In the world we live in today, we are constantly surrounded with technology with access to the Internet. For example, at any given time I usually have my smart phone in my pocket, a computer within 20 ft, or a tablet lying around. Consequently, I usually have the answer to any question I can think of lying only a few keystrokes or button clicks away. This brings me to my point: with how easy it is nowadays to get answers online, are we, as a generation, learning to retain less info because we can always look it up later?
Before the dawn of the Internet, students had to memorize every bit of information they learned in class, unless they wanted to spend hours researching answers to their questions in the library. Due to this, most students memorized a fairly large amount of the material. In my own personal experience, however, this has not been the case with students my age. Most people I know remember the bare minimum, and use the Internet as a sort of “cheat sheet” whenever they need it. This results in cramming tons of information and studying right before exams, and then a large amount of the newly learned material is promptly forgotten afterward.
This trend is a little scary, and leaves one wondering how this will affect future jobs. If students don’t learn all the necessary skills they will need for their dream jobs, how can they be expected to fulfill those jobs’ duties effectively. Only time will tell how things pan out.