Before the Internet?

Question

Needing some help with homework is one thing, but the teen set cannot seem to type into a search window and find answers to simple things like for instance: The Civil War, Cleopatra, Shakespeare, and a host of other common subjects on which there is ENDLESS information ont he Web. Yesterday's kids (before the Internet existed) had to rely ont he library and other resources, and today's teen seems inacapable of even typing a term or name into a search engine and perusing sites that would give them plenty of information. What a sad commentary. However, they can routinely come to Yahoo Q&A and ask others to do it for them. The term for that is LAZINESS!

And as for all the kids who are goign to battle back that they are NOT lazy and are somehow being maligned, YES you are if you cannot take a tool like the Internet and research a common person, place or thing. No, not all teens are lazy of course, but many seem to abound here on Yahoo! Like I said help is one thing but if you expect others to literally point you in the right direction (when everything is at your fingertips), then you are indeed lazy and very unresourceful and I wonder what will become of many of you. What gives? And READ more than the first sentence BEFORE you go off on a toot!

To the poster who said I did not pose a question, you didn't read very far, did you? I asked What gives? That is a question.

YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO ADMIT THERE ARE SOME GOOD ANSWERS HERE SO FAR, in fact all have merit (so far). Glad to see others have noticed the trend toward laziness. One poster said I answered my own question, and he is right!

Answer 1

I couldn't agree more with you. Although perhaps it has always been the same. I was a lawyer until I retired and well remember having a trainee fresh out of college. I would ask him to find something out, and even hand him the book. 'How do I find it' he would ask. 'Didi they not teach you how to use an index at your college' I would ask him. So not knowing how to use a search engine is perhaps not totally dissimilar. And there are those who here who constantly repeat questions that have been asked many times before. I look at photography, transport and earth science questions. In the first time and again you get queries on how to transfer non-digital video to a computer or how to 'pop' colour (a black and white picture with just one part - say lips - coloured), in transport 10 questions a day on how to get from one part of India to another, although the address of Indian Railways has been given umpteen times, and in the last 'why is the sky blue' Grrrr - I'm in England and I'm insomniac and perhaps a tad tetchy!

Answer 2

Considering how many teens their are in the world with homework assignments it is surprising how few questions there are that fit your description. Most questions I answer are either problems with tricky solutions or on subject where the information is either hard to find unless you know the right search terms, or where the available information is is above the level of the asker's understanding. I do share you irritation at those teens that just type their homework into the question box, but I don't think is typical of of the gereration or their would be millions of such questions a day.

Answer 3

I think a large part of the problem is that kids aren't taught how to use the tools they have. When I was in school, we had whole "library" classes on using the card catalog, microfilm/microfiche machines, how to search the index of periodicals (what was that thing called?), etc. Today, the teachers go, "it's on the internet, look it up." Kids don't get any education on how to search effectively, how to find a trusted source, etc. They're just expected to figure it out on their own, and some kids just CAN'T.

Answer 4

Lazy is too kind a word for some teens. Hey, you - not you, the other one...don't bash the teachers. They teach kids how to do proper internet searches but if a kid is numb from sitting 7 hours a day in a desk taking one standardized test practice sheet after another blame the damn administrators sucking up to the money gods.

Answer 5

I'm with you. It amazes me how many questions here are obvious homework assignments. I read one earlier that wanted to hear from anyone who had read "Death of a Salesman" and every detail of the story - -LOL! I think we all had to read that book in school, and it was actually one I enjoyed. But queries like "in what year did Roosevelt die?" can be found faster by Googling than by waiting for an answer here. Remember the Dark Ages when every family had a set of encyclopedias on the shelf -- and we actually used them?

Answer 6

Very well stated. Your question is answered by your statement. They come on here and ask, someone will present the answer. So when the time comes, and the poor innocents need to find a job, they can come on here and someone will tell them how to fill out a resume. For the rest of their lives, they will come on here and someone will do it for them.

Answer 7

i have fond memories of working with card catalouges when doing research. unfortunately kids don't seem to do much more than play doom and chat on msn any more.

you never posed a question so i guess there is no answer

Answer 8

i totally agree!!! one of the best things bout the net is you can find out about anything you want !! wikipedia etc. rules and i use google a lot too