The Internet Does Not Have Everything

729 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Academic integrity importance

The Internet Does Not Have Everything

Everyone needs to know that the World Wide Web (a subset of the Internet; see Internet for a definition of "Internet") is a tool, not the be-all and end-all of research. Many students begin their research assignments with the "fact" from their teachers that they'll be able to find, from now on, everything they need on the Web. Not true.

Students do need to be made aware that the Web is a great resource when you need some very current information--today's Dow Jones average, currency exchange rates, score in your favorite baseball team's game, news headlines, etc. Furthermore, through libraries there are increasing numbers of indexes that before were available on CD-ROM or in printed books, that are now accessed via the Web (only to authorized users); these are not "on" the Web per se. The term used to differentiate these proprietary and other directly inaccessible sources is the "invisible Web." The invisible Web is much larger than the visible Web.

However, some students seem to think that they can find EVERYTHING on the Web. They can't. They probably never will in their lifetimes either. There is simply too much information out there to have it all transferred to an electronic--and widely accessible--format.

Other issues that keep things from existing on the Web:

Costs can be astronomical--and who is going to pay them?

Scanning in images is expensive and time consuming (think of the millions of photographs in archives around the world),

Copyright concerns play a major role in keeping things from being widely accessible; companies want to make a profit (there are hundreds of databases that can only be used by au...

... middle of paper ...

...-and help them to identify more readily trustworthy sources.

It is doing everyone in society a disfavor to lead citizens (whether young or old) to believe that the Web has every piece of information that one might need. In this increasingly technologically-dependent world, it is critical that the citizens in it are finding reliable information before they start inventing, improving, building, cleaning, renewing, destroying, exploring, etc. They need to be able to critically evaluate their options, and make sure that they aren't ignoring sources that happen not to be available on the Web. The exclusively techno-reliant are, in their own way, as unreliable a source for trustworthy or thorough information as the techno-phobes who won't use the Web at all. Using the best tool for the job or information need is the only way to be certain that you get the best results.

Show More
Related

  • Is Google Making USupid By Nicholas Carr

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Is Google Making Us Stupid? Nicholas Carr discusses how the increase and development in technology has shaped the way we do and think about certain things within our society. He tells us how as a society we have grown dependent on technology and look to it for almost everything we may need. Whether it is for an answer to a question, advice, a sickness diagnosis or when we have to do research, our first instinct is to look to the world wide web. He links the fact that people have tried to create a more efficient work ethic within different fields when it comes to hands on work, but that ideology has also flooded into our thinking towards the virtual side. Society has shown us that it is acceptable to look to the web as our primary source.

    Read More

  • Summary Of How Google, Wikipedia Have Changed Our Lives

    284 Words  | 1 Pages

    I think the main idea from the article “How Google, Wikipedia Have Changed Our Lives – For Better and Worse” who was written by Jennifer Woodard is how this generation of people rely entirely too much on the internet to find their answers for school and everyday life. When people used to research for information they were looking for they could spend hours in the library, reading countless books to find their answers and even find more then what they were looking for. Now when researching people are so used to finding out what they want to know it only takes seconds to type in in your phone and find on Google your answer. Learning before there was computers or google, you had to listen to the whole lecture to get an understanding of everything

    Read More

  • Osteoarthritis Essay

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    Osteoarthritis is not a curable condition, but it can be treated using both pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods. Mild analgesics are a common form of treatment for OA, including Acetaminophen and NSAIDs, taking into consideration other co-morbidities that may be present. It is recommended that adults over 75 years of age utilize topical NSAIDs rather than oral for treatment of the pain (Tugwell et al, 2012). Research by A...

    Read More

  • Harlan Coben The Undercover Parent Summary

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    I immensely agree with Coben because there is so many dangers that the internet has to offer that we don't know about. In the article, “As Kids Go Online, New Tools For Parents To Spy” a child who has a love for sports was watching the game on YouTube and an advertisement pops up and shows a man smoking, and a woman dancing provocatively. Your child may be searching innocent and kid-friendly videos, but the ads are not as kid-friendly as your child’s search history. This situation was merely a rough experience because there are many other situations where it is way worse. On the internet, there are stalkers, impersonators, scammers, and so much more. Criminals also create innocent looking websites and communicate through that using keywords to notify each other. The internet can expose your home to many online dangers such as “Pedophiles” or “Beheadings”. The internet is a source for everyone which makes it a danger to everyone as

    Read More

  • Smallpox Viruses

    2185 Words  | 5 Pages

    For approximately three-thousand years, smallpox has ravaged and plagued the four corners of the globe. In fact, in the 17 th and 18 th centuries, it was claimed to be the most infectious disease in the West, with an astounding 90% mortality rate in America. It wasn't until 1796, with English surgeon Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccination, that the world saw relief from this devastating virus. However, even with this inoculation in use, the world continued to witness death from both the virus and the vaccine. In the year 1966, it was estimated that 10-15 million infected citizens world wide had passed away from smallpox that year alone ( “History” 12). As a result of these devastating numbers, in the following year, 1967, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) created a program to eradicate the smallpox virus. Ten years later, in 1977, the estimated 10-15 million cases had dwindled down to one; a man in Somalia. Three years later, W.H.O. officially announced that smallpox had been eradicated, leaving the only remaining virus cultures stored and guarded in laboratories in Russia and the United States. Inoculations ceased, smallpox epidemics were non-existent, and the virus was no longer a concern. In order to ensure complete eradication of this deadly virus, the W.H.O. insisted that the remaining smallpox cultures be destroyed by 1999 ( “Smallpox Eradication” 2). However, despite the W.H.O.'s recommendation, the remaining cultures continue to be contained and protected to this day, five years after the suggested date of elimination.

