Does the Internet Make People Wiser or Not? The Internet has increased people intelligence

We spend so much time on our gadgets that some may argue that it decreases our productivity. We forget to do basic things like multiply or become too lazy to pick up a book and read. We would rather download a pdf and scroll to the interesting parts of a novel or google the information instead of reading a newspaper or talk to an informed colleague. However, we are in the digital age and while some may argue being connected online has reduced our soft skills and ability to connect with others in real life, the internet has also offered us connections beyond our wildest dreams and a plethora of information. We are actually spoiled for choice.

The question remains. does the internet make us smarter? I think this solely depends on the individual, but first, let us begin with how smart devices work. From a young age, as early as 3 nowadays, children are able to use gadgets by putting them on and flicking screens or scrolling through tablets and smartphones to select their favorite apps such as YouTube or open games all without the help of an adult. They learn from observation. By the age of five, they can read and write and can now easily search for the games and cartoons they like from the Google search tab.

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In schools’ computer classes are mandatory from the elementary level, and many toys at the kindergarten level encourage computer skills with toy laptops available. For adults, we browse the web to gather information on what interests us. You may look up information related to a term paper, study online for an MBA or even google the news on the Syrian civil war. You literally have all the information in the world at your fingertips. But; there are two sides to everything. The internet is also filled with fake news, pornographic sites, mindless videos from cults and endless audio and video that are not beneficial to internet users. Entertainment is good but everything has its limit. Watching music videos all day is detrimental to productivity and gaining useful skills.

However, you may find students reading on their topics of interest, mothers supporting each other online through Facebook groups and businesses thriving through YouTube channels and people working remotely communicating via Skype. It is all part of the benefits of the world wide web. Having information is a clear advantage as opposed to before when we were limited by the books stocked in the library and biased newspaper articles. Now we can buy the books we want via Amazon and order products online if they are not available in the local store.

The internet is a facilitator. It makes life easier by consuming knowledge and trading online among several other things. The internet is also a privilege because it offers education virtually anywhere to a willing student and it can change their lives for the good. Depending on how one chooses to use the internet, you could increase intelligence through awareness or dumb down by becoming a couch potato.