Question

I am looking for scholarly articles on how the internet is affecting people.

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We are writing a paper related to "Is Google Making us Stupid?" Its more about the internet in general and how it is affecting our ability to focus long term and absorb information. I have not picked a side yet, because I am having trouble finding scholarly articles to inform myself with.

Answered By: Linda Kern
Last Updated: Aug 25, 2020     Views: 67

Hello!

I assume you're writing about the Atlantic Monthly article by Nicholas Carr. My strategy would be to choose one aspect of the article and research that in Academic Search Complete.

For example, if you are interested in whether the Internet is affecting people's ability to think critically, you might search "cognitive ability" AND internet. Be sure to use the quotation marks and the AND, as they help provide a relevant set of results. Use the left side toolbar to limit results to scholarly journals from the last 5 years. This will return articles such as Park, M., Park, E., Choi, J., Chai, S., Lee, J., Lee, C., & Kim, D. (2011). Preliminary study of Internet addiction and cognitive function in adolescents based on IQ tests. Psychiatry Research, 190(2/3), 275-281. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2011.08.006. A similar searching option might be cognition AND internet.

If you're interested in attention, search "attention span" AND internet. You won't get many hits, but you will find this: Paul, J. A., Baker, H. M., & Cochran, J. D. (2012). Effect of online social networking on student academic performance. Computers In Human Behavior, 28(6), 2117-2127. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.06.016 .

Another possible search is "reading strategies" AND internet, which yielded Cho, B., & Afflerbach, P. (2015). Reading on the Internet. Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(6), 504-517. doi:10.1002/jaal.387 among others.

Another option might be memory AND internet, which yielded Näsi, M., & Koivusilta, L. (2013). Internet and everyday life: The perceived implications of Internet use on memory and ability to concentrate. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 16(2), 88-93. doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0058, and Ward, A. F. (2013). Supernormal: How the Internet is changing our memories and our minds. Psychological Inquiry, 24(4), 341-348. doi:10.1080/1047840X.2013.850148 , both of which are very interesting. If you like this approach, check out Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips also.

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