Is The internets Makin’ Yins Stupiter?
Well, that is, it was lower than I would have liked until today.
There is a white board on the wall right next to my monitor (BTW, whiteboards kind of rule), and while I was erasing something, I lost my balance a bit and touched the top of my monitor.
It moved. Down, actually. It moved down. Amazing, I thought.
And it is funny – when I moved it back up, it went further than it had been. The neck pain, constant adjusting of my chair, and endless complaining were all unwarranted and really kind of silly after all. Well, maybe not the complaining – I had been wrong before.
Are you wondering how someone could make a mistake that is so mind-blowingly stupid?
I blame it on the Internet.
The Curse of Connectivity
In the comments of that post Jean Sarauer (see – I spelled it correctly!) made a rather timely and poignant observation about the habits of people in on-line communities. She said that there is “a lot of follow-the-leader, in-the-box type behavior, probably because we’re all so connected.”
Amazing, and seemingly right. Jean said in an offhand comment something that many people may not even recognize as a possibility.
When I have a problem to solve, the first thing that I do is to hop on the Internet and search (Google, Bing, whatever) to see if someone else has already solved that problem. Now, don’t get me wrong; I have benefited greatly from this and I could no longer live without the Internet now than I could without my collection of 70s prog rock cds (yeah, I am not really all that proud of that either).
As I tend to choose to search for answers instead of create them, does that mean that I am getting less able, less creative, less human?
The Collapse of Common Sense
The point of all of this is that I see people doing more research than thinking. I have no idea if that is a bad thing for human kind, but I do know that sometimes I find myself desperate to find something on the Internet to make myself feel better, or at least not so bored.
Addicted? Yup. Creative? Nope.
Cognition and Conformity
I tend to read quicker, skimming sometimes (which I am really against), and then don’t always understand what I just read. In an effort to be quicker, I end up being slower because I have to reread everything.
It is true, however, that in cases where I need to understand something that is fairly complex, I will not try to skim it. I have learned that skimming NEVER works for complex material.
Conclusion
I know I like easy access to information, and I LOVE not having to remember everything (thanks Wikipedia). But, I sometimes feel like I have less of an understanding of things than I would have if I still needed to work harder to get it.
Your Turn
Lazier? More productive? Less thoughtful? Happier? Less creative? Bored?
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Twitter: jeansarauer
said:
Holy cow, Mark, this is great stuff! And I’m not just saying that because you spelled my name right, either. That was pretty impressive though
Seriously, this sort of conversation is right up my alley (you know – the alley that connects Clueless Boulevard with Procrastination Lane?).
Googling a quick fix makes me more productive in the short-term, but it’s when I’m wandering around, far away from the internet, that I get ideas that truly streamline my life. I’d share some of those ideas now, but that might keep you from coming up with your own
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..Exclusive Blog Content: Spark of Genius or Flash of Insanity? =-.
Ha! Hey Jean. You are too funny. I actually just copy/pasted your named from somewhere. I probably can’t spell it yet, though I have been practicing.
Yeah, I find it interesting that the human mind could at some point create its own replacement. Not saying it would be the Internet – that model could make us into the Borg.
Oops. Must get off the train now (going to work). Have a great day!
Twitter: rick_byrd
said:
I’m sorry but I had to laugh about your issue with the monitor because I did not know they moved up and down and even tilt until just a few months ago when I accidently hit my monitor and it tilted back.
This is a great post!
I don’t think Googling for answers makes you less creative or less able. For me I Google to resolve problems, typically computer related or health related.
As for most people in elected office, there seems to be a lack of common sense but that is a subject for another time.
I think in some ways the Internet hurts and helps us all. To me the way the Internet hurts me is the lack of verbal communication and the wasted time I can spend online just cruising around and not really accomplishing anything. This takes away from good family time. Plus there is just as much bad information as there is good and there is no way to filter it.
At the same time the Internet is helpful for me as I have been able to show my son videos of the mechanics of pitching a baseball without knowing how to do so myself. I am able to print out coloring pages for my daughter to color. I am also able to quickly look up bible verses on a topic, especially since I do not know the bible that well.
Very good post and it really made me think of how I want me and my family to use the Internet, outside of how I use it for my business.
- Rick
.-= Rick Byrd´s last blog ..How To Build Your Online Business =-.
Hi Rick,
Thanks for your comments!
In practice, I try to us the net to enhance my abilities. The negative part is that it sometimes becomes too easy, or the information I use to make decisions could be faulty.
Of course, I think it is more of benefit than it is a negative, and the availability of free information is something that is hard to NOT want.
Have a great day!
Twitter: Brandon_Connell
said:
If the internet makes you stupider then George Bush must have had a DSL IV line in his veins.
.-= Brandon Connell´s last blog ..“Dropped by to say hi” marketing and other cool tricks =-.
Haha. Well, there is no evidence that he did not.
Twitter: bigredtomato
said:
Hey Mark, I share your sentiments. I too read less but more. That is read less printed but a lot more digital.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
Hi Matthew,
One great thing about the Internet is that its existence and makeup provides an easy way for many people to voice personal opinions.
Most of those people would not have access to a public platform otherwise.
There are drawbacks, I suppose, but it seems to me that the true power and value of this network is that it gives us the ability to connect with people who live far away. More on that on Friday.
Thanks for stopping by!
