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Has instant Internet access made us lazier, and more dumbed down, or wiser and better off?

whispering handswhispering hands Under your skin Posts: 13,527
in All Encompassing Trip
Just saw a post script news clip on how much the internet access we have available to us, has changed how we do EVERYTHING. So I thought I'd ask what you all think.

So to start it off; I think it makes us a little lazier. Actually.. MUCH lazier. No one "studies" anymore, we Google now. You don't even have to shop in store anymore, just hit up the net.. etc.
Your thoughts?
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Comments

  • Wma31394Wma31394 Posts: 3,045
    I think Facebook and other social media sites are putting a hole in everyone's brain. Too much information..
    "Going where the water tastes like wine!"
  • Wma31394Wma31394 Posts: 3,045
    Wma31394 said:

    I think Facebook and other social media sites are putting a hole in everyone's brain. Too much information..

    And yes it's making people lazy..
    "Going where the water tastes like wine!"
  • dankinddankind Posts: 20,840
    I'll get back to you. Let me just Google the answer. I can't think for myself anymore.
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  • whispering handswhispering hands Under your skin Posts: 13,527
    True. I just deleted my FB for that very reason. I literally felt like I was dumber having posted anything; or reading others' ramblings. I also felt it was too distracting, and too "involved ".
  • pjhawkspjhawks Posts: 12,789
    I think there are many great aspects to the internet and access to the information we now have. The availability of useful information is truly staggering. Answers to questions that would be hard to ascertain without research of having someone with personal knowledge close to you comes in seconds. I can't tell you how many times i've had a problem with something around the house and getting solutions via the internet is fairly simple. that aspect is fantastic. I recently bought a new vehicle and it was 1000x easier and less annoying than every other time i've gone to purchase a vehicle because of all the information available. As a general information source overall it's quite amazing.

    Social Media brings out the worse aspects of human nature. It fuels people's insecurities (how many friends do i have, how many likes did it get, etc.) I am surprised at how many adults i know post even the inane things going on in their life. It shocks and dismays me that even as adults so many people still strive for the approval of others. It's like middle school all over again. It also gives people no buffer when it comes to their opinions and things like Twitter gives fuel to opinions and outrage over said opinions. Where in the past someone might comment in the privacy of their own home on things they are now commenting publicly for so many to see. too many reactions are posted without thought of consequences and who might see it.

    overall I'd say it's mostly positive. yea there are bad things about it but i think most of the bad things about all this access is more based on human nature and how we treat it.
  • dankinddankind Posts: 20,840
    I'm back. Google said that the Internet has vastly improved our lives. Keep Internetting, people!
    I SAW PEARL JAM
  • MayDay10MayDay10 Posts: 11,813
    all of the above?

    On one hand, I havent had to remember a phone number in 15 years. Everything is right there. Things can get lazy. My pocket vibrates if I have an appointment or its time to pay a bill, or anything else. Navigation has taken away the "gameplanning" of travel


    But... you can teach yourself to do many many things at the tip of your finger. Fixing something in a car, to technology, to playing a guitar, to finishing a basement...


    There are a lot of news sources and other things in the dark alleys of the internet that take advantage and misinform too many people. Whether its Right stuff, left stuff, anti police stuff, or even things that create "ISIS sympathizers".
  • Wma31394Wma31394 Posts: 3,045
    dankind said:

    I'm back. Google said that the Internet has vastly improved our lives. Keep Internetting, people!

    Lol
    "Going where the water tastes like wine!"
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    I've seen people become disconnected (ie, in some kind of fucked up bubble of reality) to the point they're oblivious to the fact that there's life around them. Worst is when they're pulling this shit while driving.

    But, the connectivity in other aspects have been invaluable to me. To be in touch with those I love, who give me strength, to whom I can give strength; it's precious. Not talking about Facebook, not into that or Twitter and the like, but just sending or receiving a message, a photo.

    Hell, I was able to virtually attend my cousin's funeral recently.

