Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Effects Technology Can Have On Your Brain


                
           Your brain is a beautiful thing.  It has the ability to change and process an average of 70,000 thoughts per day.  Now I understand the expression when people say, “My thoughts go ninety to nothing.”  At the speed of the world today with all of our technological advances it has helped us as humans try to keep up with all of our thoughts.   We have become great at multitasking, but the funny thing is that even though we try to handle everything at once, our brains can only process one thing at a time.  Does technology change our thinking process when it comes to the way we communicate?  Does it really help us connect to people or does it make it easier to ignore the people around us?
            According to a recent study done by Dr. Sandra Chapman (2012) adults are staring at screens for at least eight hours a day. We are spending more time with technology than any other activity, including sleeping. Thirty percent of 2-5 year olds know how to operate a handheld computer, and statistics show that more than one-third of smart phone users get online before getting out of bed.  That’s a lot of information people are taking in on a daily basis.  The question is: can our brain handle it all?
            The digital culture is slowly starting to change our brains.  We are becoming more dependent on portable devices that cause our brains to stay in a constant state of divided attention.  People always say that technological advances have many benefits like allowing us to do double the work in half the time. This makes it easy to keep up with friends and family members more efficiently.  Technology can improve eye-hand coordination, increase reaction time, and enhance our ability to pick out information.  All of this seems positive, b­­­ut researchers have shown that we are exposed to three times more information today as compared to four decades ago.  We have immediate access to massive amounts of information at our fingertips.  This information overload can lead to more multitasking and could force us to push our brains to do things it was not created to do.  College students go from being on their personal computers to their cell phones endlessly throughout the day.  All of the switching back and forth between digital devices causes the frontal lobe of the brain to become fatigued.  The frontal lobe is critical to dynamic thinking.  It is the first portion of your brain to develop and the first part to decline.  The function of the frontal lobe is extremely important because it is responsible for strategic attention, critical thinking, judgment, decision- making, problem solving, and innovation. Nilles,Mellissa (2012)  What does this mean about multitasking when this part of our brain becomes fatigued?
            Multitasking contributes to the death of many brain cells.  It takes a dramatic toll on mental processing and causes more errors to occur.  It also leads to the build up of cortisol, the stress hormone, and stress takes away the immune systems first line of defense.  Science demonstrates that your brain is not wired to perform two tasks at once, yet we are so caught up in multitasking thinking we are getting more stuff done when it reality we are becoming more distracted. 
            Dopamine is a cell that is released in the brain in response to a reward as soon as it occurs unpredictably.     For example, when our brains get used to hearing a “ding,” such as text messages or email alerts, dopamine is released.  Our brains want to repeat the feelings of pleasure triggered be the dopamine causing us to desire that one technological “ding”.  Technology is slowly rewiring our brains in detrimental ways leading to weakened focus, shallower thinking, reduced creativity, and lowers our ability to shut out irrelevant information.  This can change the way we communicate and connect with people tremendously. 
            Technology celebrates connectedness with people, and allows you to stay connected with many loved ones.  Communicating through a technological device does not make you avoid the human connection, but makes it easier to ignore humans in that moment.  Technology affects our decision-making encouraging us to just send a quick text message because it’s convenient.  This way of thinking makes it easy to forget others and the people around you when you are actually with the person.  Your attention is divided and you are more distracted while hanging out with a group of friends or your loved ones. While new forms of technology are coming out it has made it easier to avoid the emotional work of being present.  We will eventually get to the point where we would rather convey information than humanity. 
            The bottom line is that our brain is wired to adapt to the things we spend most of our time thinking about.  There is no question that rewiring goes on all the time through the massive amounts of information we constantly pour into our heads on a daily basis.  People miss out on so many things around us including forming complex connections with people the Lord places in our paths to connect with.  Whether God places them there or not you miss the connection.  Do we really want to be conformed to the ways of this world, through technology, causing our thinking process to slowly deteriorate?  What makes us different from all the technology we use is that we have the ability to think and renew our minds. 
Every digital device only has the ability to do exactly what it was programmed to do.  Everything that goes through your head is so important because it wires your brain to a train of thought, to a way of thinking.  When you become caught up in paving a road through your mind it slowly starts to become whom you are.  What you think about yourself is what defines you.  To maintain your brain’s health and your way of thinking, try to practice using technology in intervals.  The first step would be to try spending 15 minutes using technology and 15 minutes without.  Limit your use of technology to certain hours of the day.  Turn off your cell phone and try exercising; go eat lunch with a friend and practice giving them your undivided attention.  Due to the statistic that we spend more time using technology than sleeping try to restrict your use of technology in the evenings to allow your brain time to calm down before you go to sleep.  The positive aspect about our brains being affected by technology is that it does have the ability to grow and repair itself throughout our lifetime.  Challenge yourself to ignore the “dings” of text messages and email alerts and try forming a new complex connection with a friend.  Be aware of when to use technology and when to put the phone down.  Your brain will thank you for not being so overloaded all day every day.    
Sources
Nilles, Melissa.  January 24, 2012. “Technology Is Destroying the Quality of Human Interaction”. Associated Students Newspaper.
Ophire, E Nass, C. Wagner. August 25, 2009. “Cognitive Control in Media Multitaskers”. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol 106, No.33.
             