Twitter: buildrankprofit
said:
Wow Mark! What an insightful article, but then I have come to expect nothing less from the frozen potassium filled curvy blue fruit. (can I call you that? LOL)
I have to agree that finding the balance between creating and learning is a tough one.
the story I thought of when I read this is my first experience rewriting an article. I spent so long changing it to fit in with the duplicate content issue (this was not for my blog and wass backlink only so I was not concerned with value) Took me 30 minutes to rewrite it, didn’t like it so just ‘wrote my own’ in ten minutes. was much better and I thought ‘now why didn’t I just do that in the first place’ Kind of relates as sometimes we should just stop looking and start creating ourselves.
Great post again Mark
.-= alex´s last blog ..Administration does not drive traffic! (I need your help) =-.
Ha – Hey Alex.
I prefer to look at my writings more like the ramblings of a madman who works too much. You can call me what you like, though what you said may be a little too long to be practical.
Brilliant – “…sometimes we should just stop looking and start creating ourselves.” That is very much what I was trying to say.
Thanks Alex.
Well there’s more time out of your day. A new toy to play with! I could spend a whole day adjusting my chair and never seem to find that perfect comfortable position.
I have a 10 way power driver seat. It took a couple weeks to find the nice and cozy adjustment. But it only took the service technician 10 seconds to mess it all up when I had my car serviced. (memory seats would be nice).
Ever notice the first thing someone does when sitting in a chair or seat, they look for the adjustment levers.
Also, I have stopped reading books. I’m still an avid reader, but now it’s all online. There is more information on the web that any one person could read in a lifetime.
Hey Scott,
I am with you – most of my reading aside from that for my job, probably 85% of it is on-line. No question about the amount of information. Of course, with you commenting all over the place, it is getting much larger everyday!
You are right about people trying to adjust the seat. When I was growing up I would just drive with the seat wherever one of my family members would leave it. Of course, now my wife is about 7 inches shorter than I am so I can’t really do that anymore.
Have a good day!
Oh please, you have me beat on commenting everywhere.
I did get spoiled with books on tape/CD. I love being read to. (How lazy is that?) It worked out really well until my driving time decreased. There is no point trying to listen to a book on CD in a 5 minute car trip. I forget who’s doing what to who!
One of the best comments I remember from the Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles was discussing the problem with the human brain. There’s no where to download it when we die, or upload while we’re alive.
Remember the Matrix when Trinity learned how to operate a motorcycle in 5 seconds? That’s the kind of uploads I want! What a time saver.
Ha. I used to listen to books on tape when I drove 4 hours each way to work. That drive was actually really nice, but got old on the way home the first time.
I remember a few years back people were talking about the concept of downloading the contents of their brain. I forget who it was – some college professor I think. Anyway, I believe this person asserted that we would be able to do that by 2050. I can’t even begin to imagine how complex it would be to do that mapping!
Have a great day Scott.
Twitter: darrenlcarter
said:
Hey Mark,
Really good post. I agree. The internet is causing the world to end =)
Although I do tend to agree that the internet has changed the way we interact with knowledge and information. Good in some ways but different (worse?) in others. Thanks for posting this!
Peace,
Darren L Carter
.-= Darren L Carter´s last blog ..Why You Should Jump Off A Cliff… =-.
HAHA. Right. We are done. It’s over and it is because of information traveling faster and cheaper than ever before.
I think you are right – the difference between worse and different is really something that is in the eye of the beholder.
I will be writing about this in the future, but I think that this is just another example of changes in ourselves caused by…well, us making something outside of ourselves.
Apparently I need sleep. Have a happy day!
Twitter: TheJohnSoares
said:
Knowing how to use the Internet effectively is very important, and it’s something I’m still perfecting.
I taught myself speed reading techniques a couple of years ago and they have been very effective. It only takes a few hours of practice to double or triple your reading speed. It’s good for regular print and reading in the web.
.-= John Soares´s last blog ..Why I Left Godaddy Hosting =-.
Welcome back to work John! I hope your time away was relaxing! I have thought about learning to speed read. Oddly, I always think that I don’t have enough time. Go figure. Something to look into over the weekend.
Have a great day!
Vital Post,
Mark, we have never experienced so much information.
To me, it’s even overwhelming – sometimes there are too many possibilities that I don’t know where to start.
It takes deliberate focus to really train your digital behavior
I’m practicing that right now, I tell if you I succeed.
.-= Mars Dorian´s last blog ..The 4 Magic Traits that Summon your Online Influence =-.
Hey Mars,
You are so right – there is so much information out there that it makes me crazy. Luckily, so of it is useful
Thanks for reading & have a great day!
Twitter: Jasmino924
said:
I keep seeing Jean’s name everywhere so I’m convinced that one day I’ll know how to spell it!
In some respects, I do think that the Internet is making us all slightly more stupid than we were before as it’s easy to say ‘I’ll just [insert favourite search engine] it and then we’ll get the answer instead of reading a book, using actual brain cells to find the knowledge. Plus, the Internet makes everything simpler. Twitter apparently makes you stupid in comparison to Facebook and ironically one reason I stopped using Facebook so much was because I found Twitter less complex and easier to use.
Everything is being constantly dumbed down to suit everyone, everywhere so I don’t think we can necessarily help it.
Jasmine Henry from J Station X´s last [type] ..Is EA’s Sequel Cycle Running out of Steam?
Hi Jasmine,
You make a good point – we may not be able to stop whatever negative effects happen to be caused by new technologies. The Internet does make our lives easier, though. BTW – I just read a few articles on your site – very nice job Jasmine!
Have a great day!