Bildung ist nicht das Lernen von Fakten, sondern das Trainieren des Geistes zum Denken.

Albert Einstein

Google weiß alles – und du?

Was ist die Hauptstadt von Aserbaidschan? Wie viele Einwohner hat Indien? Wo leben Pinguine? Diese und ähnliche Fragen können manche von uns vermutlich durch ihre Allgemeinbildung beantworten – alle anderen fragen Google.

Dadurch, dass so viele Fakten sehr leicht im Internet zugänglich sind, sind wir geneigt, diese nicht mehr in unserem Gehirn abzuspeichern, sondern sie bei Bedarf online abzurufen. Dafür gibt es einen eigenen Begriff: Google Effekt. So haben Studien ergeben, dass sich Probanden Wortlisten dann schlechter merken, wenn sie wissen, dass sie später diese Wortlisten auch später noch zum Nachschlagen zu Verfügung haben.

Die Frage ist jedoch, ob dies so problematisch ist, wie es im ersten Moment klingen mag. Schon lange bevor Google erfunden war, meinte Albert Einstein zum Thema Bildung, dass diese nicht das Lernen von Fakten, sondern  vielmehr das Trainieren des Geistes zum Denken sein sollte. Durch das Wissen, dass Informationen woanders, zum Beispiel eben auf Google, abrufbar sind, wird das Arbeitsgedächtnis im Gehirn entlastet, was freien Platz für neue kreative Tätigkeiten schafft.

Dabei darf jedoch nicht außer Acht gelassen werden, dass das Gehirn, wie unsere Muskeln, trainiert werden kann und muss – dies geschieht unter anderem auch durch das Lernen von Fakten. Dazu kommt, dass das Lernen auf Verständnis weniger gut funktioniert, je weniger Wissen wir im Kopf haben. Je mehr wir jedoch wissen, umso eher erkennen wir größere Zusammenhänge.

Abgesehen davon gibt es aber auch Studien zum Vorgang des Googelns selbst, die interessante Ergebnisse geliefert haben: So schnitten Probanden, die Fakten „ergoogelt“ hatten, im anschießenden Test tendenziell schlechter ab, als die Vergleichsgruppe, die dieselben Fakten anderweitig zur Verfügung gestellt bekommen hatte. Interessanterweise erzielten aber Kandidaten, die sich vor dem „Ergoogeln“ selbst Gedanken zu einer möglichen Lösung gemacht hatten, bessere Ergebnisse, als diejenigen, die sofort nachgeschlagen hatten.

Macht uns Google also dümmer?

Oder schafft es Platz für kreatives Denken?

Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.

Albert Einstein

Google knows everything – how about you?

What is the capital of Azerbaijan? How many inhabitants does India have? Where do penguins live? 
Some of us might answer these and similar questions using their general knowledge – everyone else 
asks Google. 

Due to the easy accessibility of numerous facts on the internet, we tend to no longer store them in our brains but rather retrieve them online when needed. This phenomenon is referred to as the Google Effect. Studies have shown that participants remember word lists better when they are unaware that they will have access to those lists later.

However, the question is whether this is as problematic as it may sound at first. When Albert Einstein expressed his thoughts on education (long before Google was invented), he stated that it is not the learning of facts but rather the training of the mind to think. Knowing that information is available elsewhere, such as on Google, relieves the working memory in the brain, creating space for new creative activities.

It should not be overlooked, though, that the brain, like our muscles, can and must be trained – this includes learning facts. Additionally, the process of learning for understanding is less effective when we have less knowledge in our minds. The more we know, the more likely we are to recognize larger connections.

Regarding the specific act of googling information, there are also studies that have yielded interesting results: Participants who had "googled" facts tended to perform worse in subsequent tests than the control group, which had received the same facts through other means. Interestingly, candidates who had pondered a possible solution before "googling" achieved better results than those who looked up information immediately.

So, does Google make us dumber?

Or does it create space for creative thinking?

The Google Effect – Online mini project

Here is the work from our Group about the Google effect.

Download

Download

Bernhard Baumgartner, BORG Krems/Österreich

To becoming a more independent thinker

by Bernhard Baumgartner, BORG Krems/Österreich

In a survey which was conducted by our group, 81% of the questioned respondents use google more than once a day and the majority thinks that there could not be a world without google. 60% of the asked respondents would rather use google than ask a person. But 76% say they need to use google more than one time just to remember one fact. And that phenomenon is the so-called Google effect. 

The Google effect, also known as digital amnesia, is a phenomenon that is playing an increasingly large role in human condition. It is the tendency to forget information that is available online or stored digitally. The Google effect causes us to treat the Internet as a permanent memory bank, believing that we will always have access to it. This could be really helpful for general information, but not so useful when we have to learn facts. 

Since people are storing more and more of their information in digital formats, this effect is spreading quickly in our everyday life, so it’s important to understand it, this is why we have worked together to learn more about this theme. 

A situation that describes the Google Effect is, for example, when you’re reading a book and encounter an unfamiliar word. You decide to Google the word to find out its definition. A few days later, you encounter the word again… but you can’t seem to remember what it means. That’s exactly how the google effect works. 

Now you know about the Google effect and its definition, but what about the ChatGPT effect? As it turns out, our digital dependency extends from search engines to machine learning, where we rely on automated responses to store information rather than our own minds. In fact, language models may exaggerate this effect – it’s no longer other writing we forget, but our own. 

While we easily encode our own work, we just as easily forget work by others. This becomes an issue when we take credit for words written by robots. This is not to say we shouldn’t use machine learning to bypass short tasks—just make sure you actually read and remember ChatGPT’s response before sending it out into the world. 

