How the Internet Gave Us a Wealth of Knowledge

And Made Us All Much Dumber

Photo produced by AI

Before the advent of the internet, many of us looked to books, libraries, cheesy documentaries, and even enlightened gurus to guide our paths. We spent hours poring over books and magazines, visited libraries to research topics, watched documentaries that were more entertainment than education, and attended seminars and workshops led by so-called gurus. But since the advent of the internet, aka, the information superhighway, the ease or difficulty of obtaining knowledge has affected humanity’s thirst for it.

Back in the day, how long it took to research a topic depended on how complex it was. Before the Internet, it could take a long time to find information on a complex topic, like how spaceships work. But if you were just looking for tuna casserole recipes, it wouldn’t take long to find what you needed. Today, a simple online search yields tons of information and videos on any topic in mere seconds. This is a far cry from when it took hours or even days to find the information you needed.

The internet is a vast ocean of information, but there is so much of it that the challenge now is finding good information. This has led to a decline in our knowledge and ability to think critically about what we read.

Here are a few ways the internet has negatively impacted us:

• TMI — Too much information: The sheer volume of available information has led to information overload. Simply put, the quantity of information out there has greatly reduced our ability to think critically.
• Trivializing deep knowledge: In today’s society, we are increasingly using buzzwords, catchphrases, and talking points in place of meaningful discussion. This is a concerning trend, because it further suggests that we are losing the ability to think critically and evaluate information. By relying on these superficial tools, we are not just failing to be effective communicators, we also miss out on the opportunity to learn and grow.
• Loss of our “memory muscle”: Our growing reliance on instant information access has weakened our ability to meaningfully retain information. This potentially leads to reduced cognitive skills. The more information we receive, the less time we have to process and internalize it. If we are unable to properly evaluate information, we may make decisions that could have a negative impact on our lives.
• The disinformation/misinformation continuum: The internet enables anyone to publish anything, which has led to a deluge of information, good and bad. This makes it hard to determine what’s true and what’s not.

• The armchair rocket scientist: These days, all it seemingly takes to become an expert on anything is a 15 minute YouTube video — maybe an hour if it happens to be brain surgery or computer science. The internet gives people the ability to appear well-versed on a topic, when they actually have far less understanding of it. This is often related to the trivialization of deep knowledge section above.
• Trust me bro — The social media intellectual: “And on the sixth day, man created social media.” When the internet gave birth to social media, the world got smaller really fast. Social media virtually eliminated the ways we communicated in the past. Pen pals and humongous long distance phone bills have essentially gone the way of dinosaurs. Now we talk to each other over things like X Spaces and Xoom. But along with social media comes another potential stumbling block — the social media influencer. They come in all flavors from jolly jokers to modern-day enlightened gurus. While some are genuinely dedicated to spreading facts and knowledge, others are equally dedicated to spreading lies and deceit, along with a healthy amount of grift.

Each of the ways mentioned here can easily be expanded upon with its own article and there are even more ways to consider such as the Paradox of Connectivity, and the Dumbing-down of Discourse, each with its own explanation of how the Internet Age is affecting us.

Despite the potential pitfalls of an over-informed populace, the internet itself is neither evil nor good. The internet is a tool, and like any tool, it can be employed for beneficial or detrimental purposes. While the internet has the potential to be a source of extensive knowledge, it also has the potential to be a source of extensive misinformation. It is essential to remember that we are the users of the internet, and not the other way around.