So Can I Blame Google For Daydreaming in Class?

I'm hesitant to go as far as saying that the internet and search engines, like google, are making society as a whole "stupid". I mean yeah it has definitely contributed to shortened attention span and dependency on technology...but stupidity? I don't think so. Technology has made us lazy. I'm with Carr that I do not agree that "we'd all 'be better off' if our brains were supplemented, or even replaced, by an artificial intelligence" like Brin and Page suggested. Carr talks about the ignorance through Socrates opinion of people would "be thought very knowledgable when they are for the most part quite ignorant". Carr brings up the point that Socrates was not able to foresee how writing has spread ideas. I do not believe the internet is exactly fueling ignorance. Certain people will always spew whatever they hear or read before checking up on the facts. It has nothing to do with the internet, these types of people have always been around. Everyone is guilty of it at one point or another. I do not believe society as a whole depends on technology in an emotional way. It might be because i'm a camper, but i've gone a week with relying on technology and i could honestly go longer. I love getting away from everything, spending time with friends, and connecting with nature. It's activities like these that many people partake in that let me know we are not completely dependent. It's convenient and it's there...so why not use it?
Hedge's article seems a bit skewed to me. 20% of 42 illiterate americans hold high school diplomas? I don't think that's possible. I agree, however, with his remark that "The illiterate and semi-literate, once the campaigns are over, remain powerless.  They still cannot protect their children from dysfunctional public schools". My elementary school was north of 380 in Texas which was a pretty poor area. The school I attended was in a metal building and I kid you not we didn't have a math teacher my 6th grade year. My education was pretty messed up by my time there and thankfully I was able to switch schools. Some people don't have that opportunity. Many families there were illiterate  in the english language anyway, and were unable to get their children to a different schooling district.
Both Hedge and Carr paint Americans as sheepish people. It seems that neither have much faith in the individuality and thought process of US citizens. I think they have a pretty gloomy outlook. I want to look into Hedge's statistics more and possibly come back to this.