Are computers and technology making us stupid? [Technology Round-up]

[CyberInferno]

According to an Australian report, "[e]mails [and] computers [are] making Aussie workers dumb (http://www.news.com.au/technology/emails-computers-making-aussie-workers-dumb/story-e6frfro0-1225867296601)." Is it true?

This poll is in conjunction with this week's Technology Round-up (http://j.mp/APtech052610).

[flks511]

There are lots of things I know today that I wouldn't know if Google/Wikipedia/etc. didn't exist.

[Scrandon]

The only thing I might agree with is the reliance on calculators, the rest sounds like a bunch of bs.

Also, the benefits have surely outweighed whatever those people are whining about.

[cuzimlefthanded]

Australians were already dumb to begin with ;-)

[kbi the crowing]

If utilized properly the internet is a fantastic cache of knowledge, but it can also be detrimental. It's not really a black and white kind of thing.

[HoldThatSound]

^yeah. depends on what you do with it i guess

[simplejack]

If you use a computer as a device of communication and information (warning: used with due care) it will make you smarter but, if you let the compuetr absorb you, well, it make you dumber (in that case propbably you were dumb before)

[Steeeve Perry]

Yes. Computers are not making smarter people too dumber. No siree. Yep.

[zachff]

In this poll intelligence is being confused for laziness. Computers make us much more lazy/less apt to acquire knowledge because it's available at the push of a button. But as a society we are much further ahead than we were in 1960, so...

[SuNDaYSTaR]

In this poll intelligence is being confused for laziness. Computers make us much more lazy/less apt to acquire knowledge because it's available at the push of a button. But as a society we are much further ahead than we were in 1960, so...This.

[jason_t8]

I only use tecnolgy for stalking my god my savior my light in darkness, jason tate, & checking vampirefreaks.com

[sevinw0rds]

The article makes it a point to highlight the problem with communication skills though, and in that facet, yes I think we're getting a bit dumber. Look at text talk and the way that's being used in emails and memos sent around the workplace. The ubiquitous problem with "your vs you're" and "there, their, and they're." It's nothing new that a great deal of people can't spell or ajudicate the proper use of grammar, but computers and cell phones in a sense have made it worse.

That and everyone who reads Wiki sites thinks what they find is irrefutable...

[inthemidst]

I'd like to quote a song for this that sums up my position pretty well:

"Strip away all of the technology, and you'll see, that we are hunters, hunting for something that'll make us okay."

[Cameronisonfire]

I think it makes us more dependent on technology. My friends with a GPS in their car are now directionally retarded for example. Technology (the interwebs mainly) give us the option to gain vast amounts of knowledge, however most people prefer videos of people getting hit in the balls and celebrity gossip.

[CyberInferno]

In this poll intelligence is being confused for laziness. Computers make us much more lazy/less apt to acquire knowledge because it's available at the push of a button. But as a society we are much further ahead than we were in 1960, so...
I think it makes us more dependent on technology. My friends with a GPS in their car are now directionally retarded for example. Technology (the interwebs mainly) give us the option to gain vast amounts of knowledge, however most people prefer videos of people getting hit in the balls and celebrity gossip.
I think there's something to be said for both these arguments. There is a fine line between laziness and reliance. For instance, in ancient times, stories like The Illiad and The Odyssey were not written down. They were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. These people had incredible memories. I have problems remembering the characters' names when I read a book (once in a blue moon), much less enough details to tell the story again. However, I don't know if that ability to retain vast amounts of knowledge can me construed as intelligence or not.

[LastDeclaration]

There is so much information available on the Internet; I think we're definitely more well-informed (though not necessarily "smarter") because of it.

[Deadbolt23]

It gives access to much more information. If you want to learn then you will.

[Poochemist]

I think there's something to be said for both these arguments. There is a fine line between laziness and reliance. For instance, in ancient times, stories like The Illiad and The Odyssey were not written down. They were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. These people had incredible memories. I have problems remembering the characters' names when I read a book (once in a blue moon), much less enough details to tell the story again. However, I don't know if that ability to retain vast amounts of knowledge can me construed as intelligence or not.
Yeah, memory has definitely gone out the window, but I don't think that means we're dumber. Lazier, yes.

[xRadioJoyx]

i don't think i've become dumber or smarter because of computers. i've just gained knowledge of some random facts over the years. however having access to the internet has made me procrastinate more in regards to doing assignments/studying.. but since i have the internet and a computer i can do assignments faster and more easily. i guess that could be considered as being lazy but i don't think typing an essay/assignment is going to come out with better/worse quality than a hand written/manually done one, so i don't see a reason to take a slower method when a faster and just as effective method is available.

[Angel Jin]

I voted yes, but iuno it really is a crapshoot. It hasn't made us dumber as much as it has affected our short and long-term memory. Instead of remembering things, we just google it, 411 it, KGB it, bing it, whatever is at our disposal. the internet has definitely brought to life tools and basic tech beyond our wildest imagination, but at the same time, we become extremely dependent on it.

there's also my whole thing about how societal behavioral patterns have dramatically changed since the internet has become just another thing in the house/workplace, but that's for another time i suppose.

[spiffa0]

I only use tecnolgy for stalking my god my savior my light in darkness, jason tate, & checking vampirefreaks.com

Uh what

[schaft]

I'm not certain how to answer this because it can go both ways.

If you look at the advancements made thanks to computers, I would say we are definitely smarter. Computers definitely help people bring their ideas to fruition.

However, if you look at today's youth and their "txting" language, you see stupidity run rampant.

But I'd lean more towards we are smarter thanks to computers.

[catherinexhimel]

I don't think we're any smarter or dumber.

[catherinexhimel]

Uh what

Exactly my thoughts.

[OhNoVandetos]

i think it depends how you use computers, if you want to be lazy they are great because you dont have to remember as much, just look it up
but they are also great for learning information that would otherwise be hard to locate, giving you the option to be smarter if you want
althoguht i doubt they have really affected our problem solving/creative abiltitys

[onepartloss]

Studies have shown that knowledge of information is up, but retention and understanding is down.

We know more because we are exposed to more, we read more, etc. That doesn't mean that we retain or understand it, though.

[sdisticsquirrel]

In this poll intelligence is being confused for laziness. Computers make us much more lazy/less apt to acquire knowledge because it's available at the push of a button. But as a society we are much further ahead than we were in 1960, so...

This is pretty much exactly what I was typing before I noticed it was already said...
Computers make us seem smarter because we can access info and blurt it out as if we already knew it, but we don't retain info anymore.

[gaga_lover]

Dumber, no. But lazier, yes.

[emma123]

I don't think that aussies are right. They should not get indulge theirselves in funking activities as it distracts them and that's the reason why are not doing their work. Therefore, Aussies putting the blame on computers.