I wonder if checking Google (or any other search engine on the internet) frequently is normal or pathological.
I suppose pathological-or-normal is determined by 1.how often one checks Google before doing something, 2. the reasons why one checks Google, 3.whether one checks Google for very simple things which one should know and be doing without Google verification.
Reasons why I and a lot of people check Google:
The main reason for checking on Google-accessibility: I am in front of a computer with internet connection and great speed at least 8- 12 hours a day! It's as simple as that. If I did not have such easy access to Google, I would be doing things independently, without checking "the best way of doing it" on Google, 'where is the best place to buy this product' 'best way to make this thing', etc.
People now have phones and can check even when they are on the go. And NOW, with Siri, they can Google-check, even when they are bathing!
I also think that modern man, wants to do things 'perfectly' and for that he needs to 'research' and for that the best tool is 'Google'.
I do believe that making an effort to do things perfectly is good. But I also believe that this dependence on Google is leading to loss of many good skills in us. I will outline these losses below. But please remember, I have NOT DONE RESEARCH and this is simply, my thoughts.
1) Loss of self-confidence: I mean this in a very narrow sense of the phrase. I don't mean people lose self-confidence because they Google search before doing something. What I mean is that people who were relying on what is inside their head to do something now don't seem to trust that what is inside their head is enough to start their task. They want to check on Google first. What they know is not enough to do the job.
2)Loss of spontaneity: Again I do not mean people's personality changes and they loose spontaneity. I mean that the first step to do something is not the first step of planning or organizing or doing. The first step is checking how others are doing it and finding the best way to do it...on Google.
3.)Some of us feel we are not good enough when we see the amazing things others have put on the internet; it may lead some of us to stop doing things. Some of us make the mistake of thinking that others are doing such a great job. Why should I even bother to do it. It's not going to be good anyway. Giving up doing because 'so many others are way better than me' is one sad effect of doing Google searches when we undertake to do something.
4)I believe that having information at our fingertips is great. It's useful in so many ways. But this dependency on Google, also leads to some concerns. I believe that I don't even try to remember anything now as I know I can get it from Google. This vast storage system is possibly affecting our memories. Secondly, people would discuss and debate and enjoy it in coffeeshops and so on. Now, any disagreement leads to whipping out our phones and searching on Google to find out who's right. This immediate checking and finding out who's right is taking away so much of the pleasures of the debate! Thirdly, all the information available to us has lead to vast stores of information floating around in our heads without really making us happier or wiser. I will admit search on Google has opened so many doors to so much new worlds to me and I am immensely grateful for that. I may even be quite a bit wiser and happier with all this information. But this has come at a price. A price I am somewhat unwilling to pay. The mystery is missing when I am pre-armed with knowledge from Google when I try something new such as visit a new place. In the past, when it was difficult to get something, the joy was so much sweeter when you got it. Now, you can find literally ANYTHING on Google or amazon or ebay or whatever. The thrill of the chase is gone. Now I feel like those rich kids who can afford anything and so everything is boring for them. I am now cherishing the pleasures I had in the past of finding things when accessibility was poor.
I am NOT complaining about accessibility. I am so glad there is accessibility for the information deprived masses in countries like India. In fact I wish ewvery 'poor' person in India had functional knowledge of English, functional literacy and access to internet, google, etc. This would help them come out of poverty as knowledge is power.
5) I don't know how to measure this or analyze this but I believe that access to this huge amount of information on internet both helps creativity/innovation and also has negative effects. What I mean by negative effects is :
a) One cannot escape the influence of ideas from the world around us and people around us. This world has become infinitely bigger with the internet access. One artist friend of mine sometimes avoids attending exhibitions of others art works as she is worried about their influence, either conscious or unconscious, on her works.
b) I cannot be sure if the idea I generated was 'mine and mine only' or influenced by what I saw and heard and read on the internet. Of course, there were influences even before the internet but the extent was miniscule compared to the amount of stimulation on the internet. It's difficult to be original now as it's difficult to escape influences today even if we lock ourselves indoors as the world is within our home through the internet.
I spoke of the not-so-positive effect of the internet on memory and creativity. Now lets talk briefly about it's impact on attention. I feel that people who are already 'easily-distractible' can become even more easily distracted when surfing on the internet as they move from one topic to another which captures their attention/interest. I am not saying that internet worsens the attention of an ADHD person. But I do say that it does not help them much either by offering so much of stimulation.
Why do we google? I google mostly for information or pleasure. I google for dog and cat videos, jokes, news, pictures of so many things,, etc. The hours people spend on surfing is the hours taken away from physical exercises, spending time with family, friends, children, etc; time taken away from tasks to be completed.
Surfing is giving us new information, knowledge and opens new doors to us. To the extent that we pause to process the new information and ruminate on it, we are getting some depth. But if we quickly scan, absorb and move on to new information, we are in danger of having shallow information about a whole lot of things. People who surf the internet rapidly, stop thinking and processing information but just file it away in their memories. They may not spend time to understand the information in it's depth, check it's veracity, see if they can improve upon it and so on.
One major lacuna of surfing is that the information is theory. People may know but most do not accquire the practical skills of achieving what they know in theory. Let me give an example. My husband, for the last few weeks has been sitting in bed watching Utube videos of 'northmen'. These are videos of woodcutting, welding, making knives, etc. But, I am laughing as I write this, he has not touched a single axe or chopped a piece of wood or welded or whatever. yet, he can talk quite well about it, thanks to watching them! But, to me, "What is the point?"
