The Internet Makes You Dumb...Permanently

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The internet makes you stupid. If you are reading this on a computer, ur geting teh dumberest the moar u reed.

Now, in a second book called Digitale Demenz [Digital Dementia], he’s telling them that teaching young kids finger-counting games is much better for them than letting them explore on a laptop. Spitzer, 54, may be a member of the slide-rule generation that learned multiplication tables by heart, but his work as a neuropsychiatrist has shown him that when young children spend too much time using a computer, their brain development suffers and that the deficits are irreversible and cannot be made up for later in life.
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You can recover from a stroke, relearn to walk, overcome brain damage and even lose most of your brain and still learn stuff....but the internet is irreversible. Sounds legit. :rolleyes:
 
Humm, smoke pot and viewing web pages... Look for Department of Human Services to be stepping in soon to save us all!

I call it crock.
 
BS, you're simply learning different skills.

It is far more important later in life to know how to use a scientific calculator or mathcad than it is to be able to quickly multiply 7x21 in your head.

And the internet has become such a vast pool of information that middle-school kids can learn things that would make a cambodian prostitute blush. I think back to before the internet and realize how retarded I was back then, living in such a tiny world, and that was after having lived in various states in the US, Germany, France, Spain, and Singapore and visited all over. That is absolutely nothing compared to letting your fingers do the walking.

As a random example, it took us a day to check out Neuschwanstein, and it was fun and good exercise and I even got to be a passenger hanggliding, but in just a few minutes you can virtually experience it online, learn a crapload more about the history in no time just from a wiki and a few clicks around, and then learn the fundementals of piloting a small commercial jet on Flight Simulator X.
 
replace net with apple. -Fixed

Doing research to promote fearing the internet to change their habits and live healthier life style ?
nooooo no one would sink so low .
 
Whatever, I had a case of the shinies long before I even knew what a computer was. Even if he is a neuro....nero burning rom-intologist or something doesn't mean he has a clue. He's just jealous that all the girls his own age are really old looking and don't play jump rope outside near the public swimming pool because they can just pretend to go swimming outside of Stormwind in that Valley of Heros place.
 
Ever since they invented DERPAnet, the world has been spiraling towards herpputputput pbbbttttt!
 
What they say that you will be "dumber" because you don't memorize all those book titles, authors and their summary, birth and death dates of kings and politicians, dates of wars and other historic events - because you can find it on internet. You will be "dumber" because you won't calculate using your fingers/in your head, because you can do it using calculator/computer. You will be "dumber", in this sense it is true. But what is a point of memorizing all this historic stuff when you can find it if needed ? Sure, small math makes sense, but can most of the parents still do multiplication or division using paper and pen ? Don't think so.

Dumber in this case means "the kids don't learn the skills we had to learn, they are cheating!".
 
A few weeks ago I went online to Jeep Forums for help fixing my Jeep that wouldn't start. It just happened suddenly when I was down the road, and the car stalled and wouldn't start back up. A quick look on the forums told me that a fuse for the computer could have blown due to a bad O2 sensor. Simply disconnecting the O2 sensor and replacing the fuse got me home without needing a tow truck.

The internet is a tool, and how you use it doesn't make you dumb or smart. I personally believe that a collective mind like the internet is harming companies who specifically deal business with ignorant people. I also hypothesize that these useless studies are created to keep people away from using the internet. Cause information is power, and that's what the internet is doing, by giving away power for free.

Think about it like this. Those useless phones calls you receive daily, junk mail, and E-mail is all about praying on people who are ignorant. Even in person a lot of people wanna take advantage of your ignorance. Praying on stupid people is a big business.
 
Steve said:
You can recover from a stroke, relearn to walk, overcome brain damage and even lose most of your brain and still learn stuff....but the internet is irreversible. Sounds legit. :rolleyes:
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I like how you jump to conclusion. I'm guessing you've probably never looked at any of his research. He is a well-known researcher in his field, and even the article says "And yet Spitzer has accumulated a wealth of scientific information that gives his thesis solid underpinnings, and the studies and data he draws on offer more than enough room for consternation."

However, I do think it's fun to make assumptions and throw tomatoes at the guy.
 
Ashbringer said:
A few weeks ago I went online to Jeep Forums for help fixing my Jeep that wouldn't start. It just happened suddenly when I was down the road, and the car stalled and wouldn't start back up. A quick look on the forums told me that a fuse for the computer could have blown due to a bad O2 sensor. Simply disconnecting the O2 sensor and replacing the fuse got me home without needing a tow truck.

The internet is a tool, and how you use it doesn't make you dumb or smart. I personally believe that a collective mind like the internet is harming companies who specifically deal business with ignorant people. I also hypothesize that these useless studies are created to keep people away from using the internet. Cause information is power, and that's what the internet is doing, by giving away power for free.

