Warning! Is The Net Making Us Dumber?

I'd say it's making us both smarter and dumber. It gives us instant access to information and can be used as a tool for learning, but information by itself isn't much use unless you know what to do with it. One of the problems with the internet (also 24/7 television and other media) is that there's so MUCH information that tuning out the bad and focusing on the good is a problem. Also, much of what passes for "news" is just noise and ultimately irrelevant. Also, people are lazy and tend to take things at face value without investigating further or fact-checking, and with so much spin and misinformation available, that's another problem. It's good to take time away from the net and do your "deep thinking". But still, as an information and learning tool, the internet is a wonderful resource. It just has both pros and cons.

The Outer Limits : Stream of Consciousness

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The net is the ultimate at-home distraction machine, if you let it be - and it definitely will make you stupid that way, I think...I guess so, at least... - huh?

I think everyone with access to all these technologies is becoming a victim of information overload and less meaningful conversations and interactions with other people. For example, texting? I've had conversations texting for over an hour back and forth that could have taken like, 5 minutes or less if we had just picked up the phone and talked in person and it could have developed into a more meaningful conversation than what is achieved by texts.

With the internet you can click around forever and read a bit here, read a bit there and before you know it an hour or two is gone. Completely useless as do not have time to take it all in and actually think about the information at a meaningful level.

Completely true, to an extent.

I think if we are careful, we can try to change things for the better in our own lives but yeah, technology is getting to be just a distraction and an impediment to true connections between humans, I feel. It's just too much and sensory overload and yes, I think it may well be true that the average person is developing a less focused mindset if they are on the internet and their smartphones too much, etc.

You always get what you vibrate^^ even in the internet.
You're not accusing the radio in your car for forcing you to listen to a certain frequency - you choose the frequency.
Yes, the internet can make us slaves but we can also be masters of it and get huge benefits out of it....but you must set your tuner or what you observe will set it...it's the ultimate test in self-control in my opinion.

I think technology is making people smarter. The internet has provided me with a lot of knowledge that I never would have received anywhere else. Schools can't teach some sorts of information, and it is hard to access a library on a consistent basis. The internet is a great resource for developing intelligence. I do think school is mandatory for writing and math skills, but all of the other information such as science and history can be learned online.

It is a penny for thought.To some extent I agree but if it is making me money at the same time, then it is ok to be "dummer"

Certainly, net marketing impact our usual life but we cannot say it becoming dumb. If the person earning $$$$ is proclaimed dumb, I would love to have this "title"!!!

That solely depends on what the user do!!! Internet is like an ocean, to get pearl, fish or shells depends upon the user. One can even pick some trash from the ocean, is up to the user.

Technology in itself has made us dumber and dumber. But that depends on its usage, some use it for good, some for worse.

I definitely think the internet makes us lazy. It also consumes our time and our attention span is a lot less because people are always trying to multi task instead of finishing certain tasks and doing it to their best ability. I believe it's good to multi task, but in moderation. When you can devote all your attention to one task, you'll be amazed how much faster you can get it done than trying to do that same task with 5 other things on your to do list.

In my opinion, everyone temporarily drops 20 I.Q. points and their attention span shrinks to that of a pre-pubescent tsetse fly every time we get on the internet. It's an environment that encourages or at least enables distraction, lack or prioritization, loss of time, and instant gratification.

I try to be in and out when using it, like a ninja. Do what you need to do and then GET OUT while you still can!

I think it's how it's used.

We, literally, have most of the knowledge of the world at our fingertips. Want to know how to build a shed? There's probably a website for that. Need instructions on how to build a campfire? You'll probably find 3-7 different ways do it online. Classic works from Plato, Shakespeare, and anything in the Public Domain is available for free. The knowledge that we have at our fingertips is staggering.

And what do we do with that knowledge?

Facebook, Twitter, games, chat, all kinds of things that don't actually make us smarter or more educated. All the knowledge of the modern world at our fingertips in this imaginary type space of the internet.

It's not for lack of education, but use for what we have available to us.