Wednesday, October 24, 2012

tools that change the way we think

Please read the following passage and respond to the questions below. Write your answers as a comment to this post. Then, cut/paste both the passage and your thoughts to your own blog in a post entitled, "Tools That Change the Way We Think."

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)


Answer this not-so-simple question: How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think? Focus on your memory, your ability to concentrate, your sense of time and priorities, and the subjects/topics that interest you most. If you find "thinking about your thinking" difficult to assess, try the following strategies: compare yourself with older people who did most of their formal learning before smart phones and 2.0 existed; compare yourself with contemporaries who don't use those tools much today; read up on what education leaders and thinkers have to say about generational differences in thinking (and remember to cite your sources).

59 comments:

  1. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?

    What I find myself doing whenever I search something on the internet is getting the answer off of a website and then forgetting that information then next day. Now that I think about how technology influences the way I learn, it's kind of scary. I've wired my memory to think instantly, not long term, if that makes sense. I get the information and then forget it. Why? I think it's because I've become so dependent on the inter-webs to tell me about things and then knowing that they will be there tomorrow, I don't care enough to remember them.

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  2. I am at constant odds with how I feel about the development of the internet. Internet/media/technology use have all changed the way I think in a negative way. I find my memory to not be as strong as it once was. It is like I am constantly at battle to keep my short term memory accurate. My ability to concentrate has gone out the window. I can't even sit down to read something for over twenty minutes without wanting to check my Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. The internet is a constant source of wasted time. Too much of my time gets absorbed by the internet and my smart phone. My priorities have also gotten out of whack with the internet and smart phone just a touch away. I often find myself spending more time on the internet and on my phone then I do on my school work. The generations prior to us were the best ones. We are the "give up" and "lazy" generation. When the goin' gets rough, we quit. Technology as well as other influences have taught us just how to do so and they make it look easy. My government teacher told our class that much of this "give up" mentality can be traced back to video games (which involve the internet). When the game becomes too difficult, all you've got to do is push the reset button and avoid the struggle. "A partial explanation of why this occurs is the shared experiences or defining moments that capture the attention and emotions of generational cohorts during their formative years. Baby boomers were influenced in their thinking by the Vietnam war and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Generation X saw the fall of the Berlin wall, massive corporate downsizing and the first Iraq war – Operation Desert Storm. Generation Y has been very influenced by their experiences with the potential for violence in their schools, the attack on the world trade center and the globalization of the world’s economy," according to Rose O. Sherman in her Online Journal of Issues in Nursing article. I could not agree more with what has been said in this article. What occurs in our formative years is what shape us. The fact that technology has become a necessity to have to get by has challenged many areas of the development of Generation Y. It is of great interest to me to see what will happen to my generation in the next few years as we begin to reach out for higher level education. "Will we be employed once we've completed our higher level education whether it be college or trade school or any other type of higher level education?" That questions remains to be seen...

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  3. Entensive Internet/media/technology changes the way I think by making me think that if something isn't in all CAPS, "quotation marks", or highlighted somehow, then I really don't have to pay attention to it and it's more of a suggestion that I read the stuff that doesn't catch my eye, rather than a must. I don't concentrate nearly as well online than I do offline because if I accidentally press the mouse, I'm transported to a completely different page with so many things that are highlighted that I tend to read, and then completely forget my original purpose for being online. I'm basically being programmed to only see and read the things that grab my attention, which is probably why somedays I think that school just stinks.

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  4. I think that the Internet changes the way we think greatly. The internet is always there for us whenever we need a question answered, or are just bored, but to me it seems that the internet is limiting what the human mind can achieve. Although the internet is very useful for many different occasions, it is only another method used to limit our thoughts and our own thinking. In the old days, the internet was entirely gone, yet that era produced some of the greatest writers, thinkers, and philosophers. It seems to me with this new internet, everyone can constantly be able to have the same online knowledge as others, yet have no knowledge of the modern life. The internet is constantly there to distract us to other resources such as facebook, instagram, or twitter. The internet can be used as a good tool yet is so profoundly twisted into something it shouldnt be.

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  5. I believe that extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way we think by a variety of ways. It impacts our memory greatly, because with easier to access sources cheating becomes easier & so does mindless copying. These days I feel you have to be passionate about what you want to learn about to actually spend time with the full context to be able to recall facts and articles you've had previous experience with. This ties in concentration because when you are doing one thing on your smartphone, Ipad/tablet, or computer you have the whole internet and its contents in the background poking at you. And you want to go mess around with cool apps but, there's our priorities. But having the internet at our immediate disposal is a good thing, because our generation is the generation of "I Want it NOW!" and the internet aids our laziness, with fast & simple access to anything we need.

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  6. In the age of ever-electronic evolution, silicon suffusion, wherein the entire sum of vast culture and intellect, knowledge and information of our species, mankind thru out the epochs, is available at our keyboard-pecking fingertips, technologies have indeed fostered radical and rapid change in our daily lives as well as thought processes. How we learn and in many ways, how we think. Our generation (not that I like sweeping categorizations) including myself of course, utilize a litany of smart-powered tech from internet to portable computers, phones to tablets etc. modern technology has undeniably chiseled Gen Y's (ultimately nearly every human being with access to such) mechanisms of critical thinking/comprehension. I personally embrace technology as a tool for learning, whether it be for academic, scholarly concepts, assistance with school, or recreational facts/activities, the internet has enabled me to glean a sum of knowledge unparalleled to our ancestors, heck our parents for the majority of their lives. As implied by the sources above, modern generation Y’rs prefer their consumption of knowledge via the back-lit monitors of a computer-screen unlike the tried and true means of our progenitors, our parents who were limited to paperbacks and hardbound texts. Such convenience negatively influences the learning processes of the Y’rs who are more prone to a Google searched UN-researched/internet vomited answers then one genuinely composed from traditional, now old-fashioned practices of book reading and then reasoned conclusions via novel critical thinking. I submit this is absolutely incorrect. I do in fact primarily utilize the internet for many of my learning/academic needs but to think convenience/instant results bereaves us of our critical thinking is ludicrous, in my opinion a machination of some remaining stubborn stalwart Luddites of Gen X, as well as W. But, again, i don't like sweeping generalizations. The internet today is merely a digitized library of the grandest scale, sure it is easily possible to drown in superfluous arguably useless info, but nothing differs from the electronically spartan days of yore in terms of said info/info gathering, the internet is simply a highly optimized porthole to any info that was encapsulated in physical media like that of textbooks from Gen X days of past. I have always utilized multiple searches on a given task/multiple perspectives for any research, never completely copying and pasting the results produced by the internet. I have and always will construct my own opinions from knowledge presented by various sources, always critically think. Really all that separates our means of thinking, the pools of knowledge between our generation and the past is the location/accessibility of information. A book bound library or digitized one, the internet itself may have made knowledge rapidly available at the press of a mouse button, but ultimately i believe it has only modified the way we gather our content not the thinking process. It has always been our responsibility to dutifully and critically comprehend materials, physical or digitized, the medium doesn't factor into the equation as it is the individual who is required to think. Whether it be physically jotting down word for word from a textbook or copying and pasting from the internet, the individual is responsible for such plagiarized actions, robbing themselves of thought, critical self-conclusion/comprehension, the way in which they think. Technology, always changing, always developing like people themselves, may allow light-speed information gathering on an unparallelled level, but it is the individual who is responsible, who constructs their own critical thinking process, not the tools, that ultimately change the way we think.

