Everyt ime I think of google I think of the commercials where someone either asks a question or states something and the person nearest shouts something related or relevant. I personally think these commercials portray search engines perfectly. Just because you type something in doesn't me you're going to end up with what you search for.
I love reading books and I believe any information you want can be found in a heavy tome. I'm an avid Buffy the Vampire Slayer watcher and in most of the scenes the group, or 'Scoobies' are doing research with almost twenty to thirty books surrounding them . Not one computer was used until later in Season Two. It seemed like they tried to incorporate technology into the study/research sessions but in Season seven, the final one, they're still seen with dozens of books. I used to be like that. Back at home when I was given a research project I could be found at our local library digging hard but today? Today all I use is the internet and google's my main research priority.
I believe the internet with all the evil hyperlinks that persuade you to click on them are causing people to think less. It takes maybe two clicks and, voila, we're there. We don't even take the time to read and understand it, we just find the three word answer, backspace and move on. For example, the article, "Is Google making us Stupid?" we had to read for class...I couldn't even finish it. Like Diana asked in her discussion, how many of us found it difficult to sit down and read through this? I know for a fact I skimmed the article. I even popped the article up in class so I would be able to follow along. I didn't have enough brain power nor focus to concentrate on a 3 to 4 page article like this. When it comes to reading articles online I can't do it. Take a fanfiction story or and online novel and I'm there. *snap*
I think there is more value to researching on the Internet than you are letting on. The Internet is making us lazy to some extent, but at the same time, we are able to have a broader range of knowledge because of it. Also, one of my professors has said that looking at an article online can often times just be a photograph of the actual hard-cover copy. So to her viewing an article on a computer can be seen as reading it on paper. I agree with this view and I think that while the Internet has made us somewhat lazy, I also just think it has brought us new ways of looking at the same old information.
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