Just Google It

Technology is starting to make its footprint in every realm of our lives - no longer can we sit frustrated at a dinner table, trying to remember who wrote a certain book from high school. Nope. Now we can find the answer in a matter of seconds in a variety of ways: for the less civilized of us, question-answering text message services like CHACHA or for the more mobile world, using the Internet on the phone to simply "google" the answer.

To the younger generation, Wi Fi phones are not a new techno-craze; the phones are the norm. Although Google is a trademark, it is certainly making its way into the younger vernacular as a verb meaning "use a search engine on the Internet to find the answer."

I see the constant use of the Internet to answer our questions as an overall positive direction of investigation. Armed only with Internet connection and a question, one can find an endless supply of previous articles and varying points of view on the subject matter; therefore, people nowadays seem more inclined to investigate and to figure out answers ... because it IS easier.

The problem comes from ignorance of what the Internet holds - any child, professional or jokester's two cents on a topic. I think schools need to address the growing use of the Internet for research and implement classes on how to research critically online. Although I can see some of the negative side effects like a lower tolerance for long stories that the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?", talks about, I think people are learning the efficiency of skimming articles and that reading long novels will never die out due to too much Internet. Just check out J.K Rowling's sales or the Twilight series.