    INFORMAL SOURCES
    Source one: http://ielts.host-race.net/writing/essays/44-difference-between-generations
    Source two: http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic53148.html

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  7. Extensive internet media/technology changes the way I think in the way that I don't have to put much thought in what I have to research because more often than not google gives me the answer I need. Since the Internet limits the amount of thinking that I have to do, I tend to forget very quickly the information that I had just researched. In the old era, they didn't have internet so many great writers and philosophers were established. Don't get me wrong I think that the internet is a great source for information, but we shouldn't end it there. We need to think out of the box and actually take the information into our brains. We have to also be very careful with all the distractions on the internet.

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  8. Internet (and general technology) usage essentially becomes what the founders of Google predicted it will be; a part of our brain. The heavy usage of technology will alter us so drastically to the point that the machines functions become mentally embedded into our heads and we will no longer perform/ assess anything the same way. This is both negative and positive, depending on how it's used, but the general population squanders this opportunity with their own garbage and distractions. I don't find it difficult to "think about what I'm thinking". If you lose the ability to focus on your inner self, then you've probably squandered technology like the rest of the people. I'm not saying we shouldn't use technology for leisure, but if it becomes where technology is nothing but leisure, then it becomes a major problem.

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  9. I think that the Internet/media/technology have changed the way I think in a few different ways. In a negative way, I do believe that the internet has weakened my memory. I find myself looking the same things up again and again because I don't seem to remember exactly what I had read previously. I think this is because I know that I can easily re look at the information I want because it is on the internet so I'm not as focused on letting what I read actually stick. I do, however, think that the internet has helped me in the fact that if i don't know something I do have the capability of easily discovering it on the internet. This is especially simple with my smartphone. Without my phone in my pocket constantly I would just forget about things I want to look up in a certain moment and just never try and discover the answers to some of the questions I have. This, I think is a positive about the internet for me. Media, however, is something I find myself wasting too much of my time on.

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  10. All this internet/media/technology has changed my way of thinking by helping think for me. I've thought about how easy it is for me to just Google an answer to a question I know, rather than spend a few minutes trying to brainstorm how to solve it. I used to believe that I couldn't possibly depend on the internet or my technology for everything, but lately I can use it for things I never would have dreamed of using it for, like math problems! It is so much different from middle school, where you could spend hours on one problem. Now if it's giving you too much trouble, you can just type in some phrase for help and it gives you the solution! Insane. This isn't always as helpful as it can be though. All the internet and technology has to offer can be just as distracting, and you can waste plenty of your free time sitting in front of your computer screen or scrolling through your smart phone instead of doing something productive. Even though the use of all this technology can be helpful and/or hurtful, it still kind of scares me that I've become so dependent on it. There won't go a day without me checking my phone at least once or turning on my computer.

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  11. Am I spending my time wisely? Am I just wasting my time on distractions or am I actually using all these tools to increase my knowledge of the world? I try and ask my self that everyday because its so easy for me to sink hours after hours of my time into stuff that really doesn't matter. We think our generation is so lucky to have all this technology but when you think about it we have a lot more responsibility than people before us. These new tools can makes us better people or just balls of empty space.
    It's harder to concentrate with so many different distractions but I think at the same time it makes my ability to focus stronger. Because I'm constantly having to fight off distractions I learn to focus better. That's of course "if" I fight off the distractions. If I don't I'm training my self to spend less and less time on a single subject.
    I really like the idea of being able to learn anything you want through a simple You Tube video. Imagine all the time you've spent on Facebook, games, or anything that's more focused on entertainment than learning. Now imagine all those hours invested in learning about the Bible, an instrument, a language, a novel, and just the world in general. That's how I want to spend my time but I'm held back by entertainment.

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  12. Extensive Internet/media/technology use drastically changes the way I think because it provides me with any resource I need which gives me less to think about and more to copy and paste. I have the information from the time I research it to the time I need it, then its gone. Its a crappy form of learning in some cases because once I see it has potential to be the right answer I'll copy it. Its been harder to concentrate now more than ever. Should I do homework or watch a repeat of Law and Order, tough choice right? Wrong. I know which one I should do but my attention is drawn more to the television then to a paper and a pen. It's even hard to focus while being on my blog. Its so simple to just open a new tab and go on Facebook or YouTube which is why I have set aside certain times for my homework and my Law and Order. Our generation has rapidly been transformed by technology. This advancement has provided us with an endless amount of information and resources that has drawn us away from our priorities and more towards our social networking.

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  13. Extensive Internet, media, and technology changes the way I think, because it makes me not think. By having technology set right in front of me I am able to just go online type in a couple of key words and find the direct answer. I’ll read the information “copy paste” or write it down and get it over with. The internet is full of ads and pop ups which are distractions. While using the internet, if I click on an add or pop up or even direct myself to a similar page, in a couple of minutes I am bound to go from Rhetorical Devices to the origin of why black cats are believed to be bad luck. This of course isn’t always the case. Most of the time, the internet is useful for educational purposes. By properly using the internet for educational purposes it is easy to collaborate with other students or find the right information.

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  14. RELIANCE. "I can't believe I forgot how to make that recipe! Oh wait, let me just find it in my favorites bar." "What time did that movie start again? Check Moviefone you idiot!" "I wonder what my friends are doing tonight? Just check out the good ol' Facebook wall." We now live in a society where our minds merely consume ideas and spit them out within a couple of minutes. We have adapted to the fact that the internet is our savior and without "him" we would be lost. NO WE WOULDN'T! People lived thousands of years before Twitter, before Instagram, before Tumblr, and actually enjoyed life.
    Although it may appear that my anger is seething through this very text, I am apart of that percent which views the internet as a heavenly being. I am constantly checking my phone. In fact I have gotten to a point where I believe my leg is vibrating when in reality I am fantasizing with the idea that someone has actually texted me. I must admit that I have become a "tech holic".
    The question now becomes, how should we as a society fight this addiction? Should we pursue the lives of those in the novel Fahrenheit 451, but instead burn houses that contain technology rather then books? Or is there a less radical path that we may pursue? Whatever the solution may be, my way of life and millions upon billions of others have been changed because of technology. Time will only tell if this leads to our advancement, or to our demise.

