The Internet is Screwing With Your Brain

[zyzzyva980]

I've been reading The Shallows recently, a non-fiction Pulitzer finalist by Nicholas Carr, and so far, despite being slow, it's very fascinating. According to Carr, the Internet is screwing with our brains quite a bit. Whereas prior to the Internet (in the print era) most people were able to focus intently on one thing, we're now becoming more and more distracted- and willing to be distracted- because of our time online.

Our brains are malleable, changeable. Based on some research, after just five hours online over the course of a week a new Internet user's brain has already begun to change its "hardwiring," with connections forming in our brain that wouldn't form otherwise, and other connections falling dormant. Additionally, studies have shown that when reading text with links, our reading comprehension drops significantly.

It's not just computers either; K-State did a study where students watched CNN with or without infographics and the ticker at the bottom of the screen. The group that watched CNN with the extras remembered far less.

To put things simply, the more time we spend online, the more we lose focus. Your brain is changing. (And it's not all bad- there are several benefits to the "reprogramming" of the brain, too)

What do you guys think? Have you noticed stuff like this going on in your life? Do you think it will soon become difficult for us to read lengthy novels due to our loss of focus? Will our children read as much as we did? Did you read this whole post without jumping somewhere else (be honest)?

What are the consequences?

Heavy stuff.

[Cedavis6]

Balance internet with reading. This is coming from the girl who's almost always on. Just do it.
*Wnders how much time I spend on here*

[zyzzyva980]

See, that's the point Carr's making in his book. We think we're okay, and can balance web browsing with reading. But our reading is much more shallow then, and we retain less, because we are slowly becoming used to the rapid pace of the web. I'm not asking for solutions- this is probably irreversible. I'd like observations; what do you guys think of it?

[thehydrogenpoptart]

This sounds immensely interesting; I'm going to add that book to my To-Read List.

[tuftedtitmouse12]

Actually, that is kinda scary. Most of us would die if we couldn't access internet for a week or so (or at least I know I'm in that category myself) and just the fact that our comprehension decreases as well isn't too encouraging.

But many of us do like to have multiple tabs open and that also might lead to "distraction."

Also, now that I think of it, is there something just "addicting" with technology itself? I mean, from what I've seen with little kids, the "easiest" way to deal with them is to turn on the TV, put them on a kid-friendly channel, and you'll watch their eyes bug out, they freeze, and they get so absorbed into what they're watching. But it's not just little kids, it's everyone. If you've ever been to the movie theatre, and you manage to stop getting absorbed into the movie yourself, you will notice that everyone else around you will be absorbed in...what makes us react this way?

[aim4me26]

Yeah, the internet definitely distracts me... I mean, a few years ago, before I became a teen, I didn't care about going on the computer that much, and look at me now. I spend virtually all my time online. Not that I mean to; it just happens.

[EpicFailOlympian]

Wow. This is happening to me. I used to be pretty pro at math. I was limited by my mom 20 minutes on the gameboy or 30 minutes online per week (keep in mind this was dialup slow internet) for my eyes’ heath. I was never really bored at school. I could actually concentrate. Slowly, my favorite subject shifted from math to science because science is a bit more subjective than math. It required less concentration, but still enough logic to keep my brain happy. Now, I’m feeling another shift closer to the liberal arts – language, history, and music. I’m now like arrrg to math, eh to science, yay to the more liberal and subjective. (Z, remember when I hated essays?) Yeah, it’s that stupid internet that screwing with me, changing who I am – now frequently bored, unable to concentrate. Now...I'm just like lolwut in class. And the internet is fueling the procrastination plague that has blighted me.

Help…

[chia]

What do you guys think? Have you noticed stuff like this going on in your life? Do you think it will soon become difficult for us to read lengthy novels due to our loss of focus? Will our children read as much as we did? Did you read this whole post without jumping somewhere else (be honest)?

To answer your questions: yes; possibly, within the next ~40 years or so, though some argue it has already happened; probably not; ...no.
EDIT: EFO - you are not alone. >_>

We read a few related articles and had a similar discussion in AP Lit a couple of weeks ago. One author went so far as to say that a decline in average vocabulary as a result of TV/the internet is stripping us of the ability to think coherently and critically, leaving us unable to even verbalize global problems, let alone begin to solve them. A lot of my classmates believed the claims made in those articles were overblown, though that could be as you said...

We think we're okay.

Additionally, studies have shown that when reading text with links, our reading comprehension drops significantly.

Well, there's one strike for learning things off of Wikipedia. Related with the other bit about the CNN study, it makes me wonder if this effect is related to the "paradox of choice" (I heard that was an interesting book, too) - the one about how having more choices when buying something like an article of clothing, like in department stores today, leads to more difficulty actually making a decision, and less satisfaction with that final decision. Anyways, maybe it's only tangentially related, but maybe the exposure to so much information at once (links, infographics) makes it hard for your mind to settle on which one piece to focus on, and even if you think you have become focused, you can't actually fully devote your attention to what you chose.

Not to have you summarize the entire book or anything, but what is the general gist of the more positive effects of the brain's "reprogramming"?

Also, now that I think of it, is there something just "addicting" with technology itself?

Oh, definitely. (I mean, if you have to ask...) As to why, exactly... looking at more and more websites, clicking all of those links makes us feel "smarter"? We are constantly afraid of being out of the loop/behind the times and so have to spend more and more time keeping up with changing information (social networking) and technology (iphones, etc)? Who knows...

[zyzzyva980]

Well, there's one strike for learning things off of Wikipedia

Everything I said was from the book. The research in question was done by Gary Small, a professor at UCLA.

Related with the other bit about the CNN study, it makes me wonder if this effect is related to the "paradox of choice" (I heard that was an interesting book, too) - the one about how having more choices when buying something like an article of clothing, like in department stores today, leads to more difficulty actually making a decision, and less satisfaction with that final decision. Anyways, maybe it's only tangentially related, but maybe the exposure to so much information at once (links, infographics) makes it hard for your mind to settle on which one piece to focus on, and even if you think you have become focused, you can't actually fully devote your attention to what you chose.

That's somewhat similar. What Carr claims is that even the split-second decision on whether to follow a link is enough to pull us out of focusing on the passage. He also mentions that when you track someone's sight pattern on most websites, they just jump around from point to point rather than reading left to right, up to down.

Not to have you summarize the entire book or anything, but what is the general gist of the more positive effects of the brain's "reprogramming"?

"Certain cognitive skills are strengthened...by our use of computers and the Net... such as hand-eye coordination, reflex response, and the processing of visual cues." Stuff like fast-paced problem solving, and being able to pull things out of text and data very quickly. Also, it keeps the brain active. Like for the elderly- using the Internet is somewhat like doing a crossword a day. And Carr also posits that it could increase the capacity of our "working memory"- things we recall without repetition and rehearsal.

[mnstrviola]

It's definitely the need to be entertained, and to be stimulated. I used to come home, do homework, relax, etc. but now it's just going on the computer and GOOGLE+ IMGUR SCIOLY MINECRAFT etc. I don't have the patience to practice piano and stuff like I used too. The procrastination on each websites add up to about half of my day after school, and it's even worse with some of my friends at school. There's just so much to do on the internet it's easy to be distracted from real life.

brb I need to check reddit.
EDIT: just for proof, it's been a good 30 minutes and all I've been doing is browsing Reddit. *sigh