Using Google Docs for her schoolwork, Senior Alayna Holmquest finds that it is a handy application for educational purposes. Photo by: Logan Richards
By Logan Richards
In a world where technology always increases its influence, one company has raced ahead of the competition. Google has opened the door to the expanding knowledge of the Internet, and PHS students would have difficulty adapting without it.
The Google search engine has made the life of several PHS students much easier. One might call our dependency on the search tool an addiction. Seniors Alayna Holmquest and Edgar Quiroz, Juniors Rachael Principe and Heath Wolfe, and Freshman Korie Rice all use Google as their primary searching tool. They all unanimously agreed that Google has more results for every search and is quick and easy to use. Principe and Wolfe both said they use the search engine at least ten times a day, which demonstrates the excessive reliance of Google. Senior Edgar Quiroz also said, “Every single day. Whenever I don’t know something I pop out my phone and Google it. I love having so much knowledge in my pocket.”
However, there is not nearly as much dependency to Google’s form of e-mail, Gmail, and their document sharing tool, Google Docs. Holmquest, Quiroz, Principe, Wolfe, and Rice do not use Gmail as their primary e-mail account. Quiroz and Wolfe both said that they use Yahoo rather than Gmail. Also, all five do not use Google Docs outside of school unless it is pertaining to their schoolwork.
Founded on September 4, 1998, the Google search engine still remains one of the most useful tools on the Internet. If it were to vanish, Freshman Korie Rice said, “I might have to go to the library like the good old days!” Photo by: Logan Richards
Google owns a major part of Android and YouTube, which also increases the dependency of the corporation. Holmquest, Quiroz, Principe and Rice all prefer the iPhone over the Android, but Wolfe prefers the Android. He believes that there are more free applications for it. The possibility of Google disappearing is a thought several PHS students tend not to ponder about. When asked how Principe would adapt if Google were to vanish, she said, “I’m not sure how I would adapt to it, but I feel like it would be really hard considering we use Google so much whether people realize it or not. We would probably just be more stupid than we already are since people rely on them so much.” Rice said, “I might have to go to the library like the good old days!”
From Youtube to the search engine and Google Docs, PHS depends on Google for a number of things. In a world that is becoming more and more technologically dependent, some people wonder what would happen if Google were to disappear and if society would be able to make it on its own.