Does the Internet Make Humans Smarter - Opportunities Given by Modern Information Technologies - Literature review Example

The paper "Does the Internet Make Us Smarter by Clay Shirky" is a great example of an article on information technology. The use of the internet has indeed made its users smarter as opposed to the days when there was no use of the internet. With the developments from the use of the press, to the internet, the users today have indeed been made smarter. Evidently, the use of the internet has continued to augment over the years. With so many persons accessing the internet at this age, the implications of the same are evident.

It is clear that the positive effects of the internet have outdone the negatives if Shirky’s article is anything to consider.  The author is of the thought that digital media has made the distribution of sound, texts, and images extremely easy and cheap. The author quotes, “… creating and disseminating text, sound, and images cheap, easy and global.” (Shirky 1 par 1). The young people are expected to be more intelligent with the internet despite the wrong notions that the internet will make them stupid.

The freedom to create media has increased; thus, the creation of novel literature (Shirky 1). The media freedom will also create a collaborative effort that will create a platform for discussion of issues as redistribution of information is easy. He quotes, “…digital media link over a billion people into the same network…” (Shirky 1 par 7). As opposed to the times when people spend too much on television, the internet acts as an excellent basis for access to information, especially in their free time.

Most importantly, there has been the creation of open-source software has enabled the dissemination of web pages. Internet searches are much easier (Shirky 1). However, the internet is questionable, as Shirky indicates that the quality of media had dwindled (1). The author quotes, “…whenever media becomes abundant …quality falls quickly …” (Shirky 1 par 10). The same case happened to print media that also experienced a downfall. Digital stupidity is also a negative of the internet, especially with the excessive freedoms.

Fallacious material can also be found online. The article is categorized into paragraphs that explain the two sides of the question posed. The points that support the internet makes us smarter open the discussion and the points that do not support only take up about two paragraphs. From the article, the internet without a doubt makes us more intelligent. Response In terms of analysis of the effectiveness of the text, I would give the author nine out of ten. The paper will definitely be memorable to me especially with the examples that the author used in the text.

The cases provided are ones that the reader can recount. For instance, the author quoted, “…Wikipedia took the idea of peer review and applied it to volunteers on a global scale…” (Shirky 1 par 8). Internet users can easily relate to this internet provider; thus, they have a connection with the author’s thesis. However, the aspect of the writing that I found problematic was the example of the Bible that has versions that eroded the original version. I find this theme extremely contentious.

The author would have added titles in his to make it more effectual as titles help the readers have a quick glimpse of the idea in question. Regarding supporting or disagreeing with thoughts in the text, I concur with the author that the internet makes us smarter. Being a consistent internet user, I agree with the verity that the internet has made facts quick to access and will ultimately create intellectual people. It is evident that lots of people around the globe today have internet led devices.

This is to mean that in their free time, most of them will browse through various sites provided online, therefore, acquire information in diverse ways. It is only fair that we move with the times and the expectations of the technological era. Digitalization has benefits that cannot be exhausted. Reflecting on the work of Clay, I relate with the accounts of the internet and today’s world. The internet has linked lots of people worldwide through sharing and provision of various platforms that people can share such as Google, Yahoo amongst others.

The author quoted, “…this linking together, in turn, lets us tap our cognitive surplus, the trillion hours…of free time …has to spend doing things they care about…” (Shirky 1 par 7). Today people can even share information and thoughts on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook amongst others. This article is indeed that is rich in knowledge and can be used in conjunction with works of other writers that have provided insights on the benefits of the internet.

The historical developments such as the printing press also led to the innovation of the internet. Nonetheless, it is also crucial to highlight that the happenings on the internet today are the same as the ones experienced on the internet. For instance, there were duplications of the original press such as the Bible that saw many versions of the same developed. The same freedom of the press is seen on the internet.