There might be some _very_ unlucky kids who can't even access the internet, but once you can get to Wikipedia and youtube I'm sure a very smart kid can figure out where to find what they want to learn. Now, if they don't get the time to immerse themselves because their household demands their attention on more fundamental survival needs, well that should be addressed whether the kid is smart or not.
> I did not have internet or tv as kid and I have learned a lot from books.
Growing up in a TV-free household as a kid was and still is an advantage to develop learning skills, independence, and imagination.
> Now I have internet, and I spend far more time on social media and watching shows than I spend on learning things
That may be, but you have the choice.
The main difference is that you can find way more information than in books, even if you lived in a library. The main problem on top of the continuous distraction is curation.
Isn’t this general kids vs adult things? I think most (but not all) people learn less and less as they get older.
For practical, “try at home” things, internet is just making everything so much better. You can read books a lot, but if you want to learn how to make a laser from scratch (for example), no book will be nearly as good as a bunch of blog posts and forum to connect to others.
In order to look for something, you generally need to know it exists. When you live in the given social circle, you tend to develop a point of view on what’s doable/achievable that’s in line with that circle. Some people are not constrained by this and have this almost built-in dream. Others have to learn to dream big.
This even happens in US all the time - kids emulate their parents, neighbors, etc. Even the access is there, but these kids don’t know it and therefore can’t make use of this access.
Social and familiar needs are linked with someone being smart or not. You can’t have one without the other, they are interdependent. You can’t just count on someone — specially an young one — sneaking in to get access to Wikipedia and find the extra resources they need. You minimize negative impacts on the social environment for it to flourish.
