Has all of the information at our fingertips made us smarter?

Television is not the place to look for signs of intelligence of any kind! 

Sometimes I feel like I'm swimming in a sea of information!  Long gone are the days, that we would reach for a simple volume of the Britannica Encyclopedia to gain a little knowledge.  I also agree 100% with Rich's #17 comment.  I'm convinced television programming is conspired work to dumb down our citizens, so we don't REALLY know what is going on!

Hi Richard, There is no doubt why this is a featured post. It is amazing that so much potential knowlege has really dumbed down our society. 

I think because so much information is so readily available at our fingertips it means we no longer have to remember as much. Which I am not in favor of. I think the more information we have available, the more we are supposed to learn as well, which makes things very difficult. 

Richard, we do live in an amazing time. However, not all the information on the internet is accurate. People who grew up with computers are often incapable of doing simple math and/or spelling. 

Smarter as a society? We are on the precipice of destroying our economy, our environment, and ourselves. If that sounds dismal, know that I have great hope in the younger generation. 

I cannot stand 'reality tv' and am concerned that so many people watch it. 

Intelligence, culture and eloquence still exist. Let's hope our civilization moves through this latest phase of existence rapidly. 

The reality in "reality TV"  is often edited to grab the attention of the viewers.  We are definitely not smarter, as a result of the technology around us.  We are able to work faster, with fewer people.  Math, communication skills, and penmanship have gone by the wayside.  Karen Anne made a good point.  People and relationships are superficial.

Richard - I keep hoping that the allure of reality tv will wane, and yet here it is.

Perhaps smarter and dumber st the same time. I find people think they are far more knowledgeable than they actually are and forget consulting an expert I'd the smartest thing you can do.

We may not know more today, but it is much easier and more efficient to find information when  you need it!

I grew up without a TV....None.  When the nuns wanted a report on the presidential election, we went to the neighbors house to watch it...

My parents thought that TV was a waste of time, so we read books from the library, played piano, rode our bikes and did yard work...

Today, I am not a big TV fan, but do like the reality court TV.

Eve in Orlando

I think looking for intelligence on reality TV shows is funny.  They just get dumber and dumber and dumber, and the crowds keep cheering louder and louder and louder.  No thanks.  

Well, except for Shark Tank.  I love that show! 

It all depends on how you use the information.  Most people don't use the information to amke themselves smarter though.  They only care about who's dating who, etc. 

Richard,

I have about 400 channels on my tv...and use about 3. I'm not feeling very smart having to pay for all that excess.

Rich

Isnt that the truth.  I'd like to think that we are far more intelligent than programming developers give us credit for.  Many days, tv is just a way of time. I'm like Richard, with over 400 channels (which is way to many to chose from), I still mostly only watch network TV.

Richard, reality TV has and is bringing down what I would call entertainment. To me it is anything, but real.

I gave up on "reality" TV a long time ago.  While we all do have access to lots of information, the net seems to be flooded with garbage that caters to the lowest intelligence.  While it could be source of great inspiration, it's more of a toy at the moment.

Television is an avenue for script writers.. hence, most of the shows (if not all) are scripted and are not really reliable. 

I think it could be argued that we have more trivia at our fingertips ... but a deeper knowledge?  Not in my opinion.  So much is useless, silly, or worse.  The term dumbing-down comes to mind as I think of the lack of reasoning powers.  We're dependent on technology to do the detailed thinking of yesteryear ... again, JMO ...

Gene

I think I'm with on this one for sure. We all know a little about lots more these days, but really many don't know much of anything in depth.