Is the internet rewiring your brain?

joanlawson

Hi

American technologist, Nicholas Carr, thinks that the internet is changing the way we think, and making it more difficult for us to concentrate. You can read the article about it on this link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1284564/How-internet-rewiring-brains-The-web-treasure-house-knowledge--making-impossible-concentrate-more.html#ixzz0qCGbUy9h


Carr fears we are in danger of sacrificing our very humanity on the altar of the machine, that as computers become more 'human' we will become mere automata, avatars of our previous selves; able to carry on 36 conversations at once via email, Twitter and the like, without really paying attention to any of them.

What he has picked up on is perhaps the most pernicious effect of this waterfall of information; it is making it hard to concentrate. We are becoming a society of intellectual mayflies, impatient dilettantes


I did manage to concentrate long enough to read the whole article, but I think he could be right. What do you think?

Joan

dreamdaisy

I haven't read the article tonight - too tired - but the interweb is certainly changing the way we work. Answers to questions are instantly provided. There is no need to read or research, or concentrate on anything at all, really. Schoolchildren google, cut, paste, print, et voila! an entire project is produced for which the only effort they have made is to type in their password. They understand nothing of what they have 'created' and can tell you nothng about the contents of the project.

We are losing the ability to think for ourselves in so many areas. DD

joanlawson

I think I am rapidly becoming an intellectual mayfly and impatient dilettante

livinglegend

As the article says, Far from becoming more stupid, people, it seems, are becoming brighter. The difference between the Haves and Have Nots has been redefined. Can you use a computer or not?

More people are becoming skilled in using technical and electronic apparatus than ever before. You can't operate a computer without thinking, but the ability to multi-task, (which is really what he is talking about), has become more widespread. When you have a large library of books, rather than just War and Peace to look at, then most people would dip into various books as the thought took them.

Imagine an ever expanding library of books, you can just wander about and pick a chapter at random, then move on. That there was no index to the library and no signs on the shelves to point to our particular interest. We would have to look at the titles of hundreds of books to find the ones that we were interested in. Hence the use of a Search Engine such as Ask, Google, Bing, to name a few. These provide a signpost to our corner of interest and propel us there, all without moving from our warm, comfy chair.

So, we have the world at our fingertips and we should make the most of it. Everyone has their own interest, their own hobbies, their own corner of the world. Some people would deconstruct everything in an attempt to come to terms with the speed of modern living. Knowledge should be put to use rather than rejected. We should not attempt to absorb all knowledge, but to only take in what we need.

There will always be some people who act like butterflies or bees fluttering from one flower to the next. And why should they not? Is it so wrong to seek enjoyment in life which is different to everyone else's? Those who wish to concentrate on just one small part of the Internet that is their interest, should never be overwhelmed by the amount of information as they would be too specific. While those that flit about would never delve deeply into the large area of information and so could never be overwhelmed.

Computers are pretty dumb. Unless you tell them what to do they just sit there and do nothing, awaiting your command. If we only use computers on average for 12 hours a week out of the 168 available, then that is just 7% of our time. For 93% of the time we are doing something else, not exactly overwhelming.

One of the other things I do during the 93% is sleeping, so that is what I will do for now.


Joseph 8)

frogmorton

Very well put Joseph -
that does mean we is ok eh? :oops:
I hope you slept ok in the end
Love
Toni xx

valval

it can not re wire what not there, should be blonde as so thick some days but others ok lol. val

dreamdaisy

At least you get OK days valval, being blonde takes away that option!

As usual, a wise and measured reponse from livinglegend, who does make some pertinent points. Yes, it is a library at your fingertips - I could go off now and find out how to make a bomb (cor!) or research a particular battle of WW1 or find a cake recipe or teach myself origami - the options are endless. I have an enquiring mind and I like to find out stuff. Remembering it - well, that's a different issue!

They are insidious beasts though, I can while away hours on these forums alone. The Husband spends ages on his at the weekend, partly work, partly browsing Amazon for books and music and googling stuff that piques his curiosity. The result? We were in our separate domains on Sunday afternoon, not talking to each other, not in each other's company. I nearly emailed him to ask if he wanted a cup of tea. LUDICROUS.

The art of conversation is being lost, little by little. We each have our little electronic world, we boast of the number of facebook 'friends' we have but don't keep in touch with real friends. Vocabulary levels are dropping like a stone, children are now starting school unable to hold a conversation. We jibber-jabber like mad through the ether, but to each other? I've wandered off thread. Sorry. DD

tkachev

I do find I have more difficulty concerntrating since becoming computer addicted but it has broadened my horizons. I dont feel so isolated since going on facebook either as can see what friends are upto....and have a cyber chat and a laugh!

Elizabeth

livinglegend

delboy wrote:

My synapses stopped firing a while ago.

Passing psychology expert peering over shoulder says, "If you can still use a word like 'synapses' in context, then they haven't stopped firing".

Joseph 8)

dreamdaisy

Our del's a deep 'un. DD

joanlawson

There will always be some people who act like butterflies or bees fluttering from one flower to the next. And why should they not?

