The Google Effect

by Seraphina M.
Published March 28, 2024

The Google Effect, also known as digital amnesia, is the tendency to forget information that is available through reliable search engines like Google. We don’t commit this information to our memory because we know that this information is easy to access online.

Suppose that 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.This situation describes the Google effect; when information is already available online, we do not bother to even remember it. It is so easy to “Google it,” that we may find ourselves repeatedly looking up the same information online instead of committing it to memory.This exists not only for things we look up on search engines, but for most information that is easily accessible on our computers or phones. Do you know your parents’ or best friend’s number by heart? The answer is probably no—thanks to the Google Effect.

The Google Effect impacts the way we learn, research, and problem solve. While the Internet has opened up a new way of possibilities for what information we can obtain, our engagement with the world can become less “engaged” when that information isn’t being consumed as knowledge that you remember forever, such as walking or your alphabet, for example.

Although some people believe the Google Effect is a sign of humans getting better at learning things, there is no evidence that we are getting any better at researching information. 

We may no longer waste effort remembering something that can easily be looked up online. But if the quality of that information is poor, the Internet is actually doing little to improve our intelligence and productivity.

Another consequence of the Google Effect is the way it affects our ability to think critically. With so much information available at our fingertips, it can be tempting to accept everything we read online as a fact. However, not all information on the internet is reliable or accurate. As a result, we may be more vulnerable to misinformation and fake news. This can lead to a decline in our ability to make good and smart decisions.

Despite these concerns, there are also positive aspects to the Google Effect. For example, it has made information more accessible to people all over the world. It has also made research and learning easier and more efficient. But it is important to recognize the limitations of technology and to make sure that we are not relying too much on it.

You’ve heard of the Google Effect, but what about the ChatGPT Effect? As it turns out, our dependency online extends from search engines to AI machines, where we rely on automated responses to store information rather than our own minds. In fact, AI-like chat engines 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.

At our age, we cannot completely avoid the Google Effect; no matter what, our school responsibilities will require us to search for information online. By being aware of this, though, we can remind ourselves that there are better ways to expand our knowledge beyond search engines like Google and AI like ChatGPT.