Is The Internet Making Me Stoopid?*

Make your own memes featuring Starebert here.

Today I needed sample Taxation bar exam questions, a backgrounder on HBO's Cirque du Freak, and Supreme Court cases providing the "exception to the exception" of the doctrine of judicial courtesy. And I needed it fast. Google, as usual, did not disappoint.

It seems almost trite to say that technology has vastly simplified my life. But say it, I shall. Instead of having to go to school just to look for cases and books in the library, I can save money and time wasted on the long commute by staying home and searching for the answers online. I can email simple motions directly to my Supervising Lawyer and use the waiting time to finish my required hand-written digests to the sound of John C. Reilley and Salma Hayek arguing in the background.

My recent dependence on Google made me think of Nicholas Carr's controversial article, which offered what seems to be a compelling argument that the Internet has detrimental effects on human cognition. That is, our capacity for concentration and contemplation has greatly diminished because the Internet has allegedly transformed us into shallow, distracted subjects. He cites Richard Foreman and the latter's notion of "pancake people" -- "spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.” The way we think is changing at the same pace our medium of imbibing knowledge is changing. And these changes, according to Carr, might not be for the best. He writes:

The idea that our minds should operate as high-speed data-processing machines is not only built into the workings of the Internet, it is the network’s reigning business model as well. The faster we surf across the Web—the more links we click and pages we view—the more opportunities Google and other companies gain to collect information about us and to feed us advertisements. Most of the proprietors of the commercial Internet have a financial stake in collecting the crumbs of data we leave behind as we flit from link to link—the more crumbs, the better. The last thing these companies want is to encourage leisurely reading or slow, concentrated thought. It’s in their economic interest to drive us to distraction.

Wikipedia reveals that Carr develops these arguments further in his recently released book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. This made me think though -- without the Internet, Google wouldn't have had the space in which to operate. Without Google, I wouldn't have discovered Nicholas Carr or his article. I wouldn't have realized that the way I consume information over the Internet might pose terrible risks to my I.Q. Sure, Carr's premise may have triggered a bit of existentialist angst, but without it, what else could I have used to fuel this blog article? More importantly, of course, I wouldn't have finished my minor pleading for OLA on time. Is it possible, then, that Carr is just being the modern-day John Philip Sousa?

While this issue might need for further critical reflection on my end, this is what I do believe: The Internet is NOT making me stoopid. After all, it is elementary that distracted is NOT synonymous to stoopid.

*Title borrowed from Nicholas Carr's 2008 article Is Google Making Us Stoopid?

TV vs. Net

I just realized how disconnected I am to our TV already.

I remember the times when I had to finish my assignments at school so that I could just stay at home, relax and watch my favorite anime series at that time (BT' X, Ghost Fighter, Hunter X Hunter, etc.) I'd get mad at my cousins when they try to change the channel whenever my eyes are glued unto the screen. I know the exact times when my favorite shows are shown and I always act as if I have a vested right to watch these shows, as a reward for my being a "good" student.


But now, I rarely watch the TV. Aside from the snippets I see from the teleseryes my mom's fond of, I only watch the TV whenever I feel like I need to watch the news to remain "in the know".

And now that I thought about it, me getting over the tube-box may have been caused by my now-full-blown internet addiction:

1. My daily morning news from Inquirer.net and Yahoo! News;


2. My weekly dose of anime and manga from various torrent and streaming sites (I don't need to be at home at a specific time just to watch a TV show anymore);


3. My daily mail;


4. My daily fix of Facebook and its games;


5. My occassional Wikipedia trips.

Even my mom, who has been religiously following her seryes 'til almost midnight has discovered the existence of Youtube, ever so thankful that she won't need to stay up late just to watch Villainess A slap the face of Protagonist B.

Indeed, the Internet has changed the way people entertain themselves and it probably will continue to make TV less and less relevant in the future (thus resulting in a lot stronger presence of the TV networks on the Net)

If video did kill the radio star, then the net will, someday, kill the TV star.

Dial-up vs. SmartBRO vs. Globe Broadband

It's only been recently that I've realized that our internet connection is so much bearable now than when we first got connected through dial-up and prepaid ISP cards (ehem, ISP Bonanza). Gone are the days when I'd get a bad temper for having been disconnected from Ragnarok Online just before the consummation of a "transaction". There's also the fact that 100 pesos for 2o hours of 28kbps of connection simply isn't worth it.

My Mom, upon some convincing that the Internet will help my education and that it will lower the costs of our communication with my Dad, had us connected to SmartBRO. It was great at first, but then, the rainy season came and so did the seemingly endless intermittent connection. We had to call their customer service everyday and ask them to send a technician immediately, but SmartBRO will send someone a week after, when the connection's good. Hence, I eventually developed "hatred" and distrust against wireless broadbands. I succumbed to the fact that wireless broadbands don't go well with the rain and Antipolo City.

When I learned that Mom is switching to Globe Broadband, I was quite wary since I knew that it's another wireless service. The first few months of their service also had us calling their call centers but fortunately, unlike SmartBRO, they were fast in sending their field technicians to us. Eventually, though I was not that aware at first, the connection got better and faster, I could now download large files without waiting for 3 long hours.

I also admire the fact that tyhphoon "Ondoy" has not hampered our connection even once during its onslaught in the Metro. (I was dead sure that I'd get home without an internet connection the day after that flooded Saturday).

I guess SkyBroadband would have to wait longer before we think of switching services again. As of now, we are completely satisfied with Globe.

(NOTE: I was not paid to advertise Globe Broadband!)

Internet Addicts Anonymous...?

I wonder if a law should be passed regulating the content of internet so as to make it not so addicting.

A strange thought indeed, but browsing over the internet while looking for something to write about, I started about thinking how the internet is actually a new addiction. I mean people use it a lot in their loves, more than they are ready (or proud) to admit. Yes, initially, the internet was a useful tool in gathering information about stuff you actually need, or communicating with people conveniently; now, however, with all the innovations in computer programming and software development, more and more people are beginning to find the internet not just a useful tool they can resort t once in a while, but as an addiction they can’t help and crave every minute of their lives.

Okay, so the last phrase may be an exaggeration, but first of all, it is true that some people just have the urgency to feel connected to the net, and without this connection, they feel as if they’re not complete or as if missing a body part. Second, who knows, maybe there are those who feel they’ve got to be online ALL the time, lest life would be rendered meaningless.

That’s rather sad.

But did you know that there are actually internet rehabilitation centers in other more developed countries? Yes, fortunately for them, they realize that the problem of internet addiction is real, and that it may hamper a person’s intellectual, or social development and even physical health. And so, just like anything harmful and addicitive, don't you think that intervention must be made to reduce the addiction where possible? Of course, it’s different from smoking or drinking, but just because the trigger of the addiction isn’t something that you have to physically ingest or take in doesn’t mean it’s not, or that it can’t be addicting.

So, are you ready to admit your addiction? ;-)