[Research] Internet based knowledge is making people stupid

The Dhaka Times Desk Believe it or not people are getting stupid day by day due to internet usage. You might think this is impossible because the Internet has increased the scope of knowledge. But a group of scientists from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand found this information while researching people's study behavior. They say, this wide range of knowledge makes your knowledge more limited.

There is no doubt that the Internet is a vast virtual world of knowledge. This vast array of informative content on the Internet has given us a wonderful opportunity to wade through an endless trove of information. But when you read about a subject online, you can't register your brain's full attention to that reading. As a result, the knowledge you gain from this reading is superficial. Val Hooper, associate professor at the University of Victoria, and research associate Channa Herath analyzed the patterns and effects of online and offline reading of books, periodicals, and other forms of study. They found that people's attention span is lacking in Internet-based learning. By this, people try to progress a little faster in acquiring knowledge in any subject. They ignore the three factors of knowledge namely perception, information retention and memory. The matter can be understood more clearly, think that you two friends are reading the same novel, in this case your friend is reading offline i.e. with the book in hand and you are reading it online in the internet library. If you and your friend are asked a week later about different events in this same novel, he will be able to give a much better answer than you. Because he used all three factors of reading while reading it. Which was not possible for you. Maybe you scrolled through Facebook while reading or you got an email. That distracted you. Online people are usually attracted to quick reading rather than intensive study.

While reading on the internet or online, people's minds are focused on different things which is not the case when a person is reading with a book in hand. This study also shows that many people print out various Internet topics on paper and then read them for ease of remembering. They are more focused on it. The researchers of this study think that people have got used to that traditional way of studying so people still feel comfortable to read books and newspapers or magazines printed on paper. But it may take a generation for people to get used to this internet learning thing.