Does the Internet Make Us Smarter?

After answering this question in my Educational Technology Class, I thought I might post it out to the rest of the world? Do you think the Internet makes us smarter?

In my opinion, the answer is no. I feel that the Internet is a great tool to assist in making us smarter, but unless the information is read, absorbed, and applied to everyday life, it can be just as useless. It is a helpful resource that students and adults can use to quickly find facts and trivia type information, but is that really considered knowledge?

On the other end, I feel the Internet can also become a crutch for certain people who do not use it correctly. Plagiarism is becoming much more common because it is so easy to "cut and paste" information that was never even read by the student in the first place.

What's your opinion? Do you believe the Internet is making us smarter?