Google Is Awesome.

To be honest, I think Google is the greatest thing ever invented. I use Google on a daily basis without a doubt. I use it for song lyrics, directions, local and global news, sports events, or even how to go about doing a task. I don’t think Google is making anyone stupid. The way I see it is, Google is just a website. I think if someone is using the website in a non-beneficial way, that is what is making them stupid, not the website itself though. For example, someone can use a website to enhance their knowledge at the snap of their fingers. Google is easy to use, easy to access, and easy to search through. However, if someone is using Google to look up the answer to “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop”, I don’t really find that as something that is enhancing knowledge of any sort. Just like in this weeks reading, I agree that Google is making us think differently. I think it is making everything easier to access, therefore people are looking up more things than ever, whether they are important or not. In my CGS (some computer class) class over the summer, my professor actually showed us how many searches are done for the SPELLING of Britney Spears, and that is happens so often every day that the Google Search bar finally guesses the right spelling for you with the use of the “Did you mean?” button. It is probably a safe bet to guess that a majority of these searches for Britney Spears correct name spelling occurred when someone (student) was doing their homework and got distracted by iTunes with one of her songs playing. I think that this is a prime example of when Google can be distracting. Although I am guilty of doing such a search with Google, I am also proud to say that I use Google for scholarly research. Overall, I think it is up to the person (student, in this case) to divide their time wisely when surfing the Internet. If they want to use Google to look up silly, dumb things then that is on them, but I don’t believe the website itself is actually making them dumb. I mean, it isn’t telling them what to search right? That is the persons’ choice, not Google’s.

Christina Natale