To be continued
I suppose pathological-or-normal is determined by 1.how often one checks Google before doing something, 2. the reasons why one checks Google, 3.whether one checks Google for very simple things which one should know and be doing without Google verification.
Reasons why I and a lot of people check Google:
The main reason for checking on Google-accessibility: I am in front of a computer with internet connection and great speed at least 8- 12 hours a day! It's as simple as that. If I did not have such easy access to Google, I would be doing things independently, without checking "the best way of doing it" on Google, 'where is the best place to buy this product' 'best way to make this thing', etc.
People now have phones and can check even when they are on the go. And NOW, with Siri, they can Google-check, even when they are bathing!
I also think that modern man, wants to do things 'perfectly' and for that he needs to 'research' and for that the best tool is 'Google'.
I do believe that making an effort to do things perfectly is good. But I also believe that this dependence on Google is leading to loss of many good skills in us. I will outline these losses below. But please remember, I have NOT DONE RESEARCH and this is simply, my thoughts.
1) Loss of self-confidence: I mean this in a very narrow sense of the phrase. I don't mean people lose self-confidence because they Google search before doing something. What I mean is that people who were relying on what is inside their head to do something now don't seem to trust that what is inside their head is enough to start their task. They want to check on Google first. What they know is not enough to do the job.
2)Loss of spontaneity: Again I do not mean people's personality changes and they loose spontaneity. I mean that the first step to do something is not the first step of planning or organizing or doing. The first step is checking how others are doing it and finding the best way to do it...on Google.
3.)Some of us feel we are not good enough when we see the amazing things others have put on the internet; it may lead some of us to stop doing things. Some of us make the mistake of thinking that others are doing such a great job. Why should I even bother to do it. It's not going to be good anyway. Giving up doing because 'so many others are way better than me' is one sad effect of doing Google searches when we undertake to do something.
4)I believe that having information at our fingertips is great. It's useful in so many ways. But this dependency on Google, also leads to some concerns. I believe that I don't even try to remember anything now as I know I can get it from Google. This vast storage system is possibly affecting our memories. Secondly, people would discuss and debate and enjoy it in coffeeshops and so on. Now, any disagreement leads to whipping out our phones and searching on Google to find out who's right. This immediate checking and finding out who's right is taking away so much of the pleasures of the debate! Thirdly, all the information available to us has lead to vast stores of information floating around in our heads without really making us happier or wiser. I will admit search on Google has opened so many doors to so much new worlds to me and I am immensely grateful for that. I may even be quite a bit wiser and happier with all this information. But this has come at a price. A price I am somewhat unwilling to pay. The mystery is missing when I am pre-armed with knowledge from Google when I try something new such as visit a new place. In the past, when it was difficult to get something, the joy was so much sweeter when you got it. Now, you can find literally ANYTHING on Google or amazon or ebay or whatever. The thrill of the chase is gone. Now I feel like those rich kids who can afford anything and so everything is boring for them. I am now cherishing the pleasures I had in the past of finding things when accessibility was poor.
I am NOT complaining about accessibility. I am so glad there is accessibility for the information deprived masses in countries like India. In fact I wish ewvery 'poor' person in India had functional knowledge of English, functional literacy and access to internet, google, etc. This would help them come out of poverty as knowledge is power.
5) I don't know how to measure this or analyze this but I believe that access to this huge amount of information on internet both helps creativity/innovation and also has negative effects. What I mean by negative effects is :
a) One cannot escape the influence of ideas from the world around us and people around us. This world has become infinitely bigger with the internet access. One artist friend of mine sometimes avoids attending exhibitions of others art works as she is worried about their influence, either conscious or unconscious, on her works.
b) I cannot be sure if the idea I generated was 'mine and mine only' or influenced by what I saw and heard and read on the internet. Of course, there were influences even before the internet but the extent was miniscule compared to the amount of stimulation on the internet. It's difficult to be original now as it's difficult to escape influences today even if we lock ourselves indoors as the world is within our home through the internet.
I spoke of the not-so-positive effect of the internet on memory and creativity. Now lets talk briefly about it's impact on attention. I feel that people who are already 'easily-distractible' can become even more easily distracted when surfing on the internet as they move from one topic to another which captures their attention/interest. I am not saying that internet worsens the attention of an ADHD person. But I do say that it does not help them much either by offering so much of stimulation.
Why do we google? I google mostly for information or pleasure. I google for dog and cat videos, jokes, news, pictures of so many things,, etc. The hours people spend on surfing is the hours taken away from physical exercises, spending time with family, friends, children, etc; time taken away from tasks to be completed.
Surfing is giving us new information, knowledge and opens new doors to us. To the extent that we pause to process the new information and ruminate on it, we are getting some depth. But if we quickly scan, absorb and move on to new information, we are in danger of having shallow information about a whole lot of things. People who surf the internet rapidly, stop thinking and processing information but just file it away in their memories. They may not spend time to understand the information in it's depth, check it's veracity, see if they can improve upon it and so on.
One major lacuna of surfing is that the information is theory. People may know but most do not accquire the practical skills of achieving what they know in theory. Let me give an example. My husband, for the last few weeks has been sitting in bed watching Utube videos of 'northmen'. These are videos of woodcutting, welding, making knives, etc. But, I am laughing as I write this, he has not touched a single axe or chopped a piece of wood or welded or whatever. yet, he can talk quite well about it, thanks to watching them! But, to me, "What is the point?"
To be continued
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