    I take the internet, as with any people whose paths I cross, with grains of salt, caution, and some openness. Guard up, and guard down based on instinct. Information-wise...doubt I'll ever feel anything is 100% accurate. Too many biases and agendas out there.
  • DegeneratefkDegeneratefk Posts: 3,123
    No, I don't think it's made us lazier. In 25vyears ago, if you didn't know something, you had to go to the library. Who the hell was doing that? The Internet is a brilliant resource to use to gain knowledge. As long as you're using the right sources.

    The textbooks we used as kids growing up are incredibly biased and we're not always accurate. For example, when learning about the white man colonizing America, the only bad thing we did was give small pox infected blankets to the natives. We didn't learn that we stole the land from the people that already lived here.
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  • RogueStonerRogueStoner Sunny AZ Posts: 1,716
    Degeneratefk said:

    No, I don't think it's made us lazier. In 25vyears ago, if you didn't know something, you had to go to the library. Who the hell was doing that? The Internet is a brilliant resource to use to gain knowledge. As long as you're using the right sources.

    The textbooks we used as kids growing up are incredibly biased and we're not always accurate. For example, when learning about the white man colonizing America, the only bad thing we did was give small pox infected blankets to the natives. We didn't learn that we stole the land from the people that already lived here.

    YES!
  • BentleyspopBentleyspop Craft Beer Brewery, Colorado Posts: 11,169
    edited November 2016
    Definitely lazier and definitely dumber.

    Especially when the answer to everything is...

    I don't know....why don't you Google it
    Post edited by Bentleyspop on
  • oftenreadingoftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,855
    The internet can give us information but it doesn't make us wiser. We still need to develop that by learning from life experiences and not everybody will. Hell, not everybody will even take the time to determine if the information they are taking in is accurate or not.
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • whispering handswhispering hands Under your skin Posts: 13,527
    Interesting views. :bee:
  • PJfanwillneverleave1PJfanwillneverleave1 Posts: 12,885
    edited November 2016
    I think it personally has made me smarter OP.
    All my opinions and thoughts have been formed from google and I am thankful for that. Without google I could not compete in todays world.
  • whispering handswhispering hands Under your skin Posts: 13,527
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    I think it personally has made me smarter OP.
    All my opinions and thoughts have been formed from google and I am thankful for that. Without google I could not compete in todays world.

    So much makes sense now! :wink:
  • 23scidoo23scidoo Thessaloniki,Greece Posts: 19,681
    Let me tell you my story..i didn't have a pc or nternet until summer of 2013..until then, i was reading about 2 books in a month..
    after net, i read about 1 every 2 months..now, i wake up and open the net before wash my face..
    i am grateful about the informations, but i think i'm getting lazier..
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  • 2-feign-reluctance2-feign-reluctance TigerTown, USA Posts: 23,389
    whispering hands said:

    Just saw a post script news clip on how much the internet access we have available to us, has changed how we do EVERYTHING. So I thought I'd ask what you all think.

    So to start it off; I think it makes us a little lazier. Actually.. MUCH lazier. No one "studies" anymore, we Google now. You don't even have to shop in store anymore, just hit up the net.. etc.
    Your thoughts?

    It's changed the way people access information for sure. Lazy? Not from my perspective. But I work in higher ed so I see kids studying all the time.
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  • whispering handswhispering hands Under your skin Posts: 13,527
    2-feign-reluctance said:

    whispering hands said:

    Just saw a post script news clip on how much the internet access we have available to us, has changed how we do EVERYTHING. So I thought I'd ask what you all think.

    So to start it off; I think it makes us a little lazier. Actually.. MUCH lazier. No one "studies" anymore, we Google now. You don't even have to shop in store anymore, just hit up the net.. etc.
    Your thoughts?

    It's changed the way people access information for sure. Lazy? Not from my perspective. But I work in higher ed so I see kids studying all the time.
    But is it really the type of studying that sticks with them? Why memorize info that is instantly at your fingertips? That's the part I wonder about.
  • whispering handswhispering hands Under your skin Posts: 13,527
    23scidoo said:

    Let me tell you my story..i didn't have a pc or nternet until summer of 2013..until then, i was reading about 2 books in a month..
    after net, i read about 1 every 2 months..now, i wake up and open the net before wash my face..
    i am grateful about the informations, but i think i'm getting lazier..

