Editorial: Are We Smarter Or Just Faster?

Incorporate technology and critical thinking, that is where smartness lies. Progress demands more than speed; it requires depth.

Advancements in technology are all good; they aid our knowledge, help us to think, and improve our skills as students. The central and pressing question that emerges, however, is this: are we getting any better, or does the digital age aid the loss of the capacity to think?

Continuously, we see people on their mobile devices, scrolling and swiping screens. We are in a world filled with endless feeds and constant notifications. While this age has indeed granted us easy access and eased our journey as students, a profoundly troubling thought persists: has it not robbed us of our deep thinking and handed laziness unto us? For just by clicking on an app and typing a few words, we can get responses to questions that could require hours in the library. The digital age has thus made information more available at our fingertips, but instead of producing deep thinkers, it has reduced and preoccupied us with more distractions. Indeed, before you even have access to information, you are welcomed with different contents. The result is that we have more access to distractions than to substance.

The impact of this is evident everywhere: students find it difficult to dwell on problems and get frustrated easily. Consequently, the next thought is a prompt that would give an answer to what required us having deep thoughts. We don’t want to spend much time on things anymore, and we believe we are saving more time; yet the time we are saving is actually spent on distractions.

It is therefore imperative to assert that deep thinking remains fundamentally important and relevant; it should not be replaced with the availability of technology. Moreover, being fast should not be replaced with being smart; that you are able to arrive at an answer quickly does not mean you are smart. Our creativity and innovation come from our deep thoughts, and the power of resilience is reflected in the face of difficulty.

It must be acknowledged that the digital age is not all bad; in fact, it is a tool that can empower our creativity, resilience, and innovation if it is well employed. Crucially, we should not replace our strength that lies in critical thinking with technology. Balance is the key. The challenge is to employ technology for your development and use it as a tool for improvement, not a killer of ability. Do not just be that fast student; be smart as well. Incorporate technology and critical thinking, that is where smartness lies. Progress demands more than speed; it requires depth. We must not allow technology to leave us as shallow students; we must let it build us into world-changers.