750 Words

There are ever changing improvements in technology that alter the way we live. We use technology everyday whether we realize it or not. Over time our relationship with technology has changed because it is more prevalent now than twenty years ago. Many people fear this change in our reliance on technology has created a damage to our society that we will not be able to recover from. Nicholas Carr explains this fear of a society of “pancake people” in his essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”. He highlights a world of laziness because of our dependence on technology in our daily lives. In Jacob’s piece he discusses his relationship with technology and how technology has shaped his life. Shelby also highlights her fears relating to technology in her essay. Although all three pieces have different aspects to them, they do share some similar ideas relating to their fears of technology.Both Nicholas Carr and Jacob Osmer emphasize their fear of society’s reliance on technology. However, they both have different reasons for these fears and varying levels of them. Nicholas Carr fears that our use of technology has led us to a society of “pancake people” who are incapable of deep understanding and connection with others. In his text, Carr explains the difference in how society reads today, “The style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts ‘efficiency’ and ‘immediacy’ above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace” (Carr). Now with the click of a button one can get a summary of any piece of text without having to read through the entire piece multiple times like before. It is so much easier to get a basic understanding of a topic, however, now most of society is less likely to look deeply to fully understand a specific topic since they have access to this multitude of information. Osmer discusses similar fears in his essay. He recalls his personal reading tendencies, “I always just thought I was a quick reader, finishing the English class assignments long before anyone else. Skimming is a great skill to have when you’re required to scan through a paper and find key points, but it’s quite a nuisance when pleasure reading. It wasn’t until I got into one of my more recent spontaneous bouts of reading that I realized I wasn’t actually reading” (Osmer). His use of technology has altered the way he reads, even for pleasure. He is no longer reading to deeply understand but just to skim in order to get the jist of the information. Both Carr and Osmer have similar fears of the loss of deep understanding of texts because of technology. They both realize that technology has changed the way that we read because it makes it easier to get a large variety of information all at once, limiting one’s ability to get a deep understanding of one piece.

1,000 Words

There are ever changing improvements in technology that alter the way we live. We use technology everyday whether we realize it or not. Over time our relationship with technology has changed because it is more prevalent now than twenty years ago. Many people fear this change in our reliance on technology has created a damage to our society that we will not be able to recover from. Nicholas Carr explains this fear of a society of “pancake people” in his essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”. He highlights a world of laziness because of our dependence on technology in our daily lives. In Jacob’s piece he discusses his relationship with technology and how technology has shaped his life. Shelby also highlights her fears relating to technology in her essay. Although all three pieces have different aspects to them, they do share some similar ideas relating to their fears of technology.

Both Nicholas Carr and Jacob Osmer emphasize their fear of society’s reliance on technology affecting their ability to comprehend complicated texts. However, they both have different reasons for these fears and varying levels of them. Nicholas Carr fears that our use of technology has led us to a society of “pancake people” who are incapable of deep understanding and connection with others. In his text, Carr explains the difference in how society reads today, “The style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts ‘efficiency’ and ‘immediacy’ above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace” (Carr). Now with the click of a button one can get a summary of any piece of text without having to read through the entire piece multiple times like before. It is so much easier to get a basic understanding of a topic, however, now most of society is less likely to look deeply to fully understand a specific topic since they have access to this multitude of information. Osmer discusses similar fears in his essay. He recalls his personal reading tendencies, “I always just thought I was a quick reader, finishing the English class assignments long before anyone else. Skimming is a great skill to have when you’re required to scan through a paper and find key points, but it’s quite a nuisance when pleasure reading. It wasn’t until I got into one of my more recent spontaneous bouts of reading that I realized I wasn’t actually reading” (Osmer). His use of technology has altered the way he reads, even for pleasure. He is no longer reading to deeply understand but just to skim in order to get the jist of the information. Both Carr and Osmer have similar fears of the loss of deep understanding of texts because of technology. They both realize that technology has changed the way that we read because it makes it easier to get a large variety of information all at once, limiting one’s ability to get a deep understanding of one piece of information.  

Both Carr and Budzko argue that technology changes the way that we think and interact with others but have different opinions on the extent of the effect on the population. Carr worries that the widespread dependence  on technology has created a robotic society so accustomed to immediacy that they lack real character and individuality.  Carr warns of the effect of the mass spread of technology, “we risk turning into ‘pancake people’- spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button” (Carr). To Carr the accessibility of the internet has created a society wide epidemic of “pancake people” lacking the ability to create meaningful connections. While Budzko agrees with Carr’s belief in “pancake people”, she realizes that there is a spectrum to this situation. Budzko argues that people have a sense of individuality and no two people will have the same reaction to their dependency on technology, “Everyone has a completely individual and unique brain, so not everyone is going to be a ‘pancake’ in the exact same way” (Budzko). I agree with Shelby’s perspective on this idea of “pancake people” because I feel that everyone has different tendencies and levels of reliance on technology. There are people who become completely shut off from the real world because of technology and people who have a deeper understanding of the way the world works because of their lack of connectivity, but there are also people in between. No one person fits into only one box. Most people fall on a spectrum between complete reliance like “pancakes” and no reliance like the “cathedral like” people mentioned in Carr’s essay. 

Despite the concerns of technology I have, I do not completely agree with Carr’s perspective of  technology creating a society of “pancake people”. I lean more towards Jacob and Shelby’s beliefs that technology has affected us, but not to the point where we lose all sense of individuality and character. We all have some aspects of “pancake people” whether we realize it or not, but I do not believe that it has hindered our ability to form deep connections and understanding. There are some challenges in our lives that require us to rely on technology in order to be successful. Just because we use technology to help advance our understanding of certain topics does not mean that we are completely dependent on it. 

