Have you ever wondered how technology shapes the person that you’ll become in the future? Without a doubt, technology has a great impact on our everyday life. Nicholas Carr in his article 'Is Google Making Us Stupid' describes the Internet as an immeasurable powerful computing system: “It’s becoming our map and our clock, our printing press and our typewriter, our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and our TV”. We can see how technology is spreading in many different areas, such as our transportation. Today more and more vehicle manufacturers are making electric cars and not only that but also self-driving vehicles. Our TVs went from being TVs to smart TVs, not to mention our cell phones, years ago they were only cell phones, but now they are smartphones! It seems like technology makes everything smarter and humans are no exception, technology makes us smart humans. In this essay, I want to talk about how the Internet makes us smarter, more productive, and more successful.
In order to become smarter, one must do a lot of research, here’s where the Internet comes into play. Search engines are a very powerful tool used for research. There are many options out there such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing just to mention a few. Carole Carwallardr in her article 'Google, Democracy, and the Truth about Internet Search' refers to one of these search engines, she states: “Google is knowledge. It’s where you go to find things out”. Search engines are virtual libraries that we carry with us at all times, that’s why expanding our learning is easier than ever before, but we have to be very careful. In our quest to expand our knowledge, we can encounter false information, and we need to be able to distinguish the good from the bad. Martin Moore, director of the Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power at King’s College, says that search results do influence people, adding: “These tools offer remarkable empowerment, but there’s a dark side to it. It enables people to do very cynically, damaging things”. The Internet makes us smarter in many different ways, we do research about the things that interest us the most almost every day. For example, we research about conflicts that are happening on the other side of the continent. We research new diseases, sports, politics, and weather, or we can even learn new skills. Now let’s talk about communication.
Technology has revolutionized the way we communicate completely and also the way we learn. Smartphones make it easier for us to spend more time studying due to the many helpful features that they offer to expand our learning process. There are hundreds of applications that will help us perform better. For example, dictionary.com is an app that will save us a lot of time and we can use our time more efficiently, or YouTube, where you can find videos of almost anything, music, comedies, movies, short films, and most importantly educational videos. Our smartphones give us the opportunity to communicate via text message with our classmates, which makes it more convenient. According to Jenna Wortham in 'How I Learned to Love Snapchat', texting has become the preferred mode of communication. Social media has taken a major step in the way we communicate as well, it is where people go and express themselves. Video calls will get you close to your family and friends, we can feel at home even when we are hundreds of miles away. Email is an excellent method to use to get in touch with professors or to share information with classmates.
It seems like the Internet has an endless list of positive things. Let’s talk about how the Internet makes us proactive. Using the Internet wisely helps us achieve more throughout our day. The Internet is good for the planet, yes it’s good for the planet. We all know that paper comes from the trees but with paperless bills, we help our planet and save money on postage and time from going to the post office. Today most employers post job openings online, which is convenient because we don’t have to go from place to place looking for a job. Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of the Internet is online studies. Thanks to the Internet, now it is easier for everyone to continue with their academic studies. Online study gives you the opportunity to work without committing to being in the class at a specific time. Most of the work performed for your classes is done on your computer, and if you need to do some research, everything is just a click away. Online study is very convenient because you set your own schedule. You can take the classes in the comfort of your house while listening to your favorite music, and one of the coolest parts of all is that you can have food while taking your class. Without a doubt, the Internet has positively changed the way we communicate.
As technology evolves, so does our brain. All the tools that we have today transform us into new people. Our knowledge, wisdom, and alertness. Our doubts and concerns are solved with the effective use of the Internet. The Internet opens infinite doors to the world, it makes us smarter since we have access to information from all over the world. It makes us more efficient since we can do more on the Internet. The Internet brings us closer to each other thanks to the advantages that we have in communication. Last but not least, the Internet allows us to become new people thanks to online studies. You have the final word, it’s up to you to use our tools efficiently and create the new you.