Thanks, Joseph, that's reassuring. It was while I was flitting around that I found the article in the first place.

valval

love to be able to look up what i need and find out things that can help wether it train times prices ect or what best to eat for arther what it says about meds and mostly you lot would not be with out you all the games on fb help when pain bad and keep in touch with brothers much easyer val

joanlawson

babycham wrote:

Not sure why ..But all morning I keep on humming .."Are we human"...are we dancin...and wanting to walk like a robot.....I.ve been getting some really strange looks..out and about Have I been brain washed ?xBabycham :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?

Maybe there's a fault in your synapse-firing mechanism. You could be in serious trouble :!: :shock: :shock:

joanlawson

dreamdaisy wrote:

I haven't read the article tonight - too tired - but the interweb is certainly changing the way we work. Answers to questions are instantly provided. There is no need to read or research, or concentrate on anything at all, really. Schoolchildren google, cut, paste, print, et voila! an entire project is produced for which the only effort they have made is to type in their password. They understand nothing of what they have 'created' and can tell you nothng about the contents of the project.

We are losing the ability to think for ourselves in so many areas. DD

Hi DD

I think that the internet is a wonderful educational resource for children, giving them access to information from all over the world, but I agree with you that it is making things too easy in many ways. I have watched my grand-daughter do exactly what you describe. She is very skilled at skimming through information she has found, and then cutting and pasting, but I'm not sure how much of the actual content she absorbs.

I think children's attention span is being affected by their use of computers. Everything is so instant, and teachers are finding it more difficult to get children to concentrate for any length of time.

tkachev

And another thing. My children arent picking up books anymore! I chose to read a 'boring' book to my daughter the other night because i felt she wasnt getting normal conversations like she used to.(IMO).Although she has picked up other useful facts Floating around her internet games.

Elizabeth

joanlawson

I asked around at my computer class today, and we all agreed that we are a bit addicted, but we can't imagine going back to an internet-free existence.

I suppose that every invention like the internet has its advantages and disadvantages. In Ancient Greece, even writing was viewed as being a potentially dangerous invention, and far inferior to the spoken word. But the ironic thing was that those who wished to communicate their views on the subject had to do it by writing down their ideas.

It's a bit like that with computers. Whatever the disadvantages of the internet, we still find it so useful.

joanlawson

delboy wrote:

I blame music videos, nano second bursts of images not allowing you to absorb what is actually happening. I just find them to unbearable to watch at times as they rapidly switch from one scene to the next in the blink of an eye.

We live in a fast-moving world in general, and the younger generation have been brought up to expect everything to be instant, exciting, and constantly changing. The music videos are an extension of this, as are so many of the computer games they play. I'm sure that this sort of thing probably does have an effect on concentration levels.

dreamdaisy

Hello joanlawson, I apologise for my tardy reply to your excellent points: had an off day yesterday.

Yes, the internet is a wonderful resource but it is knowing HOW to use it which should be the aquired skill. It is capable of informing, possibly even teaching, but only if you read and absorb the information. Many people don't.

Certainly concentration levels are affected. Computers for work, negligible concentration. Find what you want, don't read it, print it off, job done. Comnputers for gaming? A completely different story. HOurs can pass by, the child is absorbed. Thus it goes with humans. When I was younger I couldn't remember history dates or geographical facts, dull, dull, dull. Hear a rude joke once - fixed in the brain. I can still sing the whole of 'There was an old woman of ninety two, parlez-vous, ' . Not an impressive skill I grant you.

I work with butterfly brains (their's, not mine!) all the time. My clients cannot process language effectively, specifically in the fields of reading and spelling, but often with spoken language too. Parents buy them all sorts of spelling programmes to try to help, but the one thing those programmes do not do is explain WHY letter sounds change, the reason or reasons behind it. I am required for that. I teach a specific point, they drill, then the computer is useful for revision and overlearning. Spellcheckers are great when you can read. If you can't, they're useless. Plonk my butterflies in front of a computer and their levels increase remarkably, even a spelling programme, with rewards from me, because they are interested in what they are doing! Thus it ever was. Hope you are well today. Have you adjusted to the peace and quiet yet? DD

joanlawson

Hi DD

I worked with children with learning difficulties for many years, so I understand what your work involves. It is often very slow progress, with one step forward, two steps back, but isn't it a wonderful feeling when a child suddenly grasps the skill of reading :?:

Children are often more willing to work on a computer than with a human being because computers show no emotion or disapproval when mistakes are made. Fear of failure can play such a big part in holding some children back, so computers can boost their confidence tremendously.

Keep up the good work :!: :!:

Joan

dreamdaisy

Mine usually come in grumpy, (tired, post-school, the constant drips of failure running off them like raindrops) then go off, after 45 minutes with me, laughing and happy. I know what to do, and I'm damn good at it! Green ticks for everything right, little red marks for errors, guess what, green outnumbers red all the time and by a big margin. They are never given credit in school for what they have right, the focus is always on the errors. My profession is a disgrace, but then I suppose I never see the successful ones, only the interesting ones. I was shown a school spelling list last week, photocopied from the teacher's typed list: acter, computer, docter, eager, further, higher, joker, lower, master, pewter. At least the alphabetical order is correct. Sometimes I despair/despare/despear, all seen on lists. DD