possible. This effort is what makes these aspects of technology helpful instead of harmful” (Santiago).

Carr argues that the internet is slowly rewiring our brains, which in turn, is making it harder for people to be able to read deeper and even concentrate for longer periods of time. Santiago supports this viewpoint by sharing her own personal experiences. She shares how she struggles to focus on tasks and even being drawn into the addictive nature of short-form content. However, Carr’s focus is more of a critical one-sided view of the dangers of the internet, whereas Santiago brings in a more balanced perspective. She can see and acknowledge that certain technology can encourage more critical thinking and provides valuable information. This shows up that it is not just the overall existence of technology that matters the most, but how we use it, as well as the intention behind all the content that we consume. Santiagos perspective is that she believes that the internet is not that inherently bad, but it does have negative effects that arise when it is used for profit only, and to pass time. Both Carr and Santiago together highlight the important truth that technology does have the power to sharpen or dull our minds; the choice often lies within the user.

            While Nicholas Carr takes a more research-based approach in his article, Myli Petrocci offers a more emotional and personal look at similar issues in Carr’s. Both of these authors express their overall concern about how the internet and even social media is able to alter the way we think and live, especially in relation you focus, our self-awareness, and even our mental well-being. When he explains how “our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged” (Carr 3). Carr expresses his worries that changing our reading style to be online instead of on paper can change our brain to then expect instant gratification. That then would weaken our capacity for deep and focuses thoughts about what was just put before us. Petrocci echoes this in her own personal story and expresses her concern for how social media platforms like TikTok have made it difficult for her to concentrate on books, and even assignments for school. She reflects upon how her screen time affected her sleep, mood, and even sense of identity. “Yet the effects remain from it. I noticed it became harder to pay attention to other media, such as books, school assignments, and even movies. People used to think that movies rotted your brain… just wait until they discover 10 second videos” (Petrocci). Both Carr and Petrocci highlight how today’s digital distractions are changing and even reshaping our ability to be able to focus and think deeply. In Carr’s research, he points to the decreased capacity for more sustained thoughts while we engage with more quick and readily available content online. Petrocci’s personal experience then further shows how social media can impact us and not just with attention but also oneself and moods. Them together shows that even though the new digital age offers convenience however it also undermines people’s mental well-being which is now urging rearrangements on how we as people engage with technology.

            Overall, all three of these authors, Carr, Petrocci, and Santiago, explore how the growth of technology impacts the way we think, feel, and even function day to day. One thing in common with all three articles is their loss of focus within digital media, as well as the change of our brains after constant use of technology.

“When the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brain as operating ‘like clockwork.’ Today, in the age of software, we have come to think of them as operating ‘like computers.’ But the changes, neuroscience tells us, go much deeper than metaphor. Thanks to our brain’s plasticity, the adaptation occurs at a biological level” (Carr 4).

Carr’s approach to this topic comes from a more academic and intellectual angle, since he cites research and history to show how reading and writing has become shallower over time. Whereas Petrocci and Santiago take a more personal approach to this topic. They give voice to how those same trends Carr explained in his article are affecting people individually, especially the younger generations that are more susceptible to getting sucked into the digital world from right out the womb. Petrocci explains and emphasizes the emotional toll that the overuse of technology has one someone, whether that may be insecurity or distraction, while Santiago makes a blend of mental and even intellectual aspects. Santiago even points out how media can weaken critical thinking, but other platforms like YouTube can help enhance it. However, there are almost some contrasts between all three authors writing. The main difference where the contrast is with their tone. Carr has a more scared, or even nervous tone when he explains how the internet can be a threat to everyone’s minds. In the other hand, both Petrocci and Santiago argue that having awareness and the intentional use of technology can help us regain control and can even allow us to rebuild focus that was lost and grow more intellectually. All three authors together offer a very well-rounded view of the effects of modern technology today. They all show its dangers, benefits, and how we have the choice to how we engage in it further.

            In today’s age where technology is continuously evolving, it can influence our thoughts, habits, and even our own mental well-being. All three authors, Carr, Petrocci, and Santiago offer different yet also interconnected perspectives about technology that then highlights a very critical truth. Although technology does bring an immense number of benefits, however it demands live conscious use of it. The way that people nowadays engage with technology can have two effects: enhancing our focus, or destroying it, along with our intellectual growth in the process. When understanding the risks as well as the rewards that digital tools give us, we can then move forward and build a healthier dynamic with technology. This would then lead to a more balanced relationship with technology since it shapes our whole life and even world.

Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” The Atlantic.com. July/August 2008. 19 August 2008. http://www.theatlantic.com/d. Accessed 3 April 2025.

Petrocci, Myli. “A teenage girls relationship with technology in the 21^st century.” UNEportfolio, https://miller-eng110-1.uneportfolio.org/2025/03/31/journal-23/. Accessed 3 April 2025.

Santiago, Faith. “Technology: The Double-Sided Coin.” UNEportfolio, https://miller-eng110-1.uneportfolio.org/2025/03/31/journal-23/. Accessed 3 April 2025