Google: stop thinking for me!

Comment

Comment by Mary Murphy on January 12, 2012 at 12:31pm

So true, Trevor. Since getting my mobile phone, I don't have to remember phone numbers, dates, appointments, or  calculate in my head. My conversations are becoming increasingly 'virtual'. I see people on public transport, all wired up and plugged in, with little or no interaction. I wonder if social media, while bringing us all together, is actually driving us further and further apart.

Comment by Virginia (Ginger) Paque on January 12, 2012 at 11:21am

True, Trevor, but there is a very positive flip side: so many photos, stories, histories of small groups, and even languages are being recorded and saved, which would otherwise be lost. I wonder if we will ever learn balance?

Comment by Trevor A. Phipps on January 12, 2012 at 2:01am

Wow indeed. Along with "stop thinking for me", we are also being socialised into having our memories on the internet. For example our traditions of passing on family histories orally, community events etc are being replaced by an internet search. There appears to be decline in the need for collective or social memories, after all we can just Google it and "find it". The challenge is the truth or memory we find depends on the content being served.