Think about it like this. Those useless phones calls you receive daily, junk mail, and E-mail is all about praying on people who are ignorant. Even in person a lot of people wanna take advantage of your ignorance. Praying on stupid people is a big business.
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had you bothered to read the article, you'd know his message is mainly for KIDS. CHILDREN. You know, those creeps walking around ages 13 and younger?
 
Steve said:
You can recover from a stroke, relearn to walk, overcome brain damage and even lose most of your brain and still learn stuff....but the internet is irreversible. Sounds legit. :rolleyes:
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Steve, have you been on the internet other than [H] lately? I'm not unsure brain damage isn't an unlikely explanation.
 
bigpimpatl said:
I like how you jump to conclusion. I'm guessing you've probably never looked at any of his research. He is a well-known researcher in his field, and even the article says "And yet Spitzer has accumulated a wealth of scientific information that gives his thesis solid underpinnings, and the studies and data he draws on offer more than enough room for consternation."
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looks at the impact of copy-paste culture on the reading and writing ability, memory and social skills
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1) People can't write written text and instead they type letters on computer ? So what ? When was the last time you used wrote a letter using a pen, with the written letters (which doesn't look anything like the printed text). Is this skill really important ?
2) Reading skills - because all that text from Internet just magically appears in your head, right ? If he means understanding text and not just reading it, then it was an issue forever and it has nothing to do with the digital era.
3) Memory skills - because everyone really need to know when guy XY was born, when he wrote his first book and in what style and when he died. Even that worker in the China at production line who assembles your iPhone.
4) Social skills - we could argue about this... I guess going out to drink ourself under the ground on Friday night is what he calls social skills, right ? Instead of chatting with people using Skype or IM.

Sorry, but this is nothing more than promo for his book, so he can sell as many of it as possible.
 
I'll be honest, there might be some truth to this but it depends on the person. If you are like me and get really lazy if you browse too much, then yes it would make sense as it detracts from other things. I actually feel like I have dumbed down a bit since wasting so much time on the internet, but I bet I could reverse it if I just sat down and read a book/studied more.

I think becoming lazy is what ultimately decides if you become "dumber" or not :p
 
I have been out of work for the last year do to a back injury. I have been on the internet almost every day. Should I be worried?

"I'm too stupid to make up my own mind." (in my best Peter Griffin voice)
 
His research was good he just drew the wrong conclusion from it. It was that kids using computers are going to be doing too many things and not focusing on one thing. Kids get distracted doing anything that is how they are wired. The trick to not to knock computers but to tell parents to teach their kids to complete one task before doing others something that will help later in life. Then again if you do not learn to multitask you will die in the modern workplace.
 
Wow, I feel a bit "dumberer" just from reading that article.

I think the article is blatant BS. Yeah, if you use the Internet to surf YouTube or Facebook 24/7, it might have some negative impact on your IQ. However, if you use it for educational purposes, DIY articles and self help, it actually improves your IQ significantly.
 
bigpimpatl said:
had you bothered to read the article, you'd know his message is mainly for KIDS. CHILDREN. You know, those creeps walking around ages 13 and younger?
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Yet they compare this 'dumbing down' effect against people who use GPS. Spitzer wants to remove all digital media from class rooms, instead of embracing this modern way of living. On what, a hunch that children brains are being wired differently wrong?

My point still stands, and that the internet is a tool. It's like saying that using power tools is making you weak for not using mechanical tools. I remember when Wikipedia was first introduced, and like any good student I took the easy way out and used Wikipedia to get the information I needed. The teachers hated it, claiming that the sources can be changed by anyone. It sure beats going to the library and sitting down reading many books. Nowadays we just get the book onto our Kindle, and don't have to deal with ripped or missing pages. Not to forget overpriced books.

The only mistake I see we're doing is not showing children older technology. A history lesson of where and how our technology evolved. Also, sparing them the embarrassment of not know how to use a cassette tape player in schools because our school system is too cheap to upgrade.
 
I see a few points that did not make sense.. He imposed this as a fact: multitasking is bad. Yet the neuroplasticity of the brain allows it to adapt to what it needs to survive. Does it not figure that a young brain exposed to multitasking would adapt by developing a brain with a much improved cognitive ability?

In otherwords, I think the guy is full of shit and jumping to conclusions based on personal bias.
 
I've learned 90% of what I know from the internet. This guy clearly doesn't study children who can effectively use google and only ones that use Facebook and play games all day.

This guy is ignorant (I can't call him dumb really...)
 
As a parent,

I agree that kids need to UNPLUG and play with other kids in a live environment. Backyard football anyone? Baseball? Kickball... , even dodgeball or freeze tag.

