Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Is Google making us stupid???

As I think back to class discussions throughout the semester, the topic about the Internet and Google is the most interesting to me, probably because I use the Internet so much. It is so easy to think that if you have a question about something: "just Google it". I've heard that phrase many times before. It is so convenient to go to the Google website and type in anthing. Immediately there are hundreds and hundreds of responses. But how reliable are the answers? Honestly, I never thought about this until this class. I just assumed what I was receiving was legitimate. Clearly, I was wrong and naive. Those responses are not always going to be valid. Finding accurate sources using a search engine is like a needle in a haystack. I've learned that is so important to look for true, valid sources because the results that pop up from a search engine have no depth. There is no hiearchy of information; all information is on one single level. So while Google provides quick and speedy information at our fingertips, I'm a little sketchy of its reliability.

1 comment:

Nick Dew said...

This is one of the most interesting topics that we covered this semester. I think onw of the major things you lose when you begin to use google is the importance of researching information for yourself. There is a lot of value in finding the answers yourself versus a search engine providing a thin layer of information. Good research always leads to more original ideas. Not to mention that the information may not even be accurate. So the trade off becomes either you want fast, sketchy answers or deep, well researched answers.