There is a group among us that believes we are being dumbed down by the Internet. They believe that one doesn't need to know anything since one can simply Google the answer. Hmm...not so much. Not too long ago, well really it was a long time ago, there was a certain group that felt that printed books would be the end of civilization. That didn't come true either.
Whether you agree with or voted for or against Al Gore, one can surely agree with this statement he made in his book Assault on Reason published in 2007.
"The Internet is perhaps the greatest source of hope for reestablishing an open communications environment in which the conversation of democracy can flourish. The ideas that individuals contribute are dealt with, in the main, according to the rules of a meritocracy of ideas. It is the most interactive medium in history and the one with the greatest potential for connecting individuals to one another and to a universe of knowledge."
It is the easily accessible democratization of knowledge that makes its value far outweigh any perceived danger to our society or any future society being dumbed down by the Internet.
Whether intellect or democracy is being discussed, the Internet has not dumbed us down. It has, instead, brought about an ability to educate a population of the world that might not have ever had a teacher in their village. Mobile phones, tablets, laptops...pick your tech...is enabling those in most need of help to learn, to then in turn to think for themselves. It helps them to pull themselves up.
Those that think we are being dumbed down are not looking at the positive aspects of the Internet. Anything in life will have some negativity, so why focus on that? Why not focus on the positive in which we see large populations that were previously left out of the world that is continually moving forward?
What do you think?
At least I didn't bring up the fact that Al Gore invented the internet!