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  15. The Internet and other technology have completely changed the way i think about anything. The internet especially has greatly impacted my life considering it is always there and with a smartphone it is just one touch away. The internet is so vast and there are so many websites that it is easy to get distracted. My time management thinking has greatly changed because I can easily find something to do on the internet like watch videos or go on facebook instead of doing something else that needs to be done instead. And with the vast amount of information on the internet some of it is bound to change your views and ideas on certain subjects whatever they may be. I hadn't realized it before but now that I think about it I don't think I don't think I could last a day without my iPhone or the Internet. Thats how greatly it has affected my life and I think others can agree with me. And since everything is so acessable through the internet it is easy to go one the internet and do nothing than to do something at all.

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  16. The internet/media/technology dictate the way we think. Our thinking is not as personalized as we assume. Referring back to the Ted talk that we watched early in the week, the presenter said that his Facebook wall deleted all the conservative posts and replaced them with only liberal posts. This is unfortunate because the presenter was liberal and all he saw was liberal posts which makes him infer that everyone must be a liberal. This isn't true but this is what happens when someone only gets half the story, they think that everyone agrees with them and that society isn't as diverse in ideas and beliefs as we thought.
    Technology to us is what fire was to a caveman. The caveman could survive without the fire, however, they believed they could not because it did everything for them. It kept them warm when they were cold and it cooked their food when they were hungry. Sometimes we use it for pointless things. For example, What is the weather going to be like today? Go outside and check for yourself, don't Google it. On the other hand, the internet is not such a bad thing after all, it is not like it is a drug or anything, or is it?

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  17. As technology improves we become more and more dependent on it. We use it for homework, we use it for work, we use it for entertainment, etc. For some technology is a life saver and for others it consumes time that could have been used on something productive. Internet and media broaden your view on issues of the world. Some of these issues include things that matter such as politics and natural disasters but others only fill our minds with things we could easily go without knowing. These are mostly seen in media where they discuss the lives of those "famous" individuals. We fill our lives with the problems of others simply because they are "famous." Internet can serve as a huge distraction just as much as it can serve as a great source in which one can go to for help. Our entire AP English course is based on using technology and our blogs but at the same time i often find myself wasting time on YouTube. Technology can be as harmful as it can be helpful. You can learn so much from the internet. It can help you understand the world around you, it can help you achieve goals, and it can help you through obstacles. It makes the finding of information a lot simpler than it used to be back when people had to read through large books in order to find answers. Today one can just type in a topic they want to read more about and thousands of results are just a click away. People in the past went far with the limited amount of tools they had. We can get far but some may find it difficult to do if they did not count on the tools offered. It is true that we have become lazy and we rely greatly on finding easy ways out. Technology has created these easy ways out and most of us use them on a daily basis. It is good to keep it all balanced. We continue to rely on textbooks in school which requires us to search for answers we need. We can combine the search in books with search in the internet and this keeps gives us balance. Technology, internet, and media serve as ways of entertainment. Entertainment often lowers our stress levels and can have a positive effect on our lives.

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    Replies
    1. Internet/media/technology changes the way I think in bad way and also in good way. First, I think they are beneficial because it helps me to find answer very quickly and easily. Going in the google and type the first few letters and it directly find the words for you. However, I do think this is making my brain lazier and lazier everyday. They don't really need to work hard to find answer since you can just google them! And you can't concentrate on anything if computer is on. After awhile you will find yourself in facebook page or something. However, for our generation, it is hard to live without technology.

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  19. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?
    The internet/media/technology changes the way I think because at moment "I don't think". Getting information from the internet it very useful but yet since I know that the information will never go away I tend to not learn/memorize of what I have just read. There is always great internet resources where you can check something you need more deeply but there is also some that waste your time such as facebook, twitter,etc. Those websites can become very addicting and is used for excuses such as "oh I don't have her number, let me go on facebook to ask", from making that one choice that is made it's guaranteed you'll stay in facebook for at least an hour or more. Pop ups are another thing, those can easily distract you with just a press in that "special button". Overall my thinking is way different than before, back then it was just a "whatevers" but now I question myself...is the internet safe?

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  20. extensive Internet/media/technology has effected how I think, and i am not sure if it is for the better. It seems like a lot of the stuff i use has the goal of trying to make it so i do not have to think. When i search something, the computer completes it for me. Websites that i often go to come up as favorites that i didn't make, as if the computer is suggesting what i should do instead of me. When i am using technology, a lot of the time i am just in a mindless manner, barely comprehending what i see, let alone thinking much about its meaning. Lastly, i feel that generations that grew up with the use of technology have a lot less general information stored in their heads, frankly because it is stored somewhere else and easily accessible. There is no need for us to remember much cause we can find the answer easily without the knowledge, but i feel that when i talk to older people, they didn't have that privilege, forcing them to commit many more things to memory.

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  22. Extensive Internet/media/technology dominate how we think. This isn't called the Information Age for nothing. The ways that we learn have been expanded nearly infinitely and information can be accessed anywhere, on anything, and by anyone. Right now I can read news from all across the globe in less than a minute.I can video chat with a friend half way around the world. I can read the complete works of Shakespeare or that of J.K. Rowling without leaving my room. The music of PSY's Gangnam Style or that of Mozart can fill my ears. Multitasking has become the norm as people surf the internet grooming information at the speed of light. The subjects and news stories that interest me the most are close at hand when before they would have gone unnoticed. Given there are more distractions on the internet than just normal learning, for some it is hard to log on to the internet without visiting Facebook, but the wealth of knowledge and the ability to communicate around the world that the internet offers easily out weights the distractions. As for my sense of time and priorities, I feel like the internet has given me a broader picture of my life. I know what is ahead of me and how long it will be till whatever is going to confront me does so. I am ready, I know what is going on and when it is going to happen but without the internet I doubt I would have such foresight. The internet doesn't distracts from our development and education but enriches it. We have the world at our finger tips.