    Read More

  • Cheaters And Writings By Dr. Christine B. Whelan

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oftentimes, students can be tempted to use technology for quick sources of facts instead of doing in depth research, but this can often lead to major mistakes and problems in their schoolwork. For example, in Scott Jaschik’s “A Stand Against Wikipedia,” Jaschik mentions how teachers at Middlebury College tried to form a stand against students excessively using unreliable online sources like Wikipedia in their papers because it often led to unprofessional and inaccurate information (246). Even Sandra Ordonez, a Wikipedia official, explained

    Read More

  • 1984 Loss Of Privacy Essay

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    But the generation kids are growing up in now, all their trust is put in the internet. Kids and young adults will put all their information online because that is how the world functions. In today’s world, if you are not putting all your information online and using your phone and laptop to get everything done, you are inefficient. And this

    Read More

  • Smallpox Vaccination Essay

    1571 Words  | 4 Pages

    Vaccines are undoubtedly one of the greatest medical developments in the health industry. The discovery of the smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner was a groundbreaking innovation in public health during the time of the great epidemic. The smallpox vaccination, successfully eradicated the infectious disease that threatened the lives of people around the world. This was only the beginning of the new era of healthcare. Within the years, new vaccines helped save the lives of billions of humans yearly preventing them from disease that would have ended their lives. A recent report by the Centers of Disease Control (2014) confirmed that “vaccines given to infants and young children over the past two decades will prevent 322 million illnesses, 21 million

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay About Screen Time

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    At a younger age you can facetime that aunt you love so much but never get to see because she lives halfway across the world, For the older people that use screens, if you can’t find a good recipe for a food and don't want to buy another cookbook you can just google it. Google is one of the most helpful things in modern day society because of all the information that you can put on it. It is also one of the most hurtful things being you can find anything on there. The “deep web” Is something you want to never find. You will see anything there from Hitmen to child abuse.

    Read More

  • Is Google Making Us Stupid?

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although the Internet is very helpful and has created many technological advances, we as humans are not created to function like a computer. Our minds require deep thought, human interaction, and thorough knowledge of things so we can remember and fully understand concepts. The Internet in itself is a very helpful tool. The advances that have fallowed are truly amazing, along with vast array of information available. Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” is very flawed and does not provided adequate resources to back up his claims. That being said, Carr points out things that might otherwise have been looked over and accepted as normal. His question is sincere, thought provoking, and one we all should be asking ourselves before its too late.

    Read More

  • Website Evaluation

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    Now that we are living in an ever changing world, technology is viewed as the most resourceful tool in keeping up with the pace. Without the use of technology, communication would be limited to using mail for delivery and encyclopedias for research. Although technology has improved the way we communicate and find information for research, the information is not always valid. Unfortunately, for those of us who use the internet for shopping, research, or reading articles of personal interest the information is not treated the same as a your magazine or book. While such literature is reviewed by an editorial staff, internet literature or information can be published by anyone. In order to reap the full benefit of having the use of technology for any purpose, there are five basic criteria’s one must keep in mind as an evaluating tool for deciding whether or not the particular website is a reliable source for information.

    Read More

  • Teaching Philosophy Statement

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is a constant truth that technology is growing rapidly and it is opening up many opportunities for students as well as teachers. Through the use of the internet information that would take scholars months to acquire out and interpret can be found in less than a minute though a Google search and not only is the information their, but in many cases the information that you wanted is shown in bolded so it can even be found quicker.

    Read More

  • Technology Is Changing Education

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most of the time the Internet makes learning fun, unlike the plain fashion of the "almighty" textbook. Computers and other technology can also heighten the learning process by actively engaging students in the task of exploring data. Some students may be tempted to simply download information from the Internet that does not have anything to do with a particular subject that they were asked to research. This shows that the Internet may have a greater impact to education than to learn that information from a typical textbook. Since computers and the Internet have expanded the way with which

    Read More

  • Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet Research

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    The objective of this essay is to compare Internet research with other sources of information which include books, word of mouth and primary research. This paper will also look at ways of ascertaining the validity of research information for academic work.

    Read More

  • Internet in Schools

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    The world is at your fingertips with the internet, you can do anything imaginable. It is the schools duty to have the internet, forget the library, I’m sure students would agree with me that using the internet would be much easier to find the information you are looking for than the library. If you don’t know how to use the internet then you are missing out, anything you want is on there. The internet alone could be a career, there are online businesses that make just as much money as jobs outside your home.

    Read More

More about The Internet Does Not Have Everything

Open Document