Does Technology Make Us Smarter or Dumber?

It is simple to think of humans as historical beings with a permanent character, independent of technology in terms of our intellect, human nature, feelings, and emotions. (Shirky, 2010). The idea that technology either makes us smarter or dumber has, in my opinion, been regarded as an unremarkable truth and conventional wisdom, which is why I chose this subject. The way that people describe how technology affects us can be used to summarize this assertion. This is clear from numerous pieces we've read about the impacts and applications of the internet. Ideally, unless we are very passive about it, technology shouldn't alter who we are. The second reason is that people mistake on human feelings, emotions, and intellect to be independent of technologies (Bartlett & Miller, 2011). I think this perception is wrong and it should be avoided at all cost. Technology does not make us smarter or dumber, but we can decide to be smarter by utilizing the best of what technology has offered.

If technology can go to an extent of changing the way we think, can it not work for the bad similarly? According to Nicholas Carr (2010), the internet is a technology that may appear to assist us to find the important information we need and connects us with others but, it can serve as an engine of distraction to frustrate, dissipate, and distract us. Furthermore, promoting distraction, technology hinders our abilities to engage with knowledge deeply and makes us be shallower human beings. For instance, research shows that when one chooses to read using hypertext, they will appear more forgetfully and slower than when reading from a book and also one is unlikely to finish reading. I disagree with Carr’s claims because hypertext is a brilliant way of connecting articles and it is a job for most designers to work and stop this without distracting the reader (Carr, 2010).

Is there anything essential about the mobile internet, or browser technology that undermines how we are, our sense of self, or the way we think? Technology may be embedded currently in a certain commercial culture of knowledge that is detrimental to our thinking capacity, but even if this is true, a lot of trends exist in our society which accounts for the way we think and process knowledge that we hardly knew they exist until we developed the technology (Wellmon, 2012). All these things should be addressed by philosophers, programmers, designers and even individuals (Pariser, 2011). Therefore, we should argue on the current shape of technology and decide how to make it better.

The purpose of this research is to determine if technology makes us dumber or smarter. This research will begin with collecting the necessary data for the already identified research problem. Both secondary and primary data will be gathered and analyzed before drawing conclusions. The area of study will be selected, and the required tools of research assembled before the day of the actual research. Key areas of research include, how technology affects our thinking and feelings, how technology affects our actions, and the way technology has changed our lifestyle (Prensky, 2011). Direct interviews will be conducted by students and staff in the school, and other information on technology will be obtained from books, journals, and articles in the library. This research might take a period of three weeks to be completed.

References

Bartlett, J., & Miller, C. (2011). Truth, Lies and the Internet. A Report into Young People’s Digital Fluency. Published by Demos.

Carr, N. (2010). The Shallows: How the Internet is changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember. A Book Review. London: Atlantic Books.

Pariser, E. (2011). The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You. Article on internet Development. Published by Penguin UK.

Prensky, M. (2011). Digital wisdom and Homo sapiens digital. Deconstructing digital natives: Young people, technology and the new literacies. A Book on Young People and Technology. Digital Natives Publication.

Shirky, C. (2010). Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. Article of Cognitive Surplus. London Allen Lane, Penguin.

Wellmon, C. (2012). Why Google isn’t making us stupid or smart. The Hedgehog Review. Published by Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture.