Google makes you feel smart but the facts may surprise you

Gone are those days when we needed the help of books, magazines, friends or family to find the answers to any doubts or questions that have come to our mind. Today, any information that we want is available on the Internet network. It’s the digital world now, Information is at our fingertips, literally through smartphone, tabs or laptops.
We have become too much dependent on internet for all kind of knowledge/information. Studies conducted by psychologists at Yale University have found that the users who browse internet for information have more confidence than the ones who don’t use Google or Yahoo.

The study had more than 1000 participants, who were divided into two groups. One of the groups was given the internet facility whereas another group of people had to refer to the printed information.

The first question asked to these 2 groups of participants was- “How does a Zipper works?” It was observed that the participants with internet connectivity were very confident in their responses compared to the other group.

The second question was completely different from the first question- Why are cloudy nights warmer? This time none of the groups were given the network facility. Surprisingly or not, this time as well the participants who earlier used the internet were more confident in their answers.

A series of experiments were conducted and it was found that people who used the internet to search information believed that they were smarter than the ones who have learned through traditional methods, through books and tutors. They even thought that their brains are sharper.

Study reveals that people usually confuse the knowledge through the internet to be their own intelligence. Most of the times, when we find answers on Google, we feel succeeded. But that does not make us smarter or more intelligent. It was the technology which produced the answers and not our own brain.

Researchers believe such kind of over-estimation of personal intelligence does not indicate good signs. In fact, it can get tough for people in decision making and in managing real-life situations.

Matthew Fisher, a reputed researcher at Yale University said that due to fast availability of information on the internet, it has become difficult to differentiate between our own knowledge and the knowledge of the network.

Researchers also emphasized on the point that it is already challenging to achieve accurate personal knowledge level and too much dependence on the Internet is making it all the more difficult.