How the Internet is rewiring our brains.
There’s a new backlash against being plugged in all the freaking time. So much so that the New York Times has a section dedicated to “Your brain on computers.”
This particular story by Julie Scelfo underlines a new trend of parents being so obsessed with their gadgets that they’re actually ignoring their kids.
“Over and over, kids raised the same three examples of feeling hurt and not wanting to show it when their mom or dad would be on their devices instead of paying attention to them: at meals, during pickup after either school or an extracurricular activity, and during sports events.”
It wasn’t so long ago that parents watched with horror as their kids seemed to be the ones disappearing down the rabbit hole of the World Wide Web. Who are the the techno-floozies now?
But seriously folks, there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that this new way of dealing with information is literally rewiring our brain. Check out this recent NPR interview with Nicholas Carr, author of ‘The Shallows’: This is Your Brain Online. Think of it like this: Before, with books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed materials, we used to scuba dive in the sea of information. Now, with the Internet, we’re skimming across the surface in a speedboat, flitting from topic to topic to topic and back again.
To read more about “your brain on computers,” check out this story about a family that is swimming in devices, this one about the perceived downside to being plugged in, or this one about forgetfulness.
With all that said, we’re working on a highly impartial study here at Good Men Project headquarters about how reading The Good Men Project Magazine online every day actually makes you much, mush smarter—not to mention, a better man. But do we really need a highfalutin study to tell us that?
—Seth Putnam
On the other hand instead of having tons of books, magazines and newspaper that then you have to dispose, cut down trees to make new paper, or use energy to recycle… you can just have it all in your computer, laptop or ipad if you may… I see the point of this article and I agree it bothers me so much to see ppl buried in their stupid Iphones (those are the worst) smartphones, you name it… in the elevator no one sparks conversations anymore or says good morning because they’ll rather text… lame. So it’s a balancing act… those… Read more »
Your last sentence in the column seems to imply that reading your magazine will turn our brains into “mush.” Maybe you should correct that typo. Hee, hee
Duh? did someone say television in all the electronic overload? I am the grandfather of a darling one year old little girl. I am terribly saddened by what I am witnessing. My son is an R.N. and works nights. He sleeps all day and misses out on a larger part of his child’s development each day. Further, he is chief of equipment repair in a major scuba diving facility. He is gone nearly eighty hours a week. My daughter-in-law works for a major foreign car finance company and does not get home with the baby till past 6:00pm. As my… Read more »
“We used to scuba dive….now we’re skimming across the surface in a speedboat”. Fabulous image. I do think there is something to be concerned about in all of this. As in everything, balance is key. If our sons and daughters are quietly hurting because the internet is winning the “battle” for parental attention, that’s not a good thing.
Technology is clearly evolving faster than our brains and psyches can keep up. Is it causing a rewiring? It could very well be.