Is internet making teenagers smarter or dumber?

A controversial question has been asked for the past twenty years over the development of technology; primarily the internet. This is whether the internet has been making us smarter or dumber? An abundant amount of people hold the belief that the internet, indeed, makes us dumber. There has been a research on this topic for years. Psychologists and scientists have been trying to get an answer to this provocative question. The results obtained by them were that the internet shortens our attention span and dulls our memory. Although other tests were taken and have proved that this is wrong. The results to these tests were that frequently internet using people had better concentration than infrequent users of internet.

 I strongly believe that the internet makes us smarter. I believe this because the development of technology doesn’t imply that the internet is  making us dumber. Advancements of the internet are more beneficial than harmful. Just like when books were invented, it was for the society’s benefit. And so is the Internet, for the modern society. Some of the reasons of how the internet makes us smarter are:

The internet is a vast and resourceful information centre that makes people want to learn more. On the internet, the engaging and alluring sites makes you want to learn more, compared to books that may not appeal to some of the young generation now a days. With books, it’s mundane reading with just words and pages. Internet makes you more knowledgeable and the willingness to learn strikes you.

The Internet is a vital source of communication in our society. This aids you to build your communication skills and makes you a social person. The internet delivers many different points of views and teaches you how to respect other people’s opinions and accept their personal insight.

The Internet is easily accessible and most of the information is obtainable and acquirable. For example, books, magazines, audios might not be available, whereas there is all the information in one spot; the internet. It is always within reach, and the answer to your question is just a few keys away. It is simple and therefore, there is no need to look for the particular information desired. Just the need to type a few keywords and voila! You have the information you sought.

Janna Anderson is the study co-author and the director of the Imagine the Internet Centre. Janna Anderson specified that “Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and improves our intelligence and two thirds said that the use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and rendering of knowledge.”

Some disagree with this knowledge and say that sites like Google are making us lazy but on the contrary they are not. It is said that Google actually makes us more educated and creative. And as the technology develops, so will our skills. It is safe to say that internet does make us smarter as in the future, where the technology would be very high tech, we would need skills. Skills for performing even simple tasks or complex tasks. Yes, we would lose some skills but would be gaining better skills and a better future.      

There is no future without the internet. There is no present without the internet. Almost everything we do is with the aid of the internet. For instance, if there was no internet today, then we wouldn’t be able to do anything properly. Finding out last minute whether to take the umbrella today or if it’s going to rain. There is no guarantee whether the news is showing the weather. But the internet is always there. Ordering take out? Have to transfer the money immediately? There is no doing that without internet. Keeping contact with friends or family overseas because calling or texting is expensive? The internet is necessary for emails as well. The internet is a crucial aspect of our lives knowingly or unknowingly.   

Conclusively, the internet doesn’t make you dumber, rather smarter. There are many people who would believe not. But this is true in my opinion. Over the time, internet’s increasing development is intimidating to the older generation because all of the things that are plausible to do on internet which was unimaginable during their time. The internet not only helps us develop skills that would aid us in the future but also gives us the ability to think ‘out of the box’, creatively, and makes us want to learn more.

It makes us more prepared for our future with advanced technologies. It makes us more resourceful and more alluring and makes us willing to learn more, know more hence making us more informed. The internet also provides news from all around the world keeping us updated on what is happening in our world. Some people might disagree but in my opinion, internet makes us smarter for better.     

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A/N:

Hello! This is my assignment! Sorry if you expected something better! But I actually used blog to fulfill my assignment needs. Even though this is nothing serious. It is controversial! So, I want to listen/read what are you thoughts about this. Sorry if I bored you! Enjoy! :D