The internet is cool, but like the TV. It needs to be monitored and moderated in manageable doses. If I let my kids sit in front of the tv all day... they would... and then they'd never want to sleep at night since they didn't get out of the house.
 
He's just jelly, cuz of the people who uses the interwebs make more money than he!
 
The only thing I agree with is that at a younger age a kid can read something horribly incorrect online and never uncommit it from memory, no matter how hard you try. I've failed so many students because they decided to read some hack jobs website, whom they have never met and also lends no real credibility to themselves, commit that stuff to memory then tell me I'm wrong.

Then I have the enjoyment to let them know they failed the test and can't move on with the rest.
 
What a waste of a study. :rolleyes:

File this under "Yea. Sure."

The Internet makes people lazy for sure but lowering overall intelligence? Sorry , don't buy it.
 
Tudz said:
So you learnt 90% of what you know from questionable sources and self professed know-it-alls? :p
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Nope. I triple check all my sources. I'm skeptical of I read it once, and fairly certain about it if I've read something in 3 or more places around the net.

I'm also good at recognizing bullshit when I see it. ;) the most important skill for safe Internet usage.
 
The featured article guy is overboard, but there are two problems with the internet.

The first is that its filled with trash especially when it comes to politics or history.

The second is that for kids, they sometimes need to reinvent the wheel and not download plans for one. The abundance of 'knowledge' short circuits the need to understand that knowledge. Understanding it allows you to extend the smaller set of knowledge you have.

At that age, they are suppose to be learning to learn. So when they go to college, they aren't learning how to build bridges or diagnose liver cancer from a blog. By doing this with subject material they are suppose to learn, you get a 2 for 1. They learn the material and in the process learn to learn. But with the cat out of the bag, you'll have to challenge kids differently. Probably more tests or labs where the material is due at the end of the session. Kiss marks for homework bye bye. Grades will be all tests and in session assignments which would essentially be tests in a more casual setting. Otherwise there's no challenge.
 
I can't seem to find his research article on pubmed.gov that supports this theory.
 
jpm100 said:
The featured article guy is overboard, but there are two problems with the internet.

The first is that its filled with trash especially when it comes to politics or history.

The second is that for kids, they sometimes need to reinvent the wheel and not download plans for one. The abundance of 'knowledge' short circuits the need to understand that knowledge. Understanding it allows you to extend the smaller set of knowledge you have.

At that age, they are suppose to be learning to learn. So when they go to college, they aren't learning how to build bridges or diagnose liver cancer from a blog. By doing this with subject material they are suppose to learn, you get a 2 for 1. They learn the material and in the process learn to learn. But with the cat out of the bag, you'll have to challenge kids differently. Probably more tests or labs where the material is due at the end of the session. Kiss marks for homework bye bye. Grades will be all tests and in session assignments which would essentially be tests in a more casual setting. Otherwise there's no challenge.
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This is why in high school we were not allowed to use the TI83 programs the teacher wrote until AFTER we learned the concept.

"Hurr durr I can press buttons and get results" does not grant understanding of what's going on.

At an even younger age, if a child isn't learning how to absorb information from its surroundings, that's a problem. You cannot learn social cues from a computer. You cannot learn how to interact with strangers from a computer. Heck, there's a lot of concepts young children should be exposed to that really don't translate (properly) from a computer screen.
 
Trimlock said:
The only thing I agree with is that at a younger age a kid can read something horribly incorrect online and never uncommit it from memory, no matter how hard you try. I've failed so many students because they decided to read some hack jobs website, whom they have never met and also lends no real credibility to themselves, commit that stuff to memory then tell me I'm wrong.

Then I have the enjoyment to let them know they failed the test and can't move on with the rest.
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But its the same thing as learning something Norman style from your dad. Or a teacher teaching from an outdated, or horribly one sided text book.

There are always faults in learning. Different sources have different versions of events and truths. The internet actually increases the likelihood of someone getting the closest to truthful information because it has access to almost all of the sources. Besides most people remember stuff wrong all the time.
 
He may have a point. There are plenty of idiots on the internet, and every year the dumb ones seem to get even dumber. The younger they are the worse they seem to be as well. Just play an M-rated video game on a server populated with 12-year old kids and you'll see it in action.
 
Topweasel said:
But its the same thing as learning something Norman style from your dad. Or a teacher teaching from an outdated, or horribly one sided text book.

There are always faults in learning. Different sources have different versions of events and truths. The internet actually increases the likelihood of someone getting the closest to truthful information because it has access to almost all of the sources. Besides most people remember stuff wrong all the time.
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Bwahahahahahahahaha!

Try using a library for something other than internet access. The majority of recorded knowledge is NOT online nor, is it even referenced. The idiotic idea that everything anyone needs is online is the single greatest fallacy of the modern age.
 
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