Are earthquakes happening more frequently, or are we just better at detecting them?

Question

I'm a cynic who's been arguing with a few people on this one.

I'm not a scientist, but I'm pretty sure that we just detect them better.

Also, news travels much faster today than it used to.

Am I wrong, or are we experiencing earthquakes more often than we did before the internet, or just modern communications in general (i.e. media hype)?

Answer 1

You just answered the question!  The global community puts the whole earth next door.  Careful it'll get in your shoes...

Answer 2

Technology has significantly increased the detection of earthquakes, especially deep surface quakes that would otherwise go unnoticed. However, even with that said, earthquakes are becoming slightly more frequent. Scientist have pointed this out with the discover of more tectonic plate activity. Media has helped spread the news of an earthquake much more quickly so it is now more known to people. This can mislead people to think that they are becoming signifcally more frequent. Yes, they are becoming SLIGHTLY more frequent but for the most part we can now detect more earthquakes that we otherwise would have never known abuot.

Answer 3

Better at detecting them. In Geology class, we saw videos of all the technology involved. Pretty cool.