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Yr 7 Inquiry Project

Technology

6. Technology

Is Technology making us dumber?

INTRODUCTION

Are we losing our ability to concentrate and remember things as we don’t have to use our brains as much by using technology? Does the distraction of technology affect our sleep and mood so much that we cannot engage in learning properly? 

Adam Davis writes about these issues in Is technology making people dumber or smarter? “Some people argue that technology has made us less capable of critical thinking and problem-solving. After all, why bother trying to figure something out when you can just Google it? This dependence on technology can lead to a lack of critical thinking skills and an inability to solve problems on our own….Others argue that technology has actually made us smarter. With instant access to so much information, we are able to learn more than ever before”. 

In a blog post reporting on university research, Professor Anthony Chemero is quoted as saying “while technology helps us get to places, solve problems and find solutions, it allows us to think of other things that technology may not be up to speed with yet."

So, there are many interesting aspects to this debate about whether technology makes us smarter or dumber.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS

  1. Why do you think people say technology makes us dumb?
  2. How does using technology affect our attention-span?
  3. How can constant streams of news and social media affect our thinking?
  4. How does using technology affect our ability to solve problems?
  5. When using technology, how do you ensure that you are reading reliable and factual information?
  6. What are some of the ways technology has made people smarter?
  7. Thinking about your parents or grandparents’ generations at your age…How has technology changed their lives for the better or worse?
  8. How does using social media and artificial intelligence (AI) technology affect how smart we are?

RESOURCES

Suggested websites

Worldbook article

Search the Shortis Library for digital resources & videos

References on this page:

De Souza, R. (2021). Is technology making people dumber or smarter? https://www.abmcollege.com/blog/is-technology-making-people-dumber-or-smarter

DW Global Media Forum. (2021, October 19). Is smart technology making us dumb? [Video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95cTchHTZlA&t=6s  

H, C. (2019, May 14). Is Our Attention Span Reducing? Youngzine. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A586039873/SUIC?u=whitefriars&sid=bookmark-SUIC&xid=f5166820

Torrens University Australia. (2018). New technology in the classroom: Progress or distraction? https://www.torrens.edu.au/blog/new-technology-in-classroom-progress-or-distraction

Gonski Institute for Education, UNSW. (2021). Children more distracted by digital devices in the home, parents https://www.gie.unsw.edu.au/children-more-distracted-digital-devices-home-parents-say

Williams, M. (2019). Smartphones are making us stupid and may be a gateway drug. https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/august-2019/smartphones-are-making-us-stupid-and-may-be-a-gateway-drug

https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/august-2019/smartphones-are-making-us-stupid-and-may-be-a-gateway-drug

Blinch, M. (2023). ‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton quits Google , warning of AI’s capacity to create false images and text

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-03/geoffrey-hinton-godfather-of-ai-quits-google-with-danger-warning/102297868

Nueline Health. (2022). How social media affects your brain. https://neulinehealth.com/how-social-media-affects-your-brain/

Carlson, W.B. (2024). Technology. In World Book Student. https://www.worldbookonline.com/student-new/#/article/home/ar549400

 

Self-Evaluation - Microsoft Form

https://forms.microsoft.com/r/ta29iZVYqV

 

 

Reflection - Microsoft Form

https://forms.microsoft.com/r/ViqYWASDbw