A neuroscientist at UCLA who specializes in brain function has reported evidence that Internet surfing and text messaging causes evloutionary changes in how the brain functions. Dr. Gary Small says research has found that actual use of the Internet strengthens the brain's ability to filter information and make quick decisions.
This has a familiar ring to it. Didn't the researchers some years ago discover that physical exercise would make the body stronger? Even to the point of designing routines to strengthen particular parts of the body or particular muscles? Should we expect this technological use of one of the strongest muscles (the brain) to be unaffected?
There is a downside. This activity can result in addiction to the internet(I have heard of a few case of work-out addiction). Addicts whose only friends are virtual have sparked an increase in the number of diagnosed cases of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Now ADD won't be limited as the diagnosis of the day for 2nd graders. Look out! Here comes the ritalin.
Another risk of addiction is the loss of social skills. The inability to read body language and have face-to-face interaction with real people may be the sad result. Dr. Small believes that people of the next generation who will be the most successful will ge those that have developed technological skills (with corresponding changes in the brain circuitry), but who have not lost their social skills in the process.
"The Alzeimer's Reading Room", reports this news as a positive benefit for counteracting the development of some forms of dementia. As with any new development it is important to tread the new ground carefully. It took a long time to discover that smoking tobacco and inhaling asbestos fibers would result in lung disease. Let us hope and pray that the next generation will not have to explain what happened to all of us ignorant citizens who got some new affliction from surfing the internet.
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4 comments:
This research makes a good point. While searching the internet, the brain is always working as it sorts through the sites and searches for the desired information.
This research seems to reveal the same effect video games has had on the younger generation. While video games improve hand-eye coordination and awareness, they also develop an addiction. Both video games and internet addictions do produce a lack of social interaction. This lack social interaction is harmful to young people as they grow older and move into the business world.
It appears this is another cost/benefit scenario involved with technology. The benefits appear great with the increased brain functions and brain exercise, however one must always being aware of the side-effects. In the case of searching the internet and text-messaging, the benefit out-weighs the side-effects and the effects can be avoided.
Group 1
This is one of those things that just sounds crazy because we are always being told what is good and bad for us from everyday use even when talking about text messaging and surfing the web. It makes sense that the brain;s ability to filter information and make quicker decisions can be a product of web surfing and texting. So one could argue that this is an exercise to strengthen the brain, but if you do this you can develop an addiction, which can lead to ADD. We have also heard of other side effects of using cell phones and etc, but the main point here is that if you do too much of anything there are going to be some sort of side effects in most cases. The real goal here is to balance it all out throughout your life. People need to be social and interact so a person can' t spend every minute on the web trying to strengthen their mind. They should do studies on what would happen if people spent time interacting with others and actually learning to really listen and learn what other people are saying and how they feel. This is something that the web or a phone can't do and it has to help the brain because people as a whole have a hard time just doing the simple task of listening to one another!
This is a great subject and we hope to see more research done in the area.
As you mentioned, one of the risks of addiction is the loss of social skills, which also goes well with physical training addiction. We've witnessed this full well in gyms, seeing people communicate through flexes and grunts. =)
While we don't feel an internet addiction will result in flexes and grunts(maybe more weight and glasses), we can see the industry's request for an increased level of soft skills in their IT employees. It's probably not a leap of faith to think that most IT employees are largely involved with the internet on a daily basis. The request by employers of increased soft skills could be a repercussion of the effects you've described in your blog.
In one of the first entry-level IT certifications sought by IT professionals, CompTIA's A+, their latest exam release has seen an added section covering soft skills. Soft skills are those skills we use to communicate effectively and to emotionally connect with others.
In our class, we've discussed the importance of customer service and forming a connection with the customer. We can see the full circle of the internet causing a decrease in soft skills, then e-businesses requiring soft skills, which have to be provided by personnel that have their soft skills decreased by use of the internet! Boy, what a vicious circle! Hopefully, it's not as bad as it sounds and more companies will continue to increase their requests for employees with soft skills so we don't lose the importance of communication skills.
Group KMB
This blog is very interesting as it points out the good sides , but also the bad sides of the virtual world. We won't argue with the neuroscientist that conducted some researches to prove that internet usage strengthens the brain.
The brain is just another muscle of the body that gets stronger and stronger the more we train it and expose it to things. Moreover, the brain do not only get stronger the more we use it, it also develops some recognition patterns that allows a human being to be able to scan information, and save them in memory so that the next time those information are needed, it can just pull them. A human being is more able to make quicker decisions when her/his brain has attained this stage of recognition and filtering. It is just amazing how the brain adapts to what we feed it with. In consequence, somebody who is extremely exposed to the virtual world such as the internet, will develop extraordinary patterns. Their brain will be more able to scan important amount of information and save them in memory.
However, there is a downside to almost anything. Let's say to anything in excess! A person who becomes prisoner of the virtual world is more likely to develop behavioral and sometimes physical problems than a normal person. Their brain becomes so excited that it tends to be difficult to be controled and this is what creates the disorders.
Also, along side with these behavioral and physical disorders, the virtual world, can put people away from any social world. These people don't feel the need to physically interact with other people in their daily life.
Anything needs a balance, and this applies to any person who wants to become successful in their life.
Today's leaders are the people who choose smart decisions in what they are doing, and how they allocate their energy in their search of knowledge and success.
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