El impacto del internet en nuestras vidas (inglés)

The Impact of the Internet on Our Lives

Now that computer technology has made possible the rapid accessing of large amounts of information, people are less likely than ever to think deeply ororiginally. A couple of decades ago, written articles and books were the only sources of information. Ever since the internet became popular in the 1990s, people have changed their research habitsbecause this type of technology enables them to acquire the information they need without having to read an entire book. Briefly, it is an easy technique to make inquiries, since it doesn’t require muchconcentration and effort.

According to recent studies, most people who own a computer linked to the internet find difficult reading an extensive article or book, because they have a hard timefocusing. The internet not only provides innumerable sites full of information, it also offers means of interactive media, such as animations, videos and games, which tamper with the user’s concentrationcapacity. Computer users also tend to skim through written passages, because they are used to read online information that best suits their needs. Experts are concerned because people are replacing thetraditional way of reading for the internet reading style, which places efficiency and immediacy as top priorities.

A change in our reading style can alter the way we think. In other words, peopleare a mere reflection of what they read. At the present time, people read way more than they did a couple of decades ago because of the new communication means that the internet brought along. Theseinclude text messaging on cell phones, social network services such as Facebook and Windows Live Messenger. However, this reading fashion is very similar to the one that online reading proposes,because it doesn’t require any deep thinking, contemplation or ability to interpret texts.

In conclusion, the presence of computers in our daily lives is having a severe impact on our brains, because...