Before you think I'm the dumb one for asking this question, listen-up to what Nobel Prize–winner Doris Lessing recently said about the Internet:
"We are in a fragmenting culture, where our certainties of even a few decades ago are questioned and where it is common for young men and women, who have had years of education, to know nothing of the world, to have read nothing, knowing only some specialty or other, for instance, computers."
According to TechCrunch, Lessing feels that Internet has seduced a generation, making us ignorant to the world around us. I'll let you think about this one for a minute, but I can tell you three things I know for sure. . . .The Internet has enabled me to travel around the world, educated me in so many ways, and keeps me connected to friends and family (plus a million other things)! What do you think? Do you agree with Lessing?
Lascana
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Lola Rose
It's so much easier and quicker to get information with the Internet, and it opens up a bunch of new possibilities. It's a valuable tool, and I definitely disagree with Lessing.
1There were dumb people before the internet. Computers has nothing to do with that, just faulty brain cells!
2I would have serious problems getting access to research literature without the Internet. It has been so excellent for dissemination of scientific information!
I know there must be tons of other examples, as well. Of course, everything in moderation!
3you can learn things from the internet
4With all the information you find online, how can it make you dumb? Should we be watching sitcoms and fictional movies instead?
5Um...what?
6Noo! You can acutally learn things!Plus you are reading and dosen't reading make you smarter?!?!?!?
7Considering that I spent 3 hours last night looking up information on the string theory just "for fun" because I was intrigued, I'd say definitely not. I'm a chemist by training, not a particle physicist, and without the internet I wouldn't have had the resources to learn what I did last night.
8As long as you remain critical to sources for information (which you should regardless of media)it's great. And I think people read alot more than ever before.
9I think it totally depends on the person.
10i agree w/ geek. i think more people know about the world today than before the internet. it is so easy to find news from forgeign countries, blogs written from people in other places, and pictures of remote places.
11Internet users are information seekers. Anyone who logs on is an active member of Cyberspace.
Perhaps the ability to get instant gratification by merely hitting a few keys has led our generation to be addicted to constant stimulation and develop ever-dwindling attention spans. And sure, prying one's glazed-over eyes from the glow of the monitor and actually participating in the world is ideal; however, moderation is key.
The Internet can be a valuable tool in enhancing one's life, education, work, and at times procrastination. Ultimately, there is as much free will on the Cyberspace as there is here on Earth, it's just a matter of personal discretion.
12It has it's negative impacts, but I don't think making people dumb is one of them.
13it is an awesome wealth of information!!! I LOVE IT!
14I think that the internet takes people away from other intellectual activities. Although the internet does help in education, I think it does make some people dumb.
15To me, it's not about making people dumb...but is apparent that the the web makes people lazier, and more "disconnected "
16Loaded question - that's like walking into church and asking if people think god exists.
17But keep in mind that just because people can learn so much online easily doesn't mean people are learning so much online. I think that was the point of the quote - not that info is lacking online, but that people are consumers of small bits of info / very limited to a particular topic. True for some, not for others.
I do think I have much more trouble concentrating now than I did before I was logged on all the time (that would be over 10 years ago). I have the attention span of a gnat. I'm not sure the internet is to "blame" but it sure feeds into that.
18Since I know where the interesting stuff is, Yes I am smarter than ever. Thanks to Digg.com
19i think it's corrupted the English language, as far as spelling and grammar goes.. well, that's kind of limited to AIM and email (lmao, rotfl, lol, phonetical spellings, etc) but that's just my opinion.. and i'm just as guilty as the next txt msg-er and IM-er.. except i refuse to do the lol deal.. i dont even know what rotfl or whatever means.. and i dont care to learn. rant over.
20You can gain a lot of knowledge from the Internet!
21Depends on the person.
