Is the Internet making is stupid? Absolutely not. I honestly cant even fathom how people can think such a thing. If anything, the Internet is helping make people smarter and more capable than ever. In today's world, it is almost impossible to go through your day without having to use the Web for one thing or another. As a matter of fact, it seems that more often than not, people are thought of as “stupid” or “illiterate” if they are not able to use the computer or surf the Internet. So how is it that in a world where the Internet plays such a vital role in our lives that we would condemn the very same technology with making us dumber as individuals. This almost seems backwards.
Our lives have been made so much simpler thanks to the Internet and we are able to do things so much more quickly and more efficiently thanks to it. If it takes us half the amount of time to write a report using our computers, does that mean that we are going to write a dumber report than had we done it the “old fashion way”? No, it doesn't. It merely means that we are going to be able to write our report more efficiently and do so being able to do have checked more resources that have been made available to us online. If anything, the Internet is helping people be smarter by providing them with the tools and resources that were unavailable to them beforehand.
If you provide someone with more information and resources, how are you making him more stupid?
However, for all of its inherent advantages, I think everyone will agree that the Internet is distracting people more so than we may have ever imagined. Never before has there been something that could distract people from writing their papers, reports, or just performing any number of tasks at their computers. We have all abandoned a paper in search of a funny clip on Youtube or put off an assignment to go check our Facebooks and see what everyone else is up to. This is sad, and a little disturbing, but true none the less.
Even though this generation may be more distracted than previous ones and potentially have shorter attention spans, it does not mean this generation is by any means dumber. It just means that we feel that we can multi-task and therefore can afford to waste a few minutes looking up the latest “tweets”. So long as we are getting our work done- and we are- there is nothing wrong with wasting some time on things that are trivial.
As a whole, we are all more addicted to the Internet. As a whole, we are all more productive. Clearly, the one habit does not have a negative affect on the other. We may no longer have a one track mind when it comes to performing a task, but we are nonetheless performing the same tasks better, more quickly, and with less effort. There is nothing wrong with learning how to do the same task while managing to do it with less work. If anything, that is a sign of efficiency.
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While I totally agree with you that the Internet is not making us dumber, I can certainly see how the thought transpired. As you mentioned, the Internet has made things a lot simpler and life a little easier, but has it really the reason we can write an efficient report? Most of the "credible" sources found on the internet came from the good ol' library. The place people used to go for research. The fact that the emphasis on "credible" and "scholarly" surfaced is because of the many erroneous information found all over the internet. In a way, the internet did make us smarter, in a way of learning how to use it properly and efficiently, but it certainly didn't provide us with tools that weren't already available beforehand.
ReplyDeleteAs far as distractions...that goes without saying. The internet is a huge distraction, especially Youtube (which I've seem to plant myself at lately) and I forced myself to delete, oops I mean inactivate my Facebook account (so sad). Anywho, to your assertion
"There is nothing wrong with learning how to do the same task while managing to do it with less work. If anything, that is a sign of efficiency."
Efficient?? Sounds more like lazy doesn't it?
I guess the first thing we need to do is define "stupid." If someone defines stupid as distracted ot the abvility to not be distracted than even your post seems to support the idea of google making us stupid.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is that Carr is including himself in this critique, in fact this whole essay is based on his experience so do not take it as an attack on the current generation. There are enough attacks on the new generation without having to go look for them where they do not exist.
Efficient to me has nothing to do with lazy. I completely agree that the internet has allowed us to work far more efficiently.
If stupid is the inability to do quality work then the internet is, as you say, making us smarter.
Things change. The internet is changing everything quickly. Things are different. This doesn't mean better or worse than it was before it just means different. I agree that Google isn't making us stupid but it is changing the definition of literacy, smart and stupid.
I agree with Troy that the quickly ever-changing internet is something that's different for us. But, I disagree with it being neither better nor worse than it was before. I think that the effect of the internet is BOTH better AND worse. Better in the sense that, yes, we do have access to much more knowledge and more resources right at our fingertips; but worse in the sense that the word efficient is beginning to lose its value.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of the word efficient is to be able to be effective with unnecessary effort. It seems like a lot of the time, the internet is used as a way out of doing hard work. It has become a means of producing something without any effort at all, and to produce something in the hopes of not putting in any "real" effort seems extremely lazy to me. Aside from this being my own opinion, I also think this is what Kellie was trying to get at when she wrote, "Efficient?? Sounds more like lazy doesn't it?".
Now, I only believe this to be situational. I equate it to when before the internet, say for example, a child cheats on his or her paper or has someone write it for him or her.. In both situations, internet age and pre-internet age, there is the feeling of ingenuity.
Now, don't get me wrong, I think the internet is a great and powerful tool. But, like any tool it could be used for good or bad.
Here's my thought/question. For countless years we did not have the internet. Why and when did the point come about to where we HAVE to use the web at least once during the day?
ReplyDeleteSure, the internet is a major convenience but what do I say to my younger cousin in middle school who relies solely on the internet and doesn't know what the dewey decimal system is? Is he to blame or can I blame technology?
I think it depends on the discipline within a person. For myself, I am great at multitasking BUT, I can get distracted by things such as Facebook which should not be my primary focus, let alone my focus at all when I have a 10 page research paper due. Moreover, I discipline myself by taking breaks to prolong my procrastination while others get fully distracted and end up forgetting their primary focus.
I don't believe we are smarter of dumber, I think we are more knowledgeable in light of the new technology of the Internet. Your bit about people resisting the ease the Internet is providing reminded me of Trithemius's attempt to preserve his scribe way of life in spite of the printing press, which was new technology at that time. But even Trithemius points out that the printing press was a good thing but scribes should nonetheless remain copying texts because that has its' benefits as well. He was fighting an uphill battle and so are the people trying to resist technological advances of today. Some of us are fortunate enough to understand the Dewey decimal system and do research on the Internet as well. Who knows where future generations will be?
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