Is Google making us stupid?
Let’s get on the same page. What is Google?
Google is a child company of Alphabet Inc. which offers search engine google.com to the world. We can search for words, phrases and even sentences in google.com and it will give us the most relevant links available on the web so that we can click and go these web addresses to take or give information.
Why the above question (prompt) makes sense?
People who support the argument that google is making us stupid claim that google is changing the way we interact with information, and in result destroying our cognitive skills. A simple example of this might be “remembering contact numbers/email addresses and remembering directions” which used to important skills but now with Google Contacts and Google Maps we store or access the information when we want. These particular skills seem redundant now because (a) We have the access to information all the times with the help of Google. (b) We can either memorize the information or use the Google search, contact, maps — it doesn’t effect the result.
Why redundancy of some cognitive skills doesn’t relate to stupidity?
Over the time with a decrease in some cognitive skills we have developed some new skills to complement. For example, when there were no languages there was no issue of storing and accessing information because everything used to happen in our mind. Now when we developed ways to store and access the information, we developed smart ways and skills around it. For example, we created books and now reading is a skill. Later, we created video documentaries and now recording and watching are skills.
In this particular case, while skill of memorizing became redundant we discovered new skill Google: the verb (ability to search using search engine Google).
Evolution of cognitive skills
Long ago when languages were not in practice, humans used to transfer their learning by actions and signs. Later we developed oral communication, and ability to communicate by action or signs became redundant. After oral we discovered written ways to communicate and our oral communication skills are never the same again. With written communication we found ways to store information so now ability to remember was also affected. Following the trend, a few centuries ago we found ways to print one piece of information again and again on many papers which lead to further ease in storing and sharing the information, decrease in oral communication and ability to remember. In the modern era, a few decades back we discovered ways to video record. The ability to store voice as well as visuals, and the world is what it is today. One person can talk (communicate) something for once and world can watch it for centuries again and again. The ideas of storing, sharing, accessing the information have changed completely and so did our cognitive skills.
Let’s ask the question one more time, Is Google making us stupid?
It depends on how one defines the “stupid”. If one thinks that reduction in memory capacity, reading power, writing power etc is becoming stupid than yes google is making us stupid. But I don’t think any kind of evolutionary change in cognitive skills should be looked as progression towards stupidity. If that were to be true, we have been on that trend ever since humanity existed.
Conclusion:
Effects of the google or overall internet are same on humans. Because of the Google we all are connected with other people and all kinds of information in the world. Although Google has made a lot of things easier for us and there is less use of cognitive skills but it has created some new skills which are and will be relevant in the present and future — ultimately making us more efficient and capable. It’s just evolution and not progression towards stupidity.