English Essay

Is Internet Making People Smarter?

Umer Hussain
Ms.Jeon
ENG3U1
Tuesday April 22, 2014
The internet is a worldwide network that is used for spreading information. Its a
relatively new medium which allows people to communicate instantly all over the world
(Michael and Jane Pelusey 5). On the internet you can watch movies, play games, read news, go
shopping send messages etc. Although this technology is fairly new, it is exceeding dramatically
around the world and provides enormous amounts of information for consumers. The internet is
evolving over time and is making people more intelligent day by day.

Others may argue that the internet is making people dumb, fat, lazy and less attentive.
This may be for variety of reasons; one being people can post up anything for anyone in the
world to see and some of that information may be misleading or incorrect( Mathew Ingram).
Other argue people are addicted to the internet and waste a vast majority of time on social media
websites, playing games and browsing useless things that make no sense. Furthermore analysts
say that, people who watch interactive media presentations on the web remember less amounts of
information than those who are more focused. And those who are distracted by messages and
email updates understand less than those who are able to concentrate (Nicholas Carr). Some
experts say that, search engines like Google are causing learners not to understand the basic
concepts required for innovation and instead use short snippets when trying to find information
for a topic (Michal Hall). Even though this is one small spectrum of what the internet is capable
of, there are several reasons why its making us smarter and not stupid.
One reason why the internet is making us smarter is because its a powerful tool to gain
knowledge and information about almost anything. Information gathered from teachers, adults
and textbooks are limited by time, cost and experience whereas the technology of the internet is
unlimited (Julie Ann). You can learn how to cook, draw, sing, dance and etc. for majority of the
time. Websites like YouTube and Google are powerful sources that are useful when searching
for something on the run. Experts found that the internet will make people smarter in the next 10
years and would improve reading and writing skills by 2020(Dan Whitcomb). This is primarily
due to the many news articles, website sites, forums, emails, multimedia presentations, and so on
thats out there for people to explore. Most people now can pull out their smartphone or tablet to
search for something that they are interested in or need information on in matters of seconds.
They use the information from the web and apply it in schools, workplaces, and the community.
Furthermore, schools and universities put their resources up on the internet for free to download
for students who need notes or books to research.
Another reason why internet is making us smarter is because of the way we research. Dr.
Gary Small, found that searching for things on the internet engages a great extent of neural
circuitry inside the brain which helps exercise and improve brains function in complicated
activities. Also neuroscience researchers carried out brain scans of people that used Google to
search. "For those with internet experience, using Google to search actually produced higher
levels of activation in the parts of the brain associated with complex reasoning and decision-
making," reported by Greg Stevens (Joe McKendrick). In essence, the human brain is becoming
more powerful in the areas that control problem solving and decision making. Various eBooks,
journals, books and encyclopedias are available for research on essays, lab experiments,
theorems and etc. for students to use as a learning guide. The internet is available for society to
find out how stuff works around them and the research part is where we find many of the
fundamental facts about the world around us. Michael Moore-Jones puts it like this, From
searching for one thing, youre opened up to an endless stream of relevant and useful
information, all stemming from that original topic, meaning that people can research on and on
and learn a lot from just one link of that website (Michael Moore-Jones). It opens many doors for
learning and develops educational skills for the user.

The internet also improves cognitive abilities in children and carves out new neural
pathways that enhance creativity. It helps in logical problem solving, reading comprehension,
and abstraction. Studies have found that students who use developmental software have
increased their IQ by six points due to the exposure of the web (Nate Hoffelder). They showed
significant gains in structural knowledge, long-term memory and fine motor skills (Nate
Hoffelder). Those students who used the practice-and-drill method of learning suffered fifty
percent losses in creativity. For reading compression skills, study have found that children who
have access to internet got higher scores in standard reading test then who used less internet.
First graders and children who are presented with digital text can improve vocabulary knowledge
and phonological awareness and for older readers fluency, spelling and comprehension (Nate
Hoffelder). For abstraction ability, there are several online games that help children practice and
learn abstract math concepts (Nate Hoffelder).The internet also allows for greater creativity and
wide collaboration as like-minded people are easier to find to exchange ideas with. One example
is Cows to Kilowatts project that uses waste to create energy. This was only possible by the
collaboration between people from Thailand and Nigeria who used the internet to communicate
(Susan Omand). Using instant messaging and email appropriately can help strengthen social
skills as well. Communicating electronically through social media websites help people
exchange logical opinions and ideas for problems, questions, or other topics. For example if
youre not sure about how blood moves through your heart, you can ask teachers online for help
which in return expands your knowledge.
To conclude the internet is an extravagant tool to increase human intelligence. Its a gift
for those who want to explore and seek knowledge about the world around us. It helps people
research about the many possibilities that are out there that they cant truly understand. It helps
build strong cognitive skills and creativity in youth. Its our future and we depend on it every day
for many purposes. Sites like RSA Animate: Hand-Illustrated Presentations, Inc.com,
HowStuffWorks, TED: Inspirational Ideas Worth Spreading and KhanAcademy have been
proven to make you smarter and think differently about the world. So use the internet and use it
properly to gain knowledge.











Work cited
Ann, Julie. How Technology Makes Kids Smarter. N.P. 5 November 2013. Web. 20 April 2014.
Carr, Nicholas. Author of The Shallows. How the Internet is making us stupid. The telegraph.
27 Aug 2010. Web. 20 April 2014.
Hall ,Michael. Is the Internet making us stupid?. The Brunswick News. 26 November 2012.
Web. 20 April 2014.
Ingram, Mathew. Is the Internet Making Us Smarter or Dumber? Yes. N.P. 6 June 2010. Web. 19
April. 2014
McKendrick, Joe.3 reasons the internet may be making us smarter, not dumber. The bulletin. 25
October 2012. Web. 20 April 2014
Michael and Jane Pelusey .The Media-Internet.United States: Chelsec House Publishers,
2006.Print.
Moore-Jones, Michael. Author. Why The Internet Is Leading To Increased General
Knowledge. N.P. 30 May 2011. Web. 20 April 2014.
Omand, Susan. Is The Internet Making Us Smarter?. The Cult Den. 18 August 2013. Web.20
April 2014.
Whitcomb, Dan. The Internet will make you smarter, say experts. Reuters. 19 Feb 2010.eLibrary
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