Final Draft

There are ever-changing improvements in technology that alter the way we live. We use technology every day whether we realize it or not, and over time our relationship with technology has changed because it is more prevalent now than twenty years ago. Many people fear this change in our reliance on technology has created damage to our society that we will not be able to recover from. Nicholas Carr explains this fear of a society of “pancake people” in his essay “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”. He highlights a world of laziness because of our dependence on technology in our daily lives. In Jacob Osmer’s piece, he discusses his relationship with technology and how technology has shaped his life. Shelby Budzko also highlights her fears relating to technology in her essay. Although all three pieces have different aspects to them, they do share some similar ideas relating to their fears of technology. 

Advancements in technology have changed the way we read and comprehend information given to us. Both Nicholas Carr and Jacob Osmer emphasize their fear of society’s reliance on technology affecting their ability to comprehend complicated texts. However, they both have different reasons for these fears and varying levels of them. Nicholas Carr fears that our use of technology has led us to a society of “pancake people” who are incapable of deep understanding and connection with others. In his text, Carr explains the difference in how society reads today, “The style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts ‘efficiency’ and ‘immediacy’ above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace” (Carr). Now with the click of a button, one can get a summary of any piece of text without having to read through the entire piece multiple times like before. It is so much easier to get a basic understanding of a topic, however, now most of society is less likely to look deeply to fully understand a specific topic since they have access to this multitude of information. Osmer discusses similar fears in his essay. He recalls his reading tendencies, “I always just thought I was a quick reader, finishing the English class assignments long before anyone else. Skimming is a great skill to have when you’re required to scan through a paper and find key points, but it’s quite a nuisance when pleasure reading. It wasn’t until I got into one of my more recent spontaneous bouts of reading that I realized I wasn’t actually reading” (Osmer). His use of technology has altered the way he reads, even for pleasure. He is no longer reading to understand deeply but just to skim to get the gist of the information. Both Carr and Osmer have similar fears of the loss of a deep understanding of texts because of technology. They both realize that technology has changed the way that we read because it makes it easier to get a large variety of information all at once, limiting one’s ability to get a deep understanding of one piece of information.   

The introduction of the computer has altered the way we communicate. Both Osmer and Budzko discuss the difference in their writing when typing compared to handwritten pieces. Our use of computers has made us more robotic when it comes to writing. There is less deep thought required when writing with a computer because of the automation of the process, which tends to lead to a more tense tone even if that is not desired.  After reading Carr’s essay, Osmer questions his own writing style. “Is the quality of my writing different between a handwritten quick-right while preparing for the AP Lit test versus the words I’m typing out right now?” (Osmer). Osmer’s questioning shows how technology has created a shift so subtle, that the writer himself can hardly see the difference until he reflects on his work. It is much easier to reread and revise your work when you can physically see the changes that you are making as you cross off and fix mistakes you made on paper. Budzko highlights similar feelings in her essay, “When I’m writing by hand, everything flows out of my mind and onto the paper so easily. I feel so connected to my work when I can reach out and feel the indents that my pencil made on the paper. Writing on my laptop just doesn’t give me that same satisfaction” (Budzko). Budzko can feel the difference between writing with paper and pen and writing on a laptop. The shift from pen and paper to computer eliminates the flow that comes when the pen glides effortlessly across the paper as the writer expresses their deep thoughts and ideas. Both Osmer and Budzko have similar opinions on the impact technology has on their writing. I agree with both of their perspectives because I too feel that handwriting allows me to be more creative and less machine-like with my writing than a laptop does.   

The use of technology does not completely envelop everyone, people have a varying level of reliance on it. Both Carr and Budzko argue that technology changes the way that we think and interact with others but have different opinions on the extent of the effect on the population. Carr worries that the widespread dependence on technology has created a robotic society so accustomed to immediacy that they lack real character and individuality.  Carr warns of the effect of the mass spread of technology, “we risk turning into ‘pancake people’- spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button” (Carr). To Carr, the accessibility of the internet has created a society-wide epidemic of “pancake people” lacking the ability to create meaningful connections. While Budzko agrees with Carr’s belief in “pancake people”, she realizes that there is a spectrum to this situation. Budzko argues that people have a sense of individuality and no two people will have the same reaction to their dependency on technology, “Everyone has a completely individual and unique brain, so not everyone is going to be a ‘pancake’ in the exact same way” (Budzko). I agree with Shelby’s perspective on this idea of “pancake people” because I feel that everyone has different tendencies and levels of reliance on technology. Some people become completely shut off from the real world because of technology and people who have a deeper understanding of the way the world works because of their lack of connectivity, but there are also people in between. No one person fits into only one box. Most people fall on a spectrum between complete reliance on technology like “pancakes” and no reliance on technology like the “cathedral-like” people mentioned in Carr’s essay.  

Despite my concerns about technology, I do not completely agree with Carr’s perspective of technology creating a society of “pancake people”. I lean more towards Jacob and Shelby’s beliefs that technology has affected us, but not to the point where we lose all sense of individuality and character. We all have some aspects of “pancake people” whether we realize it or not, but I do not believe that it has hindered our ability to form deep connections and understanding. Some challenges in our lives require us to rely on technology to be successful. Just because we use technology to help advance our understanding of certain topics does not mean that we are completely dependent on it. Our generation has always had access to technology so we do not see the drastic difference that older generations feel. Technology has been something we have grown up with, so we see this as the norm. I will admit that our dependence on technology has increased even since I have been alive, however, I do not feel it is enough to elicit the same fears that Carr has.