# 23. Media-Techno manipulation ## 23.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 23.5.8. Google effect This is the tendency to forget information that can be easily found online. The phenomenon was described and named by Sparrow, Liu and Wegner 23.3 in July 2011. Having easy access to the Internet, the study showed, makes people less likely to remember certain details they believe will be accessible online. People can still remember, because they will remember what they cannot find online. They also remember how to find what they need on the Internet. Sparrow said this made the Internet a type of transactive memory. One result of this phenomenon is dependence on the Internet; if an online connection is lost, the researchers said, it may give rise to a similar feeling as when losing a friend. This phenomenon has been used in a manipulative way, where a victim is challenged to defend a position without having access to the internet. Traditionally, a position or opinion would be defended by recourse to first principles in combination with personal memories, anecdotes and examples. In the case of a Google dependent victim, the inability to research an issue via the internet leaves the victim feeling vulnerable and defenceless, and unable to defend a position. Many professions now have their Google pseudo-specialists - like "Google farmers", "Google doctors", "Google lawyers" etc. These "specialists" know little or nothing about a subject but are very adept in using a search engine like Google and can create a credible argument by plagiarising what they find on the internet. ### 23.6.8. Avoidance of Google effect Don't rely too much on the internet. Firstly it is, after all, a completely unverified source of data. Secondly, it's important to carry some information around with you and have a real, rather than superficial, understanding because one day you may well be stuck without an internet connection and have to think for yourself.