“Does the Internet Make Us Smarter”

The author, Clay Shirky, conceives a new outlook on the matter of available media contrary to the piece “Is Google Making Us Stupid.” He provides a theory as to the developments of concern of new technology only arise to those individuals who are accustomed to the old systems, thus insinuating young people are becoming dumb to new media. For example, when the printing press introduced claims of weariness due to the need for it to be controlled. Especially in the era of Bible translations throughout Europe that fueled Protestant Reformation, but also expanded societies literature and intellectual scope and outreach. Thus, new mediums of technology allow for an explosion of capabilities but also a connection to surplus information for all to achieve freely rather than exclusively.

Education is one aspect that has positively shaped new advances, by allowing individuals all over the globe to receive free education and services through the Net. Digital sharing and consumption has made it easier to access sources that would otherwise gone unnoticed depending on the awareness of one’s geographical location. For instance, Ushahidi’s Kenyan crisis mapping and the PatiensLikeMe website have accelerated connections and information for individuals to obtain knowledge, as well as share their own personal experiences to assist. In response to the distractions that advances may cause, are notably by the author irrelevant due to the social construct keeping intellectual learning process in the past than fueling them through elevation practices that will suit the cultural norms of the 21st century.

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