It is true that the education of the present day is largely centered around the use of the internet and working ‘online’ mostly. Students, especially those in college, are heavily dependent upon the use of the internet for doing their assignments, research work and also for reading books and journals. However, a majority of the students has become inclined to use the internet for even the smallest of work that can be easily done on their own and this dependency has made students worse in their academic lives. Therefore, the internet has made us worse students because of the ease of access to every kind of information and the readily available answers which extract the element of working hard from students.
In the previous times, before the advent of the internet, students used to consult the libraries and sit for long hours in them, poring over books and writing notes for their research work and had a habit of thorough reading on written material. They never went for short cuts because they had none. No book was summarized, and there were no already-done answers for them. Hence, as students, they were hard working and needed to figure out things for themselves, right or wrong. This produced some of the brightest, sharpest minds because they had the capacity to work on their own and this made them master every subject they studied. On the other hand, today the internet has the answers for almost everything. There is nothing unanswered, and students are able to complete entire assignments by simple finding the correct link on Google. Where Google and Wikipedia, two main websites are being used by them, they are simultaneously losing the ability to work on their own and think independently. As argued by Nicholas Carr in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” he argues that as the internet and Google become the primary source of information for students, it inhibits the ability to read long pieces of texts and books and students want to find a shorter version of everything they study. This kills the habit of reading, which is rarely done by many students nowadays. (Carr). They simply go to Google, search for the summary of a text, and it opens a portal of answers for all their questions. This habit not only destroys the reading capacity, but it also affects critical thinking and analysis of a student’s brain. Students, especially those in college, are required to think on their own, figure out solutions to complex problems and should be able to think autonomously. (Carr). Yet Google and Wikipedia enslave them, and they find it very difficult to begin working on their assignments without confirming their answers from the internet first.
Wikipedia is also a major source of information that is usually the first link on Google when something is searched. Wikipedia has over 2.2 million articles online, and there is rarely a subject which isn’t talked about on it. (Baker). Students like to use it a lot because, it is easy, convenient, answers most of their answers and doesn’t take much of their time. Wikipedia however, as known by all, is an unreliable source because it can be edited by anyone and the information given can be incorrect, in terms of statistical data or plain information itself. (Baker). Yet the internet has made students so highly reliable on the use of the internet, that they will hardly bother cross-checking their answers, and they continue to copy off incorrect information without thinking.
This procrastinated behavior toward academics is not appropriate yet more and more students, even those in middle school and high school are becoming reliant upon the internet and shirking off the need to work hard. Therefore, students are becoming worse in studies because of the internet, and this affects their intellectual development and renders the general purpose of education, futile.
Work cited
Baker, Nicholson. “The Charms of Wikipedia.” The New York Review of Books. 2008. Web. 9
Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid.” The Atlantic. 2008. Web. 9 Mar 2016.