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  23. The tools that we have today have changed a whole generation's way of thinking. When things like computers and smartphones didn't exist, people actually had to think about and do research. It is hard for me to imagine going to a library with a question when I have a smartphone in my pocket. The opportunities that this generation of technology has is great but it is also hurting many of us if we do not use it correctly. I find myself mindlessly scrolling a webpage that has no other purpose but to make me giggle from time to time. This is alarming to me because I could be using the internet for what it is supposed to be used for: to learn. I also find that with a smartphone I have the ability to look at websites when I am supposed to be sleeping. This in turn has caused me to lose focus in school because I am so tired from looking at the internet for hours. Basically, the internet is an awesome tool if you use it correctly. It has provided me with many opportunities when I've actually needed it for something and I couldn't imagine not having these opportunities anymore.

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  24. I know that I don't need to know little obscure facts about the world because if I am ever presented with the question, I can quickly look it up at the touch of a screen. I don't seek to remember information, only to be able to use it in the immediate predicament. I have never taken the time to learn how to change a tire, or fix an engine because if I ever have the need, I can get step by step instructions in a fraction of the time it would have taken to memorize the process. The Internet is ultimately a time saver.

    I feel like we don't force ourselves to remember information to the extent of our elders. Nowadays, if we don't remember what we just learned or looked up, we simply have to do another search. Before Google and search engines, when someone wanted a piece of information, they had to make a trip to the library and make a much larger effort to attain the information. Thus, it was more practical to remember facts for the long term, rather than long enough to answer a question and know that you can rely on Google in the future to recall that detail.

    I'm sure older people who grew up thinking for the long term are much better about recalling information, and reading more in depth for long term uses. But my generation and further generations aren't benefitting from the ease of Google searches, because what if Google crashes? Everyone who knows information will have no drawbacks to the disappearance of Google, while others will be completely lost without it.

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  25. Extensive internet/media/technology makes life so much easier I don't even have to think! I mean come on now, I got my calculus homework answers from google, and to my shock each one was correct. With sites such as dogpile and google, no one has to think of a synonym for a word, or even what the sine of pi is. I don't even attempt to memorize the information I search, because I know I can snapshot it and keep it forever. There's no incentive to memorize or actually learn anything anymore, why? We all know with the touch of a screen we can get the same information quicker than some people may learn it.

    As far as the elderly goes, they didn't have very many choices when it came to learning various things. They didn't have the luxury of "oh I'll google it later". They had to take the time to learn and memorize anything they wanted because search engines weren't at their fingertips. My Grandma used to read encyclopedias everyday, and that's how she learned a majority of what she's ever known. That takes time and patience! This generation has never been put in a position where patience was needed, unless you had really slow internet.

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  26. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?

    Although we may not realize it, technology has had a huge impact on our lives. From how we go about every day activities to even how we think, all have been altered as a result of extended expulsion to technology. Just by comparing our generation to the previous it's easy to see how much we have changed. Before when you needed information you didn't have search engines you had an index, you didn't have yahoo answers you had your peers. Now we can get information almost instantly; but, this is not always a positive thing. This quick information accustoms our brains to look for quick answers instead of getting background information to solidify our understanding of a particular topic. This means that we are activating the short term memory part of our brain and just as quickly as we get the information we will forget it. Yes there are benefits to having access to technology-it can provide information that otherwise would be near impossible to obtain and can act almost like an extension of our brain by collecting and storing new information. But by relying so much on technology we have become lazier thinkers, we have become more dependent on technology to perform the tasks that our brains are perfectly capable of doing. Yes technology can help us but we shouldn't let it eliminate our capabilities as thinkers.

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  27. Internet, media, and technology in a way decrease how much i have to think about what i'm searching for. This is because I can get a definition or an answer just by pressing some buttons and not by going to the library or looking through a book for the answer. Knowing that the internet has "all" of the answers I feel that the need to memorize things is not a necessity. If an elder person needed to recall information from some time ago it would be more effective than the memory of a teen from this generation due to the technology. With all of the advertisement, pop-ups, and access to websites all over the internet focus on what your trying to accomplish tends to fade. For the majority the internet is not used to further ones intellectual thoughts but to make thoughts easier to find for ones convenience. And for that reason I believe that the internet and the new technology that we have access to is not the greatest thing. On other hand they are good sources to find facts on things that you need if your on the run.

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  28. Extensive internet/media/technology effects the way I think tremendously. I never have to worry about not being able to find the answer to something. It is so easy to pick up my phone and google it. This technology definitely keeps me entertained but it really is effecting the way I think. I find myself going to post on my blog off my phone and along the way a 15 minute assignment ends up taking me an hour because I get so side tracked checking my facebook, texting, instagraming etc. I feel like i don't pay attention to things like I should because I am always so side tracked. Yes, it is nice to be able to find the answer to a question in an instant but we really aren't being pushed to actually look up an answer. Technology and media definitely has its positives and negatives but it is a huge part of my life.

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  29. Honestly I don’t feel as I am not the one making the choices on my laptop most of the time with Google telling me where I want to go, advertisements luring me to buy products, and YouTube distracting me with videos of a sneezing panda. When I enter the internet it feels like being a kindergartener again, being forced to stay in the single file line with everyone else and the teacher telling you “No Eddie you don’t want to go over there you want to stay in line. We’re not getting paid to show you that so stay in line”. So whenever I use this technology extensively I always find myself on some new Nike sportswear ad or viral video that is beneficial for the search engine to lead you to when I was first looking at a biography of Shakespeare or something. This Google article actually scares the living shit out of me as I don’t want some Google implant or even worse siri Implant in my head telling me what I want and what everything is because if this were to happen we would naturally become lazy. Everyone would think “well my Google implant knows how to add 36 and 28 so might as well ask it instead of doing it I”. From there we would just all become mindless zombies with a Google implant telling us where to eat, shop, or invest because we would be so reliant to it. I do feel that technology has made information to be accessed much more easily than 20 years ago where you would go through an encyclopedia, but I do feel we should return to some of those traits of the past where things weren’t so easily validated as true and things were further investigated. Unlike today where yahoo and Wikipedia said so, so it has to be true. Also information of past generations became popular or massly read as it was the most truthful information unlike today where it is the one who pays the most that gets the front cover of everything. Our tools today may have many biases moving them, but as I have learned in Dr. Preston’s class there are ways to avoid being forced into that single file line and enter unbiased tools and resources to get the straight facts.

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  30. I believe that extensive use of the internet or media in general changes the way we think greatly. For example, I myself now think of everything through a camera and how I could set up a decent shot. Using a camera as much as I do has affected the way I now see things. Google, Facebook, and Youtube all have one thing they have in common, nearly everybody knows how to use these sites and with the three combined, you have all the information you could ever want and need. All I know about the older generation is that they tend to be angry with the young folk about always being on their phones and ipods, not paying attention to the world around them. Technology is taking over, whether we like it or not.

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  31. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you ?

    Extensive Internet, media, and technology changes the way I think, in many ways it makes me think and not think. By having technology I am able to just go online and find the answer like nothing which uses hardly any of my effort at all. It can also be used as a resource to help you gain knowledge. It teaches you things like vocabulary. Another thing it does is help you stay connected and collaborate with others. It is very helpful because it is simple and easy to use.

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  32. In an idealized world, Internet/media/technology is all upside. It puts the knowledge of the world at everybody's fingertips, accessible through a few keystrokes and a handful of clicks. The Internet has an answer for nearly everything, and with advances in technology it just becomes easier to access. Just within the last few years, the Internet has become fully mobile with many people able to access it with smartphones. Now, the answer to almost any given question can be found anywhere, anytime.

    However, we don't live in this idealized world. While the aid that technology provides is indisputable, its risks cannot be ignored. Firstly the use of it does not always equate to productivity. The depth and accessibility of the Internet makes it the procrastinator's nightmare (or perhaps the procrastinator's dream, depending on your perspective). If I'm working on homework with or by my computer, it is too easy for any stray thought to lead to a large amount of wasted time. A single question that I have can easily justify distraction by the fact that finding the answer would be so easy. A quick search on Wikipedia and my curiosity will be satisfied. But from there, the opportunity opens up to keep clicking links, until eventually my browser is overflowing with new tabs.

    Furthermore, as others have pointed out, the speed of information via the Internet discourages actual learning. For example, I'm pretty sure I've Googled the inch to centimeter conversion at least a dozen times. One would think that after all this time I would be able to remember it, but I can't. The wide availability of Google makes memorizing such things seem unnecessary.

    That said, all of these things are mostly the fault of the user. While technology certainly encourages this behavior, it's hardly an excuse for not getting work done or not knowing basic facts. Because of this, I don't think that the services like Google are ever going to be completely integrated into the human mind. It will supplement, but I don't think it will actually change the way people think by that much. Knowledge is ultimately human responsibility. Technology can the courier of information, but it be a replacement. Almost everything can be searched for on the Internet, and yet you don't see people walking around constantly using Google to solve all their problems. It's not a problem of accessibility either. Things like the weather, driving directions, or cooking instructions are all reasonable things to use technology for. Something like knowing my own phone number is not. I could very easily take out my phone and check my number whenever somebody asks for it, but I don't. A big reason for this is that it'd be embarrassing ("You don't know your own number!?"). Our society puts a lot of weight on personal accomplishment. People will always feel naturally inclined to knowing things on their own, even if it is readily and easily available online.

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  33. I feel like the internet makes it really easy to be lazy and just look everything up. I have no need to memorize things that I look up because I know that I can just find them again. It screws up my priorities as well. When I am online and need to get my homework done, I find myself watching random videos or going on facebook instead of doing my homework. When I am online, time flies. I'll be on facebook and think I've only been on for a few minutes. I then look at my clock and realize that I have been on for an hour or two and have been wasting precious time that I could have been using for homework. If the topic I am looking up doesn't interest me, I do not retain much of the information because in the back of my mind I am thinking that I can always just come back to the site if I forget what it said. The internet is actually pretty awesome when it comes to researching your interests. The internet is so big and has so many results for everything that you can possibly imagine. When you look up things that you like, you know for sure that you will be satisfied with a very wide variety of results.

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  34. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?

    The internet constantly changes my mind because I realize day by day that having that world at our fingertips can not only be a great advantage but also a dangerous thing. I think the internet has really changed the way I communicate with others and made me kind of socially awkward because I usually hide behind my computer screen and talk to someone through an email or a Facebook chat box. I think the internet is a great advantage to learning new things but it is also very distracting and can send your brain to think about a million different things in less then a minute. Its great to have others opinions and help at the push of a button but sometimes we look at the opinions and ideas that should not really affect us but since they are on the internet they really do. I think at the moment I am trying to think about to many things at the same times because that is what the internet does and it really is becoming a way of life for my generation. You have the phones, the laptops, the ipods.. and everything else with internet apps just waiting to be taken for a spin. It kind of scares me to think that maybe one day we will have internet/Google chips stuck into our brain. However just as Darwinism states it, we must continue in survival of the fittest.

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  35. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?

    The Internet, mass media and technology as a one change my life in how I think tremendously. Although some of use might not realize it but they way technology plays a role in our life that is much different than if we didn't have it. Like when not everyone had internet and had to go to the library to find information or our ability to look up definitions so easily on our smart phones or laptops had changed how we think as a whole. We are now able to get information so easily because it is at the tip of our fingers, just a button away from find an answer. It's not like our last generation who had to ask their peers for follow up information. Now we have stuff like Yahoo answers and Facebook. Where we can go and type in what we are unsure about, press enter and wait for a responed. This generation is able to get more information faster then ever before, but dose that mean it's the right information. In order for us as an online community to learn we have to search many different time to find the right answers, because some may be true and others misleading. So in order for us to grow we need to take a little more time and read the fine print and read more opinions and facts so that we are able to end up with the correct answer in the end. So yes, technology dose help us, but we shouldn't limit ourselves to just the one answer that pops up first. We should think about the information and process it and make it into our own opinions and make it unique in your own way.

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  36. I can hardly say that this generation thinks for itself anymore. We base our thoughts on others and others base their thoughts on other and so on. It's a never ending chain of information taken from one another through the internet. I'm not talking about going through an informative book to get the information. People see what people think and think it as well. It might be just me but when I see how fast "swag" or "yolo" travels from one another, its incredible. We no longer control what we want to think because all the thinking that we need is already done for us regardless of whether or not we want it or not.

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  37. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?

    Using the internet is a major part in how I live. When I think of having fun it will most likely involve the internet in some way. If the internet was to somehow just stop it would make things very interesting. This leads me to think of all the things that would change if there was no internet. Most of the things I do in my free time involve internet and so I would have to pick up something new to do. The internet has also changed the way everyone looks things up. If we want to know something everyone is just ingrained to do a Google search. With all this being said the internet has changed the way everyone lives their lives. In some ways it makes things easier but in others it can make them more challenging.

