Google It

A few months ago, my son started saying “Google it”.  My husband says it all the time.  Any time anyone asks him a question that is his response.  My son is growing up in a new era.  Some people call it an era of information, but in ways it seems like an era that lacks information.  With information now available to most of us at all times via our smartphones, there is little reason to actually retain information.  There is no reason to memorize formulas, facts, geography, or trivia.  Not only do you not need to retain this information, you no longer need to maintain connections that have this information.  When I was growing up, I remember that my dad had an address book full of friends and acquaintances.  There were certain people he would call when he encountered certain problems.  For instance, if he had a car questions, then he would call Greg.  If he had a gardening question, then he would call Randy.  It was like this for a variety of things.  There were a dozen people that he maintained this type of relationship with, casual connections to whom he could reach out to if he had a question about something specific.  In turn, these people would reach out to him if they had a question about his area of expertise, HVAC.  My son won’t need to have these types of connections.  He won’t need to call someone to ask them directions or for a tip on his lawn.  He will simply pull up his phone and find the answer in a matter of moments.  He will have access to an infinite amount of information, but he will lose the need to remember it.  He will be able to find out almost anything he wants to know without human interaction.  I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  I only know that it is different than how I grew up.