The World of Freebies

Let's face it, everyone loves freebies. The Internet offers many of them, from free movie passes, to free meals, to free music, etc, at a single click.

Is the Internet Making Us Dumber? The answer to this question can be a "yes"or "no" depending how you look at it.

There are certainly many benefits associated with Internet usage. It enables people to:

• pool in their resources and share their knowledge with others,
• develop creative ideas from the suggestions of others,
• find information quickly so that tasks are accomplished more efficiently and effectively,
• expand knowledge base (sometimes out of curiosity) through search engine like Google,
• get connected to one another globally. When people update their statuses on Facebook or Twitter, all of their friends know what they are up to.

However, there are some drawbacks involved if people do not use the Internet properly.

• Lifestyle change may cause loss of culture or tradition. Back in the day when computers were not available, people would spend more time reading newspaper or magazine, allowing them to gain knowledge about the world. Nowadays, many people depend on the Internet for their information needs, and they read only those issues that are eye-catching and quickly get distracted by other information.

• People spend too much time on social networking sites. They are too busy in catching up with everyone's excitement and drama.

• People may not be able to distinguish reliable information from the unreliable ones on the Internet. Many people fall for unknown schemes or scams, and end up giving out personal identification information to strangers or marketing firms.

My view of the Internet includes the following:

• People need to know how credible a source is - whether it is a "user-generated" opinion or a proven or well-supported fact. Thus, they should verify their sources carefully before using them. Even familiar websites like ratemyprofessors.com or fandango.com may offer limited and biased information on students' opinion about a professor (or a class), or viewers' feedback about a movie.

• There is a bright and dark side to the Internet. The bright side is that "anyone can publish, collaborate, and edit others' work" with little restrictions. The dark side is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to control what people publish and edit, which may be offensive or inappropriate at times.

• Technology is constantly evolving. Undoubtedly, people need to embrace this intellectual change so that they do not fall behind. It is important that people be educated on the power and danger of the Internet. This enables them to optimize social media usage while protecting themselves from unwarranted web intruders and identify theft.

• As consumer culture (e.g. ad campaigns) is built in as part of the Internet, it further encourages the additive behavior in people. Thus self-discipline in terms of time and resource management is extremely important to avoid lollygagging (being lazy and avoid work), just like what TV turns people into couch potatoes.
  

Sources:

Keen, Andrew. "The Digital Emperor Has No Clothes - Associations Now Magazine - Publications and Resources -." ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership. Web. 30 Jan. 2010.

Riley, Duncan. "Nobel Laureate Says The Internet Makes Us Dumb, We Say: Meh." TechCrunch. Web. 30 Jan. 2010.

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