22I don't think it MAKES people dumb, I daresay it highlights the idiocy of some people. Case in point: http://xkcd.com/202/
23I think that her point was not that it makes people DUMB, but that it makes people more diconnected from the world around them. Just because you know a little more about some place from reading about it on the internet doesn't mean that you understand that culture in the way that you would were you to go out and witness it for yourself. This doesn't have to be limited to far-away countries, we could be talking about the restaurant down the street that you were meaning to go to but instead you read a review of it online. I would have to agree that in many cases people need to experience and be involved in order to fully understand. For some people the internet has started to replace that.
24The internet is a great tool for information dissemination, but unfortunately most people are not reading peer-reviewed journal articles on Google Scholar or via other databases. I think the way the internet is used by most people only adds to our society's fragmented way of retaining information... quick information bites, like commercials.
25I don't think so.
26I mean I find out so much information on the web! From what the weather is going to be next week to what a certain word might mean!
I think it makes me smarter actally!
It's a matter of using the Internet appropriately. The problem nowadays is that people simply use the Internet to feed themselves information and to instruct themselves what and how to think. We need to use the Internet the right way, which is to find out more and seek information and knowledge. The thinking and analysing has to be done ourselves. This is the issue, I think. And this is what's making us dumb.
27Definately not! It creates an easy way to research anything! You just have to want to find it!
28No way! I have friends from different countries, if not for the internet I'd likely never have talked to. I research a lot of things online, stay in touch with friends/family, make new friends and also shop. I'm not so sure I could live without it!
29I think it makes you dependent on a computer for info. It also helps to discern what is good information and what is crap! I love the internet and miss it when I don't have it, but I'm neither smarter or dumber with it...
30Definitely not. The internet is a valuable tool and very useful resource. Like you Geek the internet has helped me travel around the world , brush up on my spanish, and overall have access to tons of information about damn near everything.
31Maybe it's the incredible amount of information available - more than at any time in history; it can overwhelm people and maybe they are just giving up.
I myself LOVE the flow of information, and knowing that I can find out info on any question I ever have!
32I think that the Internet can be really helpful to a lot of people. But for all those who are dangerous, or just have no control on life so they end up searching down ALL the WRONG things as they waste the day away, then yeah.....it can make them more unintelligent. But you can learn from useful intelligent websites if you want and need too.
33I definitely disagree. Personally, I find that the internet is a valuable tool in terms of research and exploring new topics I knew nothing about.
34I use the internet everyday to look up valuable information and to learn things I wouldn't learn anywhere else. I especially enjoy reading other countries news just to get a broader perspective of different point of views.
35No way !!
36I feel that the internet is the best thing for education. I have used it in so many projects for school. I feel that it all depends on how you use the internet.
37It depends on how people use the Internet. People use the Internet as a means of communication and connection between people (social networks, e-mail, etc). Others may use it for research about various topics from academic to house-cleaning. The Internet is also just a way to have fun during spare time. It is up to the individual on how to use the internet. Sure there are some people who just want things fast and quick and don't want to work hard. But there are others who genuinely use the Internet for their benefit.
38I think the internet allows you to find out more information, so if anything, you can know more. I thought this might be more about spelling, punctuation, grammar etc instead of a lack of knowledge.
39In my opinion, absolutely not. The steady decline of intelligence in America has to do with a failing education system, a raised standard of how "smart" we should be, and a lack of parental involvement.
The internet opens up a whole new world of information and culture to those who want to seek it. Unfortunately, children are being taught that learning and wanting to find more information about the world are lame, geeky, and completely un-entertaining.
Society's overall feelings and atmosphere towards learning are to blame, not the internet. Before my generation had access to the internet on a regular basis, they hated going to school, hated watching the news, etc.
40To be honest it might make ppl dumb in ways and in others it doesn't!. everything thing go its bad and good sides!!!
41No way, I can't say how much Internet helped me in learning new things. It's a really powerful tool, most of the things that I know about cooking, fitness, programming and other stuff come from the internet. I don't agree and I always use the internet when I need something ^_^
42The article on antibiotics are very good.
43Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting. I’ll definitely be coming back
44Hello! Thanks for the post. It is really amazing! I will definitely share it with my friends.
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