Computers indeed changed the way people acquire knowledge. Advantages like people can study anytime, anywhere with a digital interface, while there are some disadvantages including that people can not really remember the knowledge deeply.
By traditional methods for learning, students usually went to the library to study and found textbooks and other research materials. They are not only limited by the opening time of the library and university, but also limited by the distribution of resources. With the presence of computers and the following digital technology, the barriers of acquiring knowledge had been dismantled, enabling people from all socioeconomic backgrounds to access the knowledge. In other words, by removing these barriers, education can truly serve as a pathway to upward social mobility, to reach substantive equality.
However, some neuroscience researchers raise concern on the prevalent use of digital interfaces in study environments. Research reveals that the stability of a memory retention is influenced by how diverse senses involve multifunctionally in the time when people acquire new information. Multisensory engagement—combining sight, sound, touch, and even smell—can significantly enhance how well new information is stored. Only by using digital screens to access new information without writing or other pathways to deepen the memory, it is more unstable to retain the memory. People can gain more knowledge due to the presence of computers; Contrastively, they forget more information studied than ever before.
In conclusion, computers have changed the way people study. Advantages show the lower accessibility of knowledge, while there still are disadvantages of unstable memory retention.