-Laura Hawkins
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Is Google Making Me Stupid?
I hate to say it, but I think that Google is making me stupid. In earlier times, when people needed to know information, they would go to a library and look up the information. They would locate and learn this information on their own, and they would be more experienced because of it. With Google, I just type in what I want to know and the answers to my questions are given to me immediately. No work is involved, and the majority of what is learned through the process isn't retained because it is so instantaneous. If I had to actually go to a library, crack open some books, and read through pages of material, I would probably get a lot more information out of the experience. Now, in some ways, Google also has it's advantages and contributes to building my knowledge, so it's not all bad. I can look up any information I want the very instant I want it, so Google makes it easy to access information quickly and efficiently. If I had to visit a library about some information, I might just forget about it and think that it's not worth my time. It also holds all of the latest information, whereas books only contain what has been written, published, and printed. So, you don't learn as much by using Google, but it saves you a lot of time and gives you the best available information on the web. Google is both a curse and a blessing.
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ReplyDeleteEven though I think Google is not making us stupid, I agree with what you are saying about retention when using Google. It is probably true that more information would be remembered if more effort was put in, by reading books/ researching in a library. But, that can not be said for all people. Many use Google and actually take in what they decide to read. This might in fact be a better learning strategy for some, so it's not that you don't learn as much with Google. I definitely agree with your statement that most people would, without Google, just dismiss research as not worth the time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think that Google has made it really difficult to appreciate printed text. If I had to research sources in a book, I might get frustrated that I couldn't just control+ F and find a specific phrase or word I'm looking for.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in a way Google is making us stupid because like you said "No work is involved, and the majority of what is learned through the process isn't retained because it is so instantaneous." With Google we are losing the value of knowledge and how to obtain it, although it is convenient.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot of what you are saying. Though I don't feel that Google is making me stupid, I do believe that the accessibility and overall easiness of it is affecting us in a negative way. We are very dependent on it, and perhaps we need to hold off on using it so often. Your last sentence sums Google up perfectly.
ReplyDeleteEven though I disagree with you there is something to say about the retention of information from google. Not much effort goes into finding your answer, and you don't to research as much as you would without google. Still, google is convenient and full of information. We might as well embrace it, because for better or worse it is not going away. Like you said it is both a blessing and a curse.
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