# The internet makes people stupid **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 15, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993 "2017-06-15T00:57:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/21 "2017-06-19T21:42:38Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I want to reply to this, but I’m not sure whether you’re being serious. > Let me ask first: do you have a smartphone? I don’t have a smartphone, but I was being serious. It’s been shown that owning smartphones leads a non-trivial number of people to stress out when they find themselves unable to constantly check their social media feeds. Though I suppose this stress-inducing aspect of a smartphone is dependent on a person using social media. The ‘narcissistic’ aspect of smartphones is actually similarly tied to social media - the desire to take constant selfies and post them online is what stimulates it, and it too is dependent on social media. So I suppose you could alternatively say that social media, not smartphones, is the problem. Though of course the cell phone camera and the expectation of instant access everywhere are part of the smartphone experience, not of social media in general, so smartphones themselves are active contributors to these phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/22 "2017-06-20T02:27:37Z")
In that case your blanket statement is simply wrong. I use my smartphone for studying (e.g. chinese lessons on my commute), reading, catching up on the news and engaging in discussion forums like this one. They are not just tools for instagram and emojis. Also, even if smartphones cause narcissism and stress, that’s not the same thing as stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/23 "2017-06-20T02:34:40Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > For the past 5 years since I have retired I have harbored an obsession with a theory on social media based collaborations. One thing I have noticed that might relate to this thread is that when a diverse group of people come together with a common interest they tend to bond to some degree. This size of this group seems limited to under 100 people for the most part. You might have a web site with 10,000 members but you may only have 3 or 4 core groups that seldom exceed about 100 members usually less for each core group. Sounds a bit like [Dunbar’s Number](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number). He theorized that the maximum number of stable relationships someone can maintain is around 100-250. I would imagine that social media is similar. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/24 "2017-06-20T03:03:53Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > In that case your blanket statement is simply wrong. In fairness, generalisations can still be true, even if there are many exceptions. Begbert said smartphones make people stupider, he didn’t say all smartphones always make all people stupider. Even if only two people had ever been made stupider by smartphones, he would still be right. ---
**Author:** ![notheretoargue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@notheretoargue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notheretoargue)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/25 "2017-06-20T03:12:07Z")
I don’t think it is in anyone’s best interest to try to explain the internet’s impact on people in a couple paragraphs. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/26 "2017-06-20T03:20:21Z")
> [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > In fairness, generalisations can still be true, even if there are many exceptions. Begbert said smartphones make people stupider, he didn’t say all smartphones always make all people stupider. Even if only two people had ever been made stupider by smartphones, he would still be right. Sure, and I could have just replied “Cite?”, but since it was someone without a smartphone I thought it was worth listing some of the things you can actually do with them. But OK, instead of calling the generalization wrong I’ll take that back and just say it’s a baseless assertion at this time. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/27 "2017-06-20T03:48:17Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Sure, and I could have just replied “Cite?”, but since it was someone without a smartphone I thought it was worth listing some of the things you can actually do with them. > > But OK, instead of calling the generalization wrong I’ll take that back and just say it’s a baseless assertion at this time. I would agree with that. It’s a common claim, but I’m unconvinced that it’s generally true. New technology is often accused of having a negative effect on young people’s minds, but the evidence suggests to me that successive generations are actually getting smarter. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/28 "2017-06-20T18:07:06Z")
The internet doesn’t “make people stupid”. It allows stupid people to connect with other stupid people, providing reinforcement for their stupid ideas and adding to the noise that uninformed people need to weed through to get informed. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/29 "2017-06-20T18:59:10Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > I am not sure the Internet makes people stupid. I am fairly-well convinced it makes people mean. This caught my eye yesterday, and I want to comment on it today - when people get mean, they tend to get angry, and make other people angry. And angry people often get stupid - but it’s not a permanent effect. So in one sense the internet very easily can make people stupid - or at least, make them act stupid for brief periods of time. Regarding this whole smartphone stress thing, I didn’t come up with it on my own. A quick google turns up numerous references to studies on the subject that seem to support the idea that it’s real. But regardless, it occurs to me that there’s another way that smartphones, and the internet, make people stupider - sort of. I’ve seen it in my brother - he doesn’t seem to twit or faceboo, but he does look up things on his phone a lot. He calls it his “external brain”, since he goes to look for information on it at the drop of a hat. And I find myself wondering, does having such ready access to external sources of info discourage us from remembering? I mean, the ability to do math longhand or in one’s head seems to have suffered a bit since the introduction of the calculator. Would the brain notice that it doesn’t need to remember things anymore and stop remembering them? [This article](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/health/15memory.html) references a study that indicates that it might be the case. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/30 "2017-06-20T19:47:15Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > And I find myself wondering, does having such ready access to external sources of info discourage us from remembering? I mean, the ability to do math longhand or in one’s head seems to have suffered a bit since the introduction of the calculator. Would the brain notice that it doesn’t need to remember things anymore and stop remembering them? [This article](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/health/15memory.html) references a study that indicates that it might be the case. I’m sure that does happen to some extent. Having instant access to lots of atomised facts about a subject is no substitute for truly understanding it. That said, I think you could overstate the degree to which education is aided rote memorisation of facts. I spent a lot of time memorising facts as a child and I’m not sure it was all time well spent. I can recite the periodic table, but I don’t understand chemistry any better than someone who just googled it. Maybe a lot of it was a waste of time and mental energy. Anyway, we use all sorts of brain extensions already. We commit some to memory. The number 0 is a brain extension. Multiplication is a brain extension. We’ve likely lost skills our ancestors possessed as a result of these mental technologies, these thinking tools. Are we stupider as a result? Also, as Mijin points out, people using their smartphones as brain extensions, says nothing about all the people using them to read books, play chess, learn new skills, listen to university-level lectures, converse on the Dope and all sorts of other educationally enriching activities. Like most things, I think there’s probably some balance to be struck. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/31 "2017-06-20T20:11:18Z")
the thing is they say this about every new technology… my grandma and great grandma heard the same thing about cars telephones and indoor electricity my parents tv video games and computers that youll get fat lazy and dumb …and sure it might happen for the first two or 3 generations and then people get bored of the novelty of it and then they don’t use it as much and the balance gets restored … I mean I bet in 20 years facebook will be someplace where you say hi to grandma and pa and dad can go to rant how his kids are letting the world go to hell in a handbasket and the kids will be using whats new and exciting … ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/32 "2017-06-20T20:18:11Z")
> [@de\_facto\_lies](#): > > I don’t think the Internet makes people stupid, I believe it makes you more aware of just **how many** stupid people there truly are in this world. _“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”_ ~George Carlin ---
**Author:** ![Marci\_Al](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marci\_Al](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marci_Al)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/33 "2017-06-21T23:24:38Z")
Given the number of “Is this racist?” threads, a qualified “yes.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993/34 "2017-06-21T23:53:06Z")
> [@de\_facto\_lies](#): > > I don’t think the Internet makes people stupid, I believe it makes you more aware of just **how many** stupid people there truly are in this world. Yes, we are many. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-makes-people-stupid/788993.md?page=1)