Years ago, information and knowledge were only available through books and teachers. Gaining knowledge or learning a new skill requires time, patience and effort. Libraries were a major source of information. But modern society has transformed learning. Books are scanned for online uploading, newspapers provide online subscriptions, and radio podcasts are available on all platforms. Information is accessible no matter what time it is or what place you are in. Every answer is one Google search away. Various search engines have made education and knowledge accessible to all. This has democratized knowledge as it is not limited to books, teachers and schools. It has helped in making education and knowledge inclusive and accelerated learning.
Access to information was a matter of privilege and power, but now it’s easy accessibility has made it a universal common commodity. Today, what others know can be instantly shared online and adds to the online knowledge of everyone else. The pace of human progress has increased due to this easy availability and access. The collective rise in skill and knowledge has changed the baseline and raised the average ability of ordinary humans. However, this has changed how we consume, use, store and analyse information. It has some psychological costs that often go unnoticed.
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The Google Effect
People are increasingly referring to the internet for fact-checking and other information. Have you ever experienced that you may look up even simple spellings on the internet? Sometimes, when you have no access to GPS, you may feel lost even on familiar routes. This is the Google effect.
The Google effect refers to individuals relying on the internet for knowledge and information rather than remembering for themselves. We tend to forget information that is readily available online. Sometimes we find ourselves frequently looking up for same Information that we looked up earlier. This is also a result of the Google effect. It is also called Digital Amnesia.
Our brain stops making efforts to remember information that we know we can access online. This also makes us less eager and willing to answer questions and prefer to use search engines. Ebbinghaus gave the memory curve, where he observed that a significant amount of information that we consume is progressively forgotten, with most of the forgetting taking place on the initial day. With the increased dependency on the internet for information, there is an acceleration in the rate at which we forget information.
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Changes in How We Process Information
Internet availability has made access to information easier and has brought significant changes in the whole process of memory storage in humans. Studies show that when people believe they can access the information via search engines, there is a poor recall of the information itself but enhanced recall of the source of information and where to find it (Sparrow, Liu, Wegner, 2011).
This means that there is a shift from content-related memory to source-related memory instead. The same study also shows that when faced with difficult questions, people are primed to think about computers and search engines. This implies there is a reduction in effortful learning, and more shallow and surface-level learning is taking place. Learning, which was an act of active exploration, has turned into a passive act of searching online.
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False Perception Of One’s Own Intelligence
When there is easy access to information and knowledge, the access may be falsely perceived as possession of knowledge. In a study by Fisher and Keil (2015), it was observed that easy availability and access to information create an inflated sense of one’s own knowledge and intelligence. This happens due to a mistaken perception of outsourced knowledge as an internal knowledge system.
Hence, there is some impairment in metacognition, the ability to evaluate our own knowledge system. This gap in the false perception of intelligence and the actual knowledge that we possess can reduce the behaviours that are necessary for enhancing our memory, eg revision, error checking and deep understanding. It can be dangerous in situations where important decisions are to be made that can have severe consequences.
Increased Dependence on External Sources
Transactive memory is a system where an individual relies upon external sources for information. Earlier, people relied upon close relationships for the same. For eg, in a group project, tasks are divided according to expertise so everyone knows what they are supposed to do and who to refer for information regarding some other area. This was used for reduced cognitive load, and so everyone remembered some part of the information.
However, this has now become the prime source of information and computers and the internet have become the dominant partners in transactive memory. Although this increases efficiency but too much reliance on external sources has weakened the internal memory structures and developed more cognitive dependence. The Internet has become our personal drive for memory storage as well as retention and recall.
Altered High Order Processes
When there is an increased dependency on external sources for the storage of information, it impacts memory as well as higher-order cognitive processes. Learning, which was originally based on exploration and curiosity, is impacted by the easy availability of knowledge and information. When all the answers can be looked up on the internet, there is a decrease in imagination, exploratory thinking and problem solving. This impacts creativity and divergent thinking. Constant easy access to ready-made knowledge reduces the creation of novel solutions and independent thinking.
Not only this, but there is reduced confidence in one’s own knowledge. Also, critical thinking and analysis may be hampered when people start relying on even the misinformation present online. A study from Microsoft also found a decrease in attention span from 12 seconds to less than 8 seconds. Attention is the first step for learning to take place, as well as for the storage of information. When the attention span is impacted, it can have adverse effects on perception and memory.
Conclusion
The computer age has given easy access to information irrespective of place and time. Although this has made us a little faster and smarter, and more capable of shaping the world around us but we must pay attention to how there is an increased overreliance on the internet and external sources for even minor tasks. It is important that we access this information mindfully, limiting the effect it has on our memory and cognitive processes. It has reduced our tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity and increased Impatience and frustration when answers are delayed. Thus, it is important that we intentionally engage in independent thinking and problem-solving to balance out the effects.
FAQs
1. What is the Google effect?
The Google effect is the tendency of people to forget information that they know they can easily access online. Instead of remembering the content, they easily remember the source of information. It is also called Digital Amnesia.
2. Can the internet create a false sense of intelligence?
Yes. Studies suggest that the internet can create an inflated sense of intelligence in people. This happens because access is misunderstood as possession of the knowledge. This can impair metacognition.
3. Does access to information impact memory?
Constant and easy access to information impacts the way we store knowledge. People make fewer efforts to retain information. When people face difficulties, they instinctively turn to the internet for solutions.
4. What is transactive memory?
Transactive memory is a system where individuals rely on external sources to store and retrieve information. In modern society, digital devices and the internet have become those external sources upon which most people depend. It increases efficiency but also fosters dependency. It reduces the cognitive load but also impacts internal memory structures.
5. Should we stop using the internet?
Rejecting the use of the internet is not a solution. The key is to maintain a balance and use the internet mindfully. Conscious efforts must be made to use it as a tool and not foster dependency on it. It should not replace memory as a means of storing information.
References +
Fisher, M., Smiley, A. H., & Grillo, T. L. H. (2022). Information without knowledge: the effects of Internet search on learning. Memory, 30(4), 375–387. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2021.1882501
Sparrow, B., Liu, J., & Wegner, D. M. (2011). Google’s effects on memory: cognitive consequences of having information at our fingertips. Science (New York, N.Y.), 333(6043), 776–778. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1207745
Gong, C., & Yang, Y. (2024). Google effects on memory: a meta-analytical review of the media effects of intensive Internet search behaviour. Frontiers in public health, 12, 1332030. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1332030
Fisher, Matthew & Goddu, Mariel & Keil, Frank. (2015). Searching for Explanations: How the Internet Inflates Estimates of Internal Knowledge. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 144. 674-687. 10.1037/xge0000070.
Storm, Benjamin & Soares, Julia. (2021). Memory in the Digital Age.
Marsh, E. J., & Rajaram, S. (2019). The Digital Expansion of the Mind: Implications of Internet Use for Memory and Cognition. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 8(1), 1- 14.
Insights, C. (2015). Attention spans. Microsoft Canada, Spring.