    Hahaha!! I do this too! ( such a bad habit! Lol) However, I have been playing on the internet since 1986. Almost 7 years before the common household even knew there was such a thing. And it has only gotten worse on my end. I find it very hard to use the
    internet in moderation.. go figure! Lol
  • BentleyspopBentleyspop Craft Beer Brewery, Colorado Posts: 11,169
    whispering hands said:

    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

    I think it personally has made me smarter OP.
    All my opinions and thoughts have been formed from google and I am thankful for that. Without google I could not compete in todays world.

    So much makes sense now! :wink:
    :lol:
  • RogueStonerRogueStoner Sunny AZ Posts: 1,716
    oftenreading said:

    The internet can give us information but it doesn't make us wiser. We still need to develop that by learning from life experiences and not everybody will. Hell, not everybody will even take the time to determine if the information they are taking in is accurate or not.

    Good point, Often. We didn't have access to the Internet when I went to school but even after I got access to all of that information, I didn't learn the critical thinking skills necessary to analyze the information until college. Once I learned those key skills, I think the Internet has made me wiser. On the other hand, my mother, who takes everything she sees online as gospel and calls me like the world is ending, is proof that it doesn't make everyone wiser.
  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 43,208
    Wma31394 said:

    Wma31394 said:

    I think Facebook and other social media sites are putting a hole in everyone's brain. Too much information..

    And yes it's making people lazy..
    and in far too many cases less civil with each other.
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  • chadwickchadwick up my ass Posts: 21,157
    if a person goes out of their way to use a dictionary & pay little to no attention to spell check, things wake up out of their slumber & a warm sunbeam starts to caress one's shoulders & face. just my $0.13 worth
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  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 43,208
    chadwick said:

    if a person goes out of their way to use a dictionary & pay little to no attention to spell check, things wake up out of their slumber & a warm sunbeam starts to caress one's shoulders & face. just my $0.13 worth

    Wut?
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  • RogueStonerRogueStoner Sunny AZ Posts: 1,716
    chadwick said:

    if a person goes out of their way to use a dictionary & pay little to no attention to spell check, things wake up out of their slumber & a warm sunbeam starts to caress one's shoulders & face. just my $0.13 worth

    I thought it was 2 cents worth. What happened? Inflation?
  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    RogueStoner said:

    chadwick said:

    if a person goes out of their way to use a dictionary & pay little to no attention to spell check, things wake up out of their slumber & a warm sunbeam starts to caress one's shoulders & face. just my $0.13 worth

    I thought it was 2 cents worth. What happened? Inflation?
    Because it's worth more than two cents! Maybe even more than thirteen.

    I may be wrong, but I think sir wick was talking about not relying on spellcheck or auto-corrects, and to remember how words are supposed to be spelled before the butchering of our language.

    Just a shot in the dark :i_dunno:
  • eeriepadaveeeriepadave West Chester, PA Posts: 42,726
    for most people lazy/dumb

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  • RogueStonerRogueStoner Sunny AZ Posts: 1,716
    hedonist said:

    RogueStoner said:

    chadwick said:

    if a person goes out of their way to use a dictionary & pay little to no attention to spell check, things wake up out of their slumber & a warm sunbeam starts to caress one's shoulders & face. just my $0.13 worth

    I thought it was 2 cents worth. What happened? Inflation?
    Because it's worth more than two cents! Maybe even more than thirteen.

    I may be wrong, but I think sir wick was talking about not relying on spellcheck or auto-corrects, and to remember how words are supposed to be spelled before the butchering of our language.

    Just a shot in the dark :i_dunno:
    I agree. Although, without it, we wouldn't have Tree's priceless posts and texts. :smiley:
  • vogonpoetbythelakevogonpoetbythelake Posts: 2,146
    had me boohooing...not for lack of up close and personal..just the same wears one down..wish i had a way bigger range..we would all be out to pasture..hence the rapture and our own private €idahos..lands cheap..community not so much...
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