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Does the internet make you smarter?

What is the effect of the internet?

  • The vast resources of the internet can only serve to improve the collective intelligence of society.

    Votes: 10 28.6%
  • internet make dummer!

    Votes: 4 11.4%
  • The internet is responsive; you get what you give.

    Votes: 21 60.0%

  • Total voters
    35

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Three out of four people surveyed said they think using the Internet is making us smarter, not more stupid, according to a study jointly done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and Elon University's Imagining the Internet Center.

...

The study polled 895 technologists, business executives, scientists and analysts as part of Pew's fourth annual Future of the Internet study.

If you're stupid, it's not Google's fault

I believe that, since the internet is more 'responsive' (that is, a user is primarily exposed to his/her own personal inquiries), it perpetuates both stupidity and intelligence. But I haven't spent much time on this subject- I'm interested to see what you guys think.
 
If you're stupid, it's not Google's fault

I believe that, since the internet is more 'responsive' (that is, a user is primarily exposed to his/her own personal inquiries), it perpetuates both stupidity and intelligence. But I haven't spent much time on this subject- I'm interested to see what you guys think.

I don't think the internet necessarily makes a person more or less smarter, or even more or less stupid. However, I do think that it can make a person more educated and allows a person to learn subjects in a fashion that is better suited to his learning style.
 
I don't think the internet necessarily makes a person more or less smarter, or even more or less stupid. However, I do think that it can make a person more educated and allows a person to learn subjects in a fashion that is better suited to his learning style.
Ok, maybe I should have said educated. Replace "smarter" with "more educated" as you please, and vote accordingly.

I have spoken.
 
I definetly know more than i would if the internet didnt exist.Although maybe i would have a deeper knowledge of specific subjects.
 
No.

The internet is a tool. It does not make somebody smarter or dumber.

All that it can do is provide information, good and bad.
 
It just provides info. How people apply it and how they use their human imagination to extrapolate upon it is up to them. I think in some ways the internet has dumbed people down. Now people can pretend to actually know something when they don't. Take DP for example. There are numerous instances where people obviously don't know anything about a topic, but they start posting links for hits they got in google as part of their counter-arguments.

The internet supports pseudo-intellect just as much as genuine intellect.
 
Man, this site is loading so slow, I forget what I was going to say:shock:
 
I like how a friend of mine puts it:

"The internet. All of the information and all of the bull**** in the world at your fingertips...its just up to you to determine which is which."
- Vandeervecken
 
I don't think the internet necessarily makes a person more or less smarter, or even more or less stupid. However, I do think that it can make a person more educated and allows a person to learn subjects in a fashion that is better suited to his learning style.

The reality of the matter is not as simple as smarter or dumber... the internet is simply a tool.

It might be interesting to note that your brain activity surfing the web is 'altering the functions of the brain'... previously, I had seen studies that internet lowered brain activity even lower then while wathing tv. More recent studies seem to call it an improvement.
 
I like how a friend of mine puts it:

"The internet. All of the information and all of the bull**** in the world at your fingertips...its just up to you to determine which is which."
- Vandeervecken

Just as it is in real life. As George Carlin described it, "Bull**** is the glue that holds the world together!"
 
If you read the post of some on this site it will tell you that the answer is without any doubt no is does not make you smart.

The web is a great source of information but like education it does not equate to intelligence if you come without the ability to read and comprehend what you read and apply critical thinking you get nothing from it.
 
I don't necessarily think it makes you smarter. But there's a wealth of information on the internet. Most don't take advantage.
 
It's sort of two sided, for many people who take advantage of the capabilities of products such as wikipedia, informal videos, forums, etcetera-- The internet is a light-speed source to the library.

However, if anyone is aware of analytics;
Facebook shares 31% of the whole inter-webs in terms of popularity. (assuming that's what the percentage refers to)

After this, it's as follows; 12% email, 8% Twitter, 5% Google, 5% Myspace and (FINALLY) 3% Digg

Do you see where this is going, or how far down the latter a NEWs site is among the top ranking social networking pages?

So I'll go with no, the internet doesn't make you smarter.
 
Oh crap, double post, nevermind about my choice, the Internet IS responsive; you get what you give.
 
A statement from me about the internet...
"If you can be sucked into the internet and find that you rely on it for everything and you never do anything else...you are not using it correctly...If you are able to get wht you need and do what you want to do...WITHOUT being totally absorbed by it..you are doing just fine" a friend of mine was absorbed by World of Warcraft. He was my best friend, now he and i dont even speak because he has wasted 4 years of his life inside playing WoW. That is the type of person who is absorbed. If you donot turn out like my friend, you'll be fine. Point stated.
 
You can definetly fill your head with complete bull **** from the internet.For example some 9/11 troofers have so much infomation on the subject but its mostly when big ball of pseudoscience,logical fallacies and just plain made up facts.

Also even websites like the huffington post.Which has a pretty good reputation with some people is sometimes pretty loose with the facts and some of its science reporting is just awful.
 
Smart people can use the internet to get smarter, and dumb people will use the internet to get dumber.

The average person just looks at porn.
 
Just as it is in real life. As George Carlin described it, "Bull**** is the glue that holds the world together!"
George Carlin has a few funny jokes, but he really was a cynical asshole.
 
Honestly, I think the internet makes us slightly more intelligent. I mean this board may have plenty of folks of questionable intelligence, but simply being aware of political issues and candidates puts us ahead of the the populace at large. Even a moron has to know something about an issue in order to be totally wrong about it. :2razz:
 
3/4 of the content on the internet is just plain wrong. The more you read, the more misinformation you spout to your friends and acquaintances. It's a rumor mill gone bad.

Sooo... No.
 
If you're stupid, it's not Google's fault

I believe that, since the internet is more 'responsive' (that is, a user is primarily exposed to his/her own personal inquiries), it perpetuates both stupidity and intelligence. But I haven't spent much time on this subject- I'm interested to see what you guys think.

It all depends on what you use it for.
Watching porn probably won't make you smarter and surfing 4chan won't either but it will sure as hell give you some lols.

I read manically using solely the internet most days.
 
It all depends on what you use it for.
Watching porn probably won't make you smarter and surfing 4chan won't either but it will sure as hell give you some lols.

I read manically using solely the internet most days.

I use the internet for gaming, posting, blogging, and when i am aroused and my girlfriend isnt home to help.
 
I use the internet for gaming, posting, blogging, and when i am aroused and my girlfriend isnt home to help.

This touches on the poll's latter, I assume that's what you voted for?
 
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