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  38. Well as a kid I can remember my teachers telling me, “be careful what you watch on TV. Just because it is on TV doesn’t mean it is true.” I miss those days because now it is, “ don’t believe everything you see or read online because anyone can post something on there and make it seem legit.” The Internet/media/technology has developed a lot and it is funny that we are talking about this because just today in class I was talking to my friend about this new show that is on TV and she stared at me. I wondered why she was doing this. So, I asked her why she was looking at me strangely. Her response was, “I don’t watch TV anymore so I have no idea what you are talking about.” This was a bit strange for me to hear this. So I asked her why she didn’t watch TV anymore because for me watching TV is still something that I do very so often and I thought everyone else was the same way. The reason she gave me shocked me(which it probably shouldn’t have). Her answer was because she usually spends all of her time listening to music, being on her phone, and going on Facebook. When I heard this response I thought that maybe TV will be the next thing to go. Then it will be paper and pencils. It was a scary moment for me. The future holds many things. So, my memory has always been bad but with using the computer more and more it has become worst. No longer do I have to spell words on my own because there is spell check and no longer do I have to remember passwords because I can always get them sent to my email. My ability to concentrate has never been that great either. I have this way of getting distracted easily by anything so being online is even more distracting because there are pop ups and I am able to do many different things at one time by opening as many tabs as I want. Sometimes I get things done faster on online but for the most part I take even longer with doing things online. Not only is it hard to stay focused it is hard on the body. Sitting for long periods of time can get the eye and body tired. I find myself getting more and more grumpy and annoyed the longer I am online. I will start off fine and doing pretty well on my work but after a while it feels like I almost get depressed. Once this has happens I lose track of time and I don’t end up getting to do as great of a job as I could do or would like to do. There are good things to this though. I get introduced to new subjects and topics that interest me. I will find out about something that happened in a different state that could possibly affect the things that are happening around here. I get involved with different sides of feelings, emotions ,and thoughts from people that I don’t even know. During the time I have been in this course I have actually grown a closer relationship with technology. It has been an pretty cool change in my life. Don’t get me wrong it still makes me feel frustrated at times but I am learning how to deal with that and reach out for help when I need it.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry if I got a bit off track. I tried answering as best as I could.

      Delete
  39. If you look at the latest articles on Google achievement they virtually mapped the Grand Canyon, so we can now take a trip down without leaving our computer. Maybe in the future they will map our bodies and take us on a FANTASTIC VOYAGE. But the important thing is that the memory space we have now can be used instead of memorizing numbers, spelling, and dates; can be used to critically think and create something with that mental space for something greater. Now with the tools available students might have some attention span issues but that is only because they are noticing many more things that stream constantly from the internet, new and other social networks. In (http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ie=UTF-8&ion=1#hl=en&safe=off&sclient=psy-ab&q=how%20many%20commercial%20messages%20in%20a%20day&oq=&gs_l=&pbx=1&fp=fd65260dfa26cefb&bpcl=35466521&ion=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1280&bih=937)this article it is said that we are bombarded with as many as 5,000 commercial messages a day. If we had a more focused outlook we would become fatigued and unable to work on anything else through the course of the day. What we need to work on in the future is being able to not just settle for the information that Google provides us, instead we need to always look at the whole picture and understand what sources we are looking at really. Not just settle for the pre-chewed suggestions from every smart search engine.

    But really I love the progressive innovations that I have seen from Google, and I even understand why they monitor my browser information. They are just trying to help the best way they can.

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  40. Extensive Internet/media/technology use has definitely changed the way I think. I'm always looking for the quick answer. And usually it's just a couple of clicks away. It's probably deteriorated most of the things listed in the question. Focusing in general has gone down, it also changes my priorities because this technology is right at my fingertips. And why not take advantage of that technology if it's right in front of me? I feel like formal learning and open source learning have their pros and cons just like most things do. Before answers didn't come so easy, people probably had better focus, better social skills, had a better sense of their priorities, etc. But open source learning has given us the chance to collaborate with people all around with world. This is huge in the sense that we can different ideas, opinions, etc that we may have never encountered. The world is indeed a small world now. Technology has taken over our lives and it will be interesting to see where it takes us.

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  41. I agree with my classmates that technology, media, and the internet has changed the way I think. I'm pretty lazy now. But to be honest, I've always been lazy. I'm not saying I've taken another individual's work, because I always give credit and kudos to them. However, I feel that I rely too much on the internet. Today, for example, I had a question and my immediate reaction was to go on google and search it up. Of course I got a various of answers. I was quite confused.. This is a perfect example how the internet is not always accurate. Especially when you are asking a question that has a various of answers. And I've tried to search educational leaders opinions on generational differences of thinking.. Of course I got no information. Anyways, technology changes every individual way of thinking. Good or bad.. That's your opinion.

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  42. I feel like now that technology/media/internet are "taking over the world", it has become such a great friend to us, but can aslo subdue us into changing the way we think and, eventually, the way we act. It definitely changes the way we think based on the fact that we no longer feel like we are hopeless in finding something out that we don't know or understand. We now think that technology and the internet give us a feeling of knowledge even if we don't actually know anything. If I don't know something or can't figure something out, what do I do? Simple. Google. The easy access to information I don't know gives me a feeling of wisdom. I know it may sound ridiculously stupid, but it's true. We feel powerful to have all the information in of the world at the touch of a button or just a click of the mouse. We now feel like we aren't in the dark about things. Media is a great example that sheds light on things we don't know or want to find out. In just a simple clip of a video on the news, we can find out all we needed to know. We have changed the way we look at information as well as our own knowledge. We feel powerful.

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  43. There is usually an upside and a downside when it comes to new innovative inventions. Technology and Internet are no exception as they have both positively and negatively changed and impacted the way I think. An average human's daily routine has greatly been changed just in these past five to ten years. It used to be you would wake up read the morning newspaper but now it's pick up your smartphone or turn on your laptop and walah!

    I'm sure this has happened to you as it has to happened me. You have a question and you ask a friend or peer and they reply "Google it". This phrase also comes up during trivial arguments when it is necessary to solve a conflict. All this information stored on the internet, and quickly accessible and pinpointed through search engines has caused us to use it as our own personal answer genie. This of course is great but at the same time bad. Because we rely on the internet for most our answers, we don't really take the effort to learn. What I mean by this is we see the information on the web as something that will always be there so instead of learning it and committing it to memory we just come back to or bookmark the site. This heavy reliance on the internet makes it so we digest so much information in such a short period of time that our brain is unable to commit it to long term memory and instead it becomes information we forget in the next few days. Either that or it makes us lazy because we know we can come back and find the same information again. I have also become accustomed to this way of thinking also. I learn a bunch of information on a particular subject through Wiklapedia and the next day I won't remember a thing.

    The upside is pretty obvious. We have a near infinite amount of knowledge of information at our fingertips, literally. Who needs a doctor when we can diagnose our illness through the internet. Even better it tells us how to remedy these illnesses. Whatever you need to know it is usually found on the internet.

