Internet usage leading to a crisis: Calcutta Univ VC

Updated on: Tuesday, September 13, 2011

University of Calcutta's Vice-Chancellor Suranjan Das has criticised the over-dependence of students to cull information from the internet.

"We all celebrate globalisation but the negative part of it is that we are becoming more and more internet-oriented. If my daughter needs to know about Taj Mahal she will just 'google' it. She will not read books. Even to know the meaning of words, she doesn't open dictionaries. I think we are in a crisis," Das said here.

Urging students to go back to fine print, he rued that even the use of ubiquitous dictionaries are becoming less.

"I am not against globalisation, but we tend to depend more and more on machines, which is harmful," he said at a programme organised by South City International School.

On the disadvantages of the internet, he said that a student doesn't get the real flavour of studies while logged on to the world wide web.

"The fun of holding a book in your hand and reading it itself adds to the learning process. Moreover, the choice gets limited in internet as you find only what you are looking for. But in books you might stumble upon something interesting which you were not looking for initially," the academician said.

Internet usage leading to a crisis: Calcutta Univ VC

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