just "google"

At times, it feels like we're getting more distant from each other. If I ask someone a question, there's a good change they'll tell me to "just google it". Online, it's all too easy to see people in forums complain that others are asking questions they should have "just googled". At times, it feels like asking questions is being looked down upon by these people, when in reality, learning is a natural part of being human. Curiosity should be rewarded, not shunned, and most certainly not delegated to the internet.

Obviously not everyone knows everything, and obviously there will be questions that intentionally are ridiculous. But I'm mainly focusing on those which come from a genuine will to learn and to improve. We have teachers, after all, telling us how to derive an equation or how to write an essay. Yet if you listen to some people online, we may as well not have teachers, we should just "google" everything. And yes, independent research is important, but it also feels like the people telling others to "google" something aren't actually advocating for this - it seems more like they think others aren't worth their time. 

What could take a few seconds to "google" can vary based on internet speed, and when you compare that with the instantaneous ability for people to reply to your questions, it gets hideously slow. Why should we be hiding behind our screens, instead of actually discussing information and being social about it? And if it's really that big of an issue, what's wrong with simply admitting you don't know the answer, instead of telling someone they should just "google" the answer. 

As if it's that simple. Millions of pages can turn up, some full of ads on hot singles and miracle cures, others just spam and content farms which steal original research from other sites, and most will only ever look at the first few links. And if they don't find any information there, then what? Should they use a different search engine? After all, just "googling" something requires more emphasis on the "just" part; research shouldn't really be just looking at a website and deciding it's correct. Only a few days ago, I was searching up the viscosity of glycerol for my physics homework, and I got various answers in different formats on websites that all seem reliable. Which one is most accurate? 

But it's fine, everything is more convenient nowadays. Don't buy something from the local shop, just "order from Amazon". Don't call someone, just "text them on Instagram and send some funny Tiktoks". There are apps for everything nowadays - apps for ordering food, for reviewing restaurants, for analysing toilets, the whole lot. And I'm sure they're useful for some people. They just put the "just" into every activity, because we're all going to be more online because it's just "better". 

So don't go around living your life and having fun experiences, just "die". That's far more easy and less time-consuming to do.