    Technology has pretty much ruined my concentration. I find myself constantly watching funny youtube videos. I am constantly distracted by all the technology around me.

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  44. Ever since I became a more active user of the internet, I have been in an almost constant state of awe. There are so many useful things to use and revisit but that expanse of utility is a double-edged sword in its ability to make me forget that I even have certain tools to use. I definitely have to agree with Ryland about how our minds are chewing up information all the time. At the same time, so many people take it for granted. Somebody wonders something aloud during a conversation yet doesn't make a move to google it with their pocket computers. Drives me crazy.
    Although I don't think I would have been more inclined to read a wall of text, the power of the scroll bar is so enabling. I can look for a tl;dr if I want it short and sweet. I don't like calling them generational differences because it only feeds the trolls and hipsters (not necessarily bad members of a community) who would like no more than to say that the quality of humans has degraded overnight. People of other times would have been just as likely to drop their books and head for a shining LED screen.
    The future is scary because we've all been focusing on all the bad the tech industry is capable of but consider also the improved utility. Look at this video of a near future. It's a good'n. KTHXBAI. Gonna go look at funny cat pix.

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  45. I read a book once that had to do with Utopias and the government controlling everything about it's people. From their clothes, to their schooling, to their personalities and how they looked. The people had these rings that were basically the Internet and a personal advisor all rolled into one. When I read, I thought that they were cool in a fiction sense, but to have stuff like that in real life would just be crazy. It would make our race even more lazy than we are now. We would become completely reliant on technology. Is that what we want for the future? I sure don't.

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  46. The expansion of internet and social networking sites have dramatically increased over the past ten years. People are now on their smart phones for a good part of the day, even me, and I believe that has a negative impact on society. The way we think, or lack of thinking, changes due to all of the devices that occupy our time and even minds. The main affect of Google / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram etc. is that these sites are a HUGE DISTRACTION. Most kids in high school probably check their phone an average of 20 times a day during school and it has even become a problem in the classroom that the devices are distractions. They cause students to not spend as much time on their homework and in turn, receive bad grades. Sense of time is almost non existent when on your phone and priorities are all out of whack, homework moves down the list and your phone moves up. Honestly, if for one day I didn't have any electronics I would probably get all my homework done at a reasonable time. I also would get an adequate amount of sleep, but due to TV and Facebook I get less sleep than I should. I get distracted so easily and these newfangled things are to blame. Also, they give us a false sense of knowledge and our study habits have gone down the drain. Whenever we don't know something now, we turn straight to our trusted friend Google for help. We start to type something in, and what do you know.. Google even reads our minds! It's crazy how a computer can know what we are thinking and unfortunately a lot of people do just that,they let Google do all the thinking for them. We have lost our skills to solve problems on our own and think in higher ways because we rely so much on the internet. I also believe that thinkers from the past such as Aristotle and Socrates are so much better at thinking than we are! They did not check their smart phones every five minutes and when there was a problem, they say down and solved it. That's the way that things should be but technology is a thing of the future and we need take advantage of it. Make the computer work for us, don't let the computer work you.

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  47. Technology can be really creepy sometimes. Seriously.
    Remember that old song, Video Killed the Radio Star?
    I don't want that to be paralleled by Machine killed the Human Spirit. I think that technology is AMAZING. When I was younger I would just be on Google looking up interesting things for hours at a time (before I discovered Reddit, boo-yah). Google as a tool has opened my mind to a million and one things I never would have learned about otherwise; being able to find things out at the touch of a button has helped me see through others eyes. That's how it's helped me in my thinking. HOWEVER, what Page was talking about sounds a lot like a computer doing the thinking for you. Being completely theater nerdy about this: the arts are already becoming formulaic. They say there are only eleven plots in fiction...but every once in a while, some beautiful piece of cinema will come out and remind us of the magic that was once the silver screen. Or a song will be written. Or a graphic designed. Or a score composed. These things are the very fruit of the human spirit. Consider Shakespeare's work that has transcended the ages and will continue to entrance readers way beyond our generation; whether be he one man or many, plays such as Hamlet capture the very essence of what it is to be human.
    Perhaps the technology in our brains is the next step in evolution. I don't know. But I do know that I want to hang on to the individual thinking that makes me alive for as long as possible. The internet is great, but I don't want it inside my head!

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  48. I think that extensive internet/media/technology not only reshaped the world/society, but also our mind and the way we think. Plato said that: “Technology of writing would destroy the art of remembering…” Who would still bothers to memorize the information, if we can look it up in 5 seconds? It was just five or six years ago, I bring my (paper) dictionary to school every single day. My parents won’t get me an electric dictionary; and their “theory/explanation” is that if you need to flip through bunch pages to find the definition of a word, there are bigger chances for you to memorize it. You just don’t want to go through that whole process again when that word appears in the next line of reading. However, now, I can find the definition of any word by few clicks with fingers in few seconds. So, why we bother to know it by heart? I think technology really shrink my ability to think, memorize and concentrate. There are distractions everywhere; Email, Facebook, music…Whenever I need to concentrate, the first thing I would do is to turn off my computer. The tool is just a tool and don’t let it take over the mind. We are considered as the “net generation”, the generation of instant communication/information. The generation grows by believe that we have the world at our fingertips. However, the bigger problem of the new generation is not to how get the information but how to get the right information. We are not the generation to learn how to use the technology but how to using it well.

    (http://rjh.goingeast.ca/2012/03/06/the-net-generation-a-new-paradigm/)
    (http://www.principals.org/tabid/3788/default.aspx?topic=Technology_Net_Generation_Learning_Styles)
    (http://ubiquity.acm.org/article.cfm?id=1140630)

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  49. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I have now become a beacon of instant information. I want information, and I want it now. No longer am I content with waiting even a day to learn something. Heck, even waiting minutes for the Internet to load up gets me agitated and don't even mention things like cookies or ads. However, it also has expanded my circle of things I'm interested in. Business and how it operates, global events, economics, those are things I never would've gotten into had it not been for the Internet, as books and magazines aren't nearly as in-depth nor as interesting as articles on the Internet. As for my memory, things have not really changed. Back in the 3rd grade, I was obsessed with baseball. Even now, I'm obsessed with baseball. And I'm obsessed with data and number crunching. I can still tell you how many home runs (660) Willie Mays has along with his career batting average (.302). I can tell you how many wins Cy Young has (511) as well as Walter Johnson (417) followed by Christy Mathewson and Grover Cleveland Alexander (373). As my parents put it, I remember the most useless information possible. And I still do. I remember quotes and who said them ("'Tis great we have this horrible war less people should grow fond of it' - Robert E Lee), and certain Latin phrases (Veni, Vidi, Vici or Qui Audet Adisicipitur). Are any of them really practical? No, but I remember them, and I will continue to remember them thanks to the Internet. However, that also has an impact in my ability to concentrate. I am very easily distracted. I am also very easily intrigued. Not a great combination for someone who uses the Internet. I also want to learn new things, which also doesn't and hasn't boded well with me, as the Internet has almost unlimited information available to be digested and read. So, this leads to me sleeping later than I would like to, but also learning much more information than I would normally.

