The amount of people who access the Internet in the United Kingdom has almost doubled from 16.5 million in 2006 to 30.1 million in 2010. This accounts for 60% of the British population: "Internet use is linked to various socio-economic and demographic indicators, such as age, location, marital status and education... The most popular products bought online [are] clothes and sporting goods, with 52 per cent of Internet shoppers buying these products." - The Office for National Statistics (UK) [1].
Is the Internet changing the way we think? Plato said: "The technology of writing would destroy the art of remembering..."
So, what is happening to our collective memory since everything has become accessible and in 'hot storage'? "The claim that we're now thinking less well is much more suspect. If we've lost something by not reading 10 books on one subject, we've probably gained as much by being able to link together ideas easily from 10 different disciplines," says novelist, Naomi Alderman [2].
Consider the Father-of-the-Thought, who says (to paraphrase):
"[The creation of a network of information shall be a labour-saving device... ] a wire-heated brilliant glow... " - Vannevar Bush [3].
As more-and-more people are accessing the Internet, the next statistical analysis to be undertaken is how much labour is actually being saved by this device.
SOURCES:
[1] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=8
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/15/internet-brain-neuroscience-debate
[3] http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1969/12/as-we-may-think/3881/
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