This house believes that the internet is dumbing us down - rebuttal speeches

Second proposing speech
I plead guilty for using internet in a manner which dumbing me down in plenty aspects of my life. Internet might be a marvelous tool to enhance our knowledge but it is also the temple of stupidity and idleness. How many times I have logged on my computer with the firm intention of doing one precise thing, a serious one, and finally I lose one, two hours of searching about the name of the capital of Botswana or the recipe of an Hungarian course. I have obviously found some interesting things about how the world is going but my English essay for about the practice of nasal surgery on the 19e century is still at its beginning. […]

By MV

Second opposing speech

To keep along with AM, I will start with an explanation of internet using comparison. Internet is a network like a transportation network of a country (roads and railways network). The Web is a service based on internet: it is like a transportation company using the railways and roads public network: Eg RATP. […]

By DKK

Second proposing speech

I plead guilty for using internet in a manner which dumbing me down in plenty aspects of my life. Internet might be a marvelous tool to enhance our knowledge but it is also the temple of stupidity and idleness. How many times I have logged on my computer with the firm intention of doing one precise thing, a serious one, and finally I lose one, two hours of searching about the name of the capital of Botswana or the recipe of an Hungarian course. I have obviously found some interesting things about how the world is going but my English essay for about the practice of nasal surgery on the 19e century is still at its beginning. 

You can imagine that my point is not that Internet is stealing our little nerve cells one by one, our becoming the new Old Nick Devil. In fact internet is just dumbing us down by the time we lose doing things mean less. I am definitely a pros internet but not for a use of the web every time and everywhere. 

First of all, companies face problems with the use of internet by their employees. A study of the Chartered Management Institute shows that internet for a non workable activity at work cost 4 weeks of paid holiday more. The typical image of the intern surfing on internet at work because of a lack of work illustrates the stake of a more controlled internet. Internet may kill the productivity of the French which is the pride of this country. So I am not directly criticizing the quality of the information we can find on internet. For my point of view Wikipedia is amazing for knowledge but horrible for productivity. Internet must be analyzed in a global context of media and use in a specific goal. I am addicted of facebook as most of my colleague and I am too weak to not yield to the temptation of watching a stupid video or check what is thinking my aunt Berth. Procrastination is a major problem of our life in the 21e century and internet is boosting it. 

Secondly, internet is dumbing down the students because of the easiness of the searching about a subject. We are not anymore used of going to a library to find the matter of our subject in a book. So Internet is not tough enough for the knowledge and studies. We find to easily information by internet and we can’t verify the veracity of it. Students are too lazy to check if every information in their work are true by double check it in a “traditional media”, name “books”.

The argument of AM about her negotiation case is not very relevant from my point of view, because I don’t think you can easily find this kind of information. This information might be on internet, and you will know that your netbook supplier has some problem with someone else but how do you know this information is true. Maybe we can find this kind of information on internet in special website as Infogreffe, but it’s not internet which give you the information but the specialists. So by using information found on internet, which can be wrong, you may not work with someone and dumbing your judgment down. 

MV

Second opposing speech

To keep along with AM, I will start with an explanation of internet using comparison. Internet is a network like a transportation network of a country (roads and railways network). The Web is a service based on internet: it is like a transportation company using the railways and roads public network: Eg RATP.

CP argued about “quantity” that “inundates” us on internet. In fact, the main services used through internet are: web (web sites), search engines (Google…), social Networks (Facebook…), mail, and today VOIP (Voip on Internet). I think CP’s “quantity” refers to the information got through search engines, because there is no matter of “quantity” with the other services (facebook, voip…) and you get exactly what you are looking for.

The “quantity” is related to any research activity. For instance, if you are interested in a particular subject and you go to a library, you will have many books dealing with your subject. And the bigger the library is, the more you will need to design a good and adapted strategy to find the desired information. So, Internet is not the problem; but it is the research activity which fundamental characteristic is to process lot of data. Quality has to be found by oneself, not by internet which gives us information corresponding to our words requested.

Moreover, the internet “drifting attention” (by DC) is an issue of using a public network. Internet is an appropriate ways to reach distant computer information, not to have activities requiring concentration. When you drive your car on a public road, you will face advertisements or other car drivers. For example, the bus is not the right place to write an essay.

Concerning the “brain” issues, everyone knows that printing and telephone were used by human being to develop. Up to now nobody came mad because of these technologies. But, it is normal that our bodies get used to new habits induced by a new technology: this is not harmful A child learning how to read does not read at the same pace like an educated person, because the child brain cells are not yet used to this new habits. More, Internet is now accessed through computers, phones and electronic tablets. So we are not physically “in touch” with internet, but we are in touch with the electronic devices; thus, if something has to be harmful for our health, there will be these devices. But, they are safe for human despite the debate about the effect of mobile phones radio waves. By the way, CP did not give us any references of the scientific the explanation referred in his speech.

In fact Internet as network has many positive aspects. It was originally created to help universities to interchange Data and share computing power mainframes. These costs savings and knowledge share served the development of the USA and today serves the worldwide education word. Tim burners-lee created the web in order to help scientists at CERN to share reports.

In medicine, the doctors can access huge medical data servers through internet to design accurate treatment. The surgeons are able to get ready quicker for their operations because information is available on secured medical corporations data centers.

Internet is a link between our families, friends and related people through data interchange.

In the business world, we can now send data trough internet network. These data can be contracts or business news or reports, thus enhancing turnovers, increasing GDPs and creating jobs. Otherwise, we will be obliged to store the contracts on a disk and send them through postal services.

Personal data are also exchanged. Facebook enables access to our friends’ photos and families. Electronic mails are another links between people at a nearly nil cost: we can organize collaborative work. Today, we can exchange instant messages creating a closer links even when separated by far distance.

Furthermore, internet can now transport voices. We can phone a correspondent anywhere in the world: it is virtually costless and this service is now operated by companies.

The last performance is the television. Internet services can now convey complex images, helping us to listen to more TV stations. The increased internet bandwidth allows creation of more media companies able to reach billions of people worldwide.

Finally, the W3C consortium issued secured protocols. The information are coded and sent through the network. It allows us to make secured payments online or to perform bank operations, simplifying our lives.

To conclude, internet is a network. It is a passive tool which conveys our information in order to connect people or gives us information requested. An Active dangerous drivers have car accident not because the road, but because of their behavior. Internet can never dumb us down.

By Prime Minister DKK service