Writing Journal Assignment #1

Cameron Foley
Eng 1050
Writing Journal Assignment #1

After reading "Truth: Can you Handle It?" I wasn't surprised to see the people interviewed to have the opinions that they did. The types of people you would expect to trust books and the library were, as one would most likely expect, the people from older generations, while it was the younger people like the students that found the internet to be much easier and similarly just as reliable. It makes perfect sense that the people who were brought up using computers and technology rely on it so much more than those who went so long without such easy access to information, and at the same time makes sense that those who aren't used to the speed of the internet, assume that just because information is easy to find that its wrong. The fact that Wikipedia has almost the same rate of accuracy in its articles is what did surprise me. In high and college I've always been told that Wikipedia is not a trusted source, and because of this have tried to stay away from it in my writing. The real fact though is that the people condemning the use of the internet may not always be those who know it the best. Sure Wikipedia isn't the best, but it's certainly a good jumping off point, and gives the reader access to the articles used to build the page. At the same time we live in an increasingly fast paced society where in most job fields one will never have the time to go search down a book when they can find something almost as good if not better on the internet. It's far more important for someone to be able to navigate the internet properly in my mind than it is to search for information in the library. This certainly doesn't mean just jumping on Wikipedia all the time to find an answer, but knowing how to decide if a source is credible based on the situation you need it for. When just answering a question to satisfy one's own curiosity then any random web page may suffice, but when working on a major project it's important to find more refutable sources, and it's important for students to understand this. In my mind I feel that it is equally important if not more important to teach students how to use the internet correctly to find information as it is to teach them how to look in a library.