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  50. I sometimes think technology doesn't allow me to think but instead gives me the answers and doesn't allow me to be creative. I think better out loud and in group of people or just by myself when given insightful questions. The technology has made it easier for us to think but I believe thinking should be hard and only hard thinking will get your mind somewhere. I have become much lazier in my work because of the extensive technology. The technology works hard therefore I don't have to. This is fine at times when we use the tech as a resource but as this progresses we overuse and abuse the technology given to us. The quote above makes me think on the movie "Wall-E" where all the humans are useless and they can not do anything for themselves. I hope we do not get to that point with technology but we will just have to see where this information age takes us.

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  51. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?
    --I feel like I have become attached by the hip with technology. When I get an assignment and I don't remember the notes of that day, I just look up notes online because its fast and usually there are websites that describe something a different way in which I can understand. I think technology is great to have for a quick answer to info, also for reports and other data.

    Compare yourself with older people who did most of their formal learning before smart phones and 2.0 existed
    --Well, I feel bad for those that didn't have the internet at their fingertips. They either had to go to a library and read mounds and mounds of library books and mostly likely only get a modicum of the information they were looking for. I, on the other hand, can simply connect to the internet and find data in under a minute. If I do get frustrated, it might be because of slow internet or cheese-ball information that is obviously fake. Our ancestors searches may have been more reliable if they found the information they were looking for.

    Compare yourself with contemporaries who don't use those tools much today
    --If I were to compare myself with contemporaries and see how much technology has affected me, I would be a kid on a crutch about to run a race and our contemporaries would be like runners that have been training for years. Definitely if our power ever magically went off completely, the world will definitely struggle to reboot.

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  52. The society we live in now is rule by the technology. Without technology this world wouldnt exist. People go to the internet for everything. For example if you need help with a question you dont understand, want to find out something, need to know the weather etc sll you got to do is go the google, yahoo etc and you click and there's the answers to any question. This technology is a big distraction to everybody, from adults to little kids. Technology doesnt let you do things you want to do like do homework etc. I feel lucky because a few years back internet wasnt in peoples lifes and now I have access to anything i can think of. Technology is the best thing in the world,I wouldnt change it for anything!

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  53. How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think?
    Extensive internet use changes the way we think because the world is at our fingertips. People have learned to scan vast spans of information in the most progressive way possible in order to find what they want. In my opinion, media has made much for innovative. Base information can be found with a click of a mouse, and once you have the base information, it allows you to expand this knowledge to much greater intellectual pursuits. The world, in a sense, has expanded itself, through information.

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  54. Internet/media/technology definitely changes the way we think. We don't have to memorize information as much anymore because it is now on the palm of our hands with the smartphones that we have. We can always go back and find something that we need the answer to. Our minds are becoming trianed to search something and the first thing that comes up is the answer to our question.technology has become easy for everyone now. You don't have to go and find an encyclopedia to get an answer. I think that technology defintly makes us more lazy especially more and more when the Internet choses what comes up. This has made so much more information available to people but I do think technology has its good and it's bad moments.

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  55. Answer this not-so-simple question: How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think? Focus on your memory, your ability to concentrate, your sense of time and priorities, and the subjects/topics that interest you most. If you find "thinking about your thinking" difficult to assess, try the following strategies: compare yourself with older people who did most of their formal learning before smart phones and 2.0 existed; compare yourself with contemporaries who don't use those tools much today; read up on what education leaders and thinkers have to say about generational differences in thinking (and remember to cite your sources).

    When what we need becomes accessible at the tip of a finger. We begin to loose our ability to learn for ourselves. Granted the fact that we even get out in the world and look for new things is concluded as the process of learning. Most of the things we search have already been pre-decided for us. That is through an unknown entity that follows and tracks us during our online activities. Then from that determines what we most be interested in and pushes that to the top of the list of our searches. Yet how does it know what we want? How does it find such an answer? It makes me think about what I am thinking. What exactly have I researched on this computer that allows it to make (what almost seems as if conscious) choices for me? Why am I trapped in the filter bubble of this society? And yes we know more now then we ever thought possible through technology. But it's what we don't know...or are not allowed to know that leaves me curious. How do I think about thinking when I do not have the full access to what I want to think of? (Well, online that is.)

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  56. Extensive internet/media/technology use has most definitely taken a peak since, most people have all these smartphones, and other handy devices available to them 24/7. It's much easier to find what you are looking for and often times more than you want or expect. When we don't know something, it is becoming second nature to pull out your smartphones to just make a quick search. With all the technology and media, it is somewhat significant that people are thinking on their own less and less, and it's not that they aren't as smart or they don't know, it's more the fact that we're a little lazy rather depend on the easiest way out. Of course it's fun to have all the information you ever want in the palm of your hands, but there is always a down side, as you are making searches or just looking up cool things to buy or cook or whatever, you may be giving personal information to people you never knew existed nor will ever know. Creepy.

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  57. Many people now own there own smartphones and have very equipped technology. Technology is very handy when it comes to finding something quick and easy. Something just straight to the point. Sure a quick fix answer is helpful, when in need. But we are slowly using less and less of our brains to do the work in finding the answers. we simply let a machine find it for us. We are not allowing ourselves to blossom into a full flower because we let things get in our way. I am gonna compare myself and my dad. our knowledge of the internet and of web sources are not at the same level. He is not as handy with computers and doesn't know how many sources there are out there on the internet. now whether they're safe or not...That's a whole other topic. I tend to find myself impatient when he is on the computer and wants to show me something that he found. He isn't as quick and to the point as I can tend to be. But his generation didn't have all the technology that my generation has. So of course it is all so new to him. I am also gonna compare myself with the babies that are being born today. These kids will grow up and will have technology surrounding them like crazy. I remember in first grade the LeapFrog was this cool new way to read books and to help us understand language. All of us kiddos found it supper cool and were so amazed by what that was. Well I now a days how much it has upgraded and I am amazed by how much LeapFrog has transformed. It was nothing like it is now compared to back then. I believe it is going to be something interesting to live through. How much technology we have and how the people will take it all in. Its pretty scary some to think of it.

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