Google: Only as powerful as users allow it.

Google:  There a lot of talk about how much power they have, whether or not they are being too invasive, and that they are possibly making us dumber.  I personally use Google in many aspects of my daily life:  Gmail, Google Search, the Play Store, Drive, Youtube, and most recently, Blogger.  I use Google's two-step verification, so they have my phone number, and because I use their services regularly on my phone, they have my location as well.  However, Google did not force that information out of me, and they did not "gate" my access to the internet by demanding I use their products.  Our relationship came about because of my choosing.

Google has all the data that they have, as well as their involvement in most people's lives, because users allowed it, and they are not the only ones.  It all comes down to being a smart consumer:  By in to something because you want to, not because everyone else is doing it.  Also, know what you are getting into before you sign up.  If you feel that Google demands too much of your information for use of their services, there are alternatives.

There is also the simple matter of convenience.  We all love the instant connection to information that Google affords us, as well as being able to have access to so many services with just one log in.  That kind of convenience comes at a price, and you as the consumer have to determine if that price is worth paying.  As a consumer, you have other options, and the open source environment of Google affords that as well.

As far as the idea that Google is making people dumber, I would argue the opposite.  You can know almost anything you want with just a few keystrokes, and the will to do some searching.  I would posit that it is the people that do not know how to use Google Search properly that are ill informed.  Again, how the user receives information is in the hands of, you guessed it, the user.