People can see the Google effect on themselves when they notice they are forgetting information they just searched recently or in a form of brain fog (cognitive delay). Weakening memory is also a side effect as well as increased general anxiety. The Google effect can also be dangerous and could have some serious consequences. For example, it can lead to an earlier onset of dementia, increased risk of emotional and behavioural disorders, especially in young ages as well as the dependency on technology. 

Apart from taking a moment to think before Googling, here are a few strategies and suggestions you can try to break the habit: 

1. Embrace curiosity: Instead of immediately searching for answers, allow yourself to wonder and explore different possibilities. It can be exciting to let your mind wander and come up with your own ideas. 

2. Use offline resources: Try using books, encyclopedias, or asking knowledgeable friends and family members for information. It's a great way to engage in conversations and learn from different perspectives. 

3. Practice critical thinking: Develop your problem-solving skills by analysing the situation and thinking through possible solutions before relying on Google. This can help you become more independent and confident in finding answers. 

4. Set limits: Challenge yourself to limit the amount of time you spend on Google each day. By setting boundaries, you'll encourage yourself to think critically and find alternative ways to gather information. 

Remember, breaking a habit takes time and effort, but with these strategies and suggestions, you'll be on your way to becoming a more independent thinker!

Kommentare zu diesem Miniprojekt:

That´s a cool presentation! I think it is very interesting that we are unconsciously confronted with this situation on a daily basis. :)

Lena Malovic, BORG Krems/Österreich

I really liked your project. The way you included the surveys made it easier to understand how the Google effect is present in our daily life. The presentation is really nice designed and I really like the picture!

Nele Engwicht, HPS Buxtehude/Deutschland

Beautiful painting!

Benedikt Svejda, BORG Krems/Österreich

While reading your interesting article about the "Google Effect" i was really stunned that 81% of the respondents use google more than once a day and the majority thinks that there could not be a world without google. I didn't think it would have been that extreme. But if I think about it, I do too and I don't even notice it. How about you??

Giovanni Natali, BORG Krems/Österreich

Ich fand euern Artikel sehr interessant. Auch wenn mir schon irgendwie der Google Effekt in der Praxis bekannt war, und ich ihn auch schon selber erlebt habe, habe ich nie so genau darüber nachgedacht. Der Text war super angenehm zu lesen und ich fand es generell sehr schön :)

Kaya Riemer, HPS Buxtehude/Deutschland

I have read with interest the article "Google knows everything – how about you?" I like it because I think that Google is an important support that helps us on many occasions, even when studying, but at the same time, the use of technology slows down our learning ability. Furthermore, Google is not always right. As written in the article studies show that it may be misleading as those who googled the answers to the questions answered wrong while those who answered without google answered correctly. I have also appreciated the project, very clear indeed and very inspiring!

Sofia Grilli, LSP Assisi, Italien

Ich finde man tut viele Sachen ohne genauer drüber nachzudenken, weil man es einfach macht. genau wie googeln. ich fand es interessant belegende Daten und Fakten zu diesem Thema zu sehen. 

und die Zeichnung ist ebenfalls sehr gut gelungen.

Stine Meyer, HPS Buxtehude/Deutschland

I agree that those who use Google less remember more easily. Google can be useful but sometimes it makes mistakes and this is harmful for students.

Filippo Cianetti, LSP Assisi, Italien

I really like the pictures and the presentation in general. Google can be useful, it is true, but first of all we have to know how to use it.

Matilde Mancinelli, LSP Assisi, Italien

The search with graphs is very interesting and understandable very well. Some of these illustrated symptoms are common. I didn't know about some of these risks and the suggestions that have been provided are very helpful in my opinion.

Federica Barboni, LSP Assisi, Italien

Personally speaking, it was one of the best presentation during the international meeting. Honestly I've learnt a lot. I have never heard about "Google effect" before, so it was nice opportunity to me to get to know about some new things. I was surprised that generally - it's so true what you were speaking about. Moreover i really like the graphics (a picture of brain on the first slide) and the statistics.

Weronika Matras, VIII LO Cracow/Poland

think that is very interesting topic even though I have never heard of it before. I think that it is very important these days to keep in mind that something like that exist, especially at our age (because we use google a lot for school).

Aleksandra Tarcholik, VIII LO Cracow/Poland

I was very interested in this topic. I think that the google effect is visible in our society, so much people prefer to know where they can to check something instead of remember this information. I would be interested to know more about this topic.

Bartłomiej Strojny, VIII LO Cracow/Poland

I find this topic very interesting, even though I had never heard of it before. It's particularly important to be aware of things like this nowadays, especially at our age, since we use Google frequently for school.

Maria Mikulik, VIII LO Cracow/Poland

The Google effect affects our memory skills. Using search engines often weakens our ability to remember information. This dependence on technology can harm our mental abilities. It can lead to problems with memory and thinking. Young people might face these issues earlier. The effect is seen with AI tools like ChatGPT too. Relying on these tools can weaken our own thinking skills. It's important to balance technology use with mental health and social care. Personally, I cannot imagine our modern world without Google.

Bendegúz Szalontai, DNG Budapest/Ungarn

The presentation about the Google Effect and digital amnesia was very informative and well-researched. It highlighted the risks of relying too heavily on technology for memory and information retention. The group also discussed the impact of constantly accessing the internet and how it impacts our ability to recall information on our own. The presentation raised important questions about the balance between technology and mental wellbeing, and the need for self-reliance and critical thinking when it comes to information consumption. Overall i found this theme pretty interesting and i'd like to hear more about it in the future.

Szilvána Boda, DNG Budapest/Ungarn