How is the internet damaging our intelligence?
When we start depending on things rather than using our capabilities, surely our ability to do things decreases. The same is the case with our brains. The more we make use of it, the smarter we will find ourselves to be. And when we do not engage our minds in internet active thinking, the cognitive abilities of the brain also decrease.
In the modern era, people are now making a great deal of use of the internet. But this is damaging our intelligence in turn. Following are some ways in which our intelligence is getting affected through excessive use of the internet.
Internet is too distracting
The real problem is that the internet is too distracting. Whatever we do, we find it difficult to abandon the use of the internet. The vast amount of data storage following the interests of people of diverse personalities makes the internet very entertaining.
But being so distracted by the internet is driving us farther away from our real lives. If a student uses it for study then there is no harm in it. For instance, if under a strict deadline a student wants to seek quick assignment help then it’s always good to do so.
It results in a weaker ability of us to focus on things
There are so many things that the internet has allowed to do us at once. Digital multi-tasking is a concept that the internet has enabled us to engage in. at one time we are dealing with many tabs. And then there are things like additional ads too. All of these things actually decrease our ability to focus on one particular thing for a long time. The internet has indeed shortened our attention span.
Reliance on the internet for daily tasks is damaging our ability to do it on our own
There was a time when people used to brainstorm for things and get the right answers. For example, people used to do mental math for simple calculations. Now even students are using the internet to indeed find out answers to their assigned homework for mathematics.
This has decreased our ability to use our brain cells for even simple calculations in real life. And likewise, there are many other daily tasks too for which we use the internet and now we can’t figure them out using our mind.
Online shopping often leads to scams
Earlier, people would always go to the markets and see things with their own eyes before buying them. In this way, they would even do a quality check. Now many people simply order things online which many times lead to scams. They get very poor-quality products that are just not similar to the ones shown in the pictures.
However, this is not true for academic services. Many academic services provide professional assignment writing services at very reasonable charges and are genuinely good.
Makes us least productive
Before the invention of the television and the World Wide Web, the only source of entertainment for people has been books (buyessay, 2021). But now the internet has greatly replaced books. People spend too much time of their day on the internet. And this is a disturbing situation. Due to this, we are unable to focus on the things that matter in our lives. We even do not work hard for our goals. Hence, the internet makes us least productive.
Students often use it for plagiarism
Using the internet for the study is great. It is recommended to go through the study material available on the internet to develop a better understanding of the topics being taught in class. However, many students even use it for copying stuff for their assignments. This reduces our intellect and even makes us liable for plagiarism.
Bad impact on children’s mind
Whether children are watching TV or using the internet, parent guidance is always recommended. And this is even more important when it comes to the internet. That’s because TV content is always regulated by censorship boards and so it is less harmful. However, we never know what children might be learning through the internet. They could even become abusive and violent.
Unrealistic ideals through social media lead to a lower self-esteem
Most of the time we spend on the internet is spent on social media. People use social media applications with the hope that they would be able to connect with their friends and be entertained too. However, the kind of content that we see on social media reflects perfection in everything. This leads to lower self-esteem as people start comparing themselves with those ideal figures.
Too addictive and may even lead to depression
No doubt, the use of the internet is too addictive. No matter what we do, we are unable to stop ourselves from using the internet. However, the excessive use of the internet is disturbing people’s mental health as it leads us to depression and anxiety.
Studies have also proven a strong association between social media use and depression (Lin, Sidani, Shensa, Radovic, Miller, Colditz, Hoffman, Giles and Primack, 2016). The more internet we use, the more dissatisfied we become with ourselves and with our lives. We are hoping that the internet would entertain us but it leads us into disturbing thinking patterns.
It can lead to social isolation
It seems like a weird outcome but it is true. The abundant use of the internet is making us more and more socially isolated. When we are using the internet, we see the lives of people not just from our area but also around the globe.
The concept of vloging is indeed now giving us a greater insight into other people’s lives. But are we actually making that contact with them? No, it is just a delusional belief that we get ourselves into. In reality, we are limiting our contact with people in real-life and becoming socially isolated. Surely, this is not good for our mental health either.
References
- BE-UK., (2021). Book Review Vs Book Report – Complete Guide. Online Available at: https://www.buyessay.org.uk/book-review-vs-book-report/ [Accessed 01 Apr. 2022].
- Lin, L.Y., Sidani, J.E., Shensa, A., Radovic, A., Miller, E., Colditz, J.B., Hoffman, B.L., Giles, L.M. and Primack, B.A., 2016. Association between social media use and depression among US young adults. Depression and anxiety, 33(4), pp.323-331.