The Internet Is Making Us Less Confident Of Our Own Intelligence

Feeling Less Sure Of Your Own Intelligence? You Can Blame The Internet For That

A study by the University of Waterloo has found that the internet is doing something rather disturbing to our self-confidence.

Our reliance on the internet is actually causing us to lose confidence in our own intelligence, forcing us to actually defer to the world of Wikipedia even if we know the answer.

Professor Evan F. Risko and his team asked around 100 participants a series of questions with the only requirement being to say whether they knew the answer or not.

For half of the test the participants had access to the internet, for the other half they did not.

While small, what they did find was a five per cent increase in people saying that they didn't feel confident in knowing the answer when given access to the internet.

In short, we'll happily let the web answer our questions.

Imagine that pub quiz stalwart, that one figure who is the bedrock of any quiz team. While he/she might not be the funniest of the group, they remain solemnly focused on the task at hand, nodding to affirm another member's nervously postured answer or wisely whispering the assuredly correct answer.

If Risko's study is to be believed then this iconic figure could soon be the way of the dodo.

Before we all start blocking Wikipedia from our phones it's important to note that the very selective test only contained around 100 participants.

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