           

3 comments:

  1. Response to The Effects Technology Can Have on Your Brain
    “I forgot what was just said, what was just said?” At some point in time everyone has forgotten what was just discussed due to them thinking or being distracted by something else. But what happens if forgetting information that was just processed through the brain becomes a regular occurrence? Most doctors will diagnose patients with memory loss like this as dementia. But the new type of dementia that has evolved is “digital dementia”.
    “Digital Dementia” has now become a common diagnose for many individuals around the world. Although technology has brought so many positive impacts to our lives and well being, it is also bringing negative impacts that effect the youngest of the youngest. Children that use technology gadgets are now showing signs of short- term memory loss. A recent study in South Korea has shown that children and young adults are showing signs of short-term memory loss (“Digital Dementia on” 2013).
    According to Courtney Friedman, parents and medical professionals are now very worried about how technology affects their children and their learning ability (Friedman 2013). The Executive Director of Champions For Children MaryAnn Girard believes that technology is causing brains to develop abnormally. Children born in the past decade are experiencing more technological advancements than adults experienced at the same age (Friedman 2013). Technology is all around them. There are many different devices they could be using that are affecting how they develop and live their lives. These devices are taking away from their ability to spell simple words and remember phone numbers or vocabulary words. They have cell phones that can program phone numbers. They have computers that will spell words they misspelled correctly. There is no need for memorizing anything and allowing their brains to work and exercise.
    Not only is “digital dementia” being seen and diagnosed in children, it is also being diagnosed in young adults. Because young adults are not exercising their brain as much as those in the past, researchers are now seeing symptoms of low brain activity on the right side of the brain that would be seen in patients with traumatic head injuries. But what is causing a “normal” teenager to be brain activity seen in traumatic brain injuries without a teenager receiving a traumatic injury? The use of technology constantly is causing this memory loss and loss of normal everyday cognitive abilities. With the technology advancements being made daily and the need of young adults using technological devices the number of those affected by “digital dementia” is increasing. Not only does this cause short-term memory loss, but overuse of technology has also been linked to emotional underdevelopment in young adults (“Digital Dementia on” 2013).
    Technology has influenced society and everyday life tremendously in the past three decades. Unfortunately, it is also negatively impacting the future of the world and their brain development. While it may be easy to give a child an I Pad to keep them busy for half the day, it is also creating problems for the future. The problems that children and young adults are faced with from over usage of technology have been addressed, and it is now time for parents and individuals to take responsibility for the development of these precious growing brains.


    Works Cited
    'digital dementia' on the rise as young people increasingly rely on technology instead of their brain. (2013 , June 24). Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2347563/Digital-dementia-rise-young-people-increasingly-rely-technology-instead-brain.html
    Friedman, C. (2013, July 08). Could technology be causing short term memory loss?. KYTX. Retrieved from http://www.cbs19.tv/story/22786929/could-technology-be-causing-short-term-memory-loss

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  2. When you take the time to reflect on the amount of technology that you are exposed to on a daily basis it is actually quite alarming. Using technological devices has become incorporated into our daily routine whether it’s using our personal laptop, smartphone, ipad, mp3 player, or just watching television; it’s all around us and its becoming a way of life. There is no secret that humans today are exposed to more information then our ancestors. It is time that we become aware of exactly how this constant exposure to technology is affecting us internally. “The surrounding environment has a huge impact on both the way our brains develop and how that brain is transformed into a unique mind” (Daily.Mail). This makes me wonder how different the brains of toddlers will be by the time they reach adulthood given that they have been exposed to technology at such a young age, much earlier then my generation.
    There are a couple of things I wanted to expand on that Sarah mentioned in her blog entry. Sarah touched on Dopamine and how our brains release the chemical when we experience feelings of reward. When we hear the “ding” of a text message or email, Dopamine is released. This reminded me of the Phantom Pocket Vibration Syndrome that I heard about a few years back. This is the false sensation that a person feels their cell phone vibrating or ringing when it actually is not. I have actually experienced this sensation quite a few times. According to Dr. Michelle Drouin, a professor at Indiana University-Purdue University in Fort Wayne, Indiana, “89% of the undergraduates in her study had experienced these phantom vibrations about every two weeks on the average”(Pychology Today). This new syndrome is a sign that our society is becoming addicted to checking our technological devices. It’s hard to get a way from your cell phone, but it is also necessary at some point.
    An article on CNN called “Do You Obsessively Check Your Smartphone?” lists a few signs that can reveal whether you are a habitual checker. They are as follows:
    1. You check your email more than you should
    2. You are annoying other people, for example if you hear “put your phone away” multiple times in one day then this is probably the case
    3. The thought of not checking your phone is almost unbearable
    After researching more about technology and our obsession I came across a book that was written by Dr. Larry Rosen called iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming its Hold on Us. It explores the changes in our brain ability to process information and relate to the world around us due to our constant use of media and technology. Dr. Rosen offers advice and strategies on how to overcome this ‘iDisorder’. Perhaps this is a book we all should invest in considering that we all live together in this technology obsessed society.

    Greenfield, S. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-565207/Modern-technology-changing-way-brains-work-says-neuroscientist.html

    Cohen, E.. N.p.. Web. 18 Jul 2013. .

    Rosen, L. (2013, May 7). Phantom Pocket Vibration Syndrome | Psychology Today. Retrieved July 17, 2013, from
    http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201305/phantom-pocket-vibration-syndrome

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  3. Your blog made some great points about how the brain is being affected by media technology. Media technology has many great opportunities that it has to offer; however, there is many that abuse it and it becomes to affect the brain negatively. For example: there are several web sites like http://www.lumosity.com/, that help exercise the brain with games that improve brain memory, problem solving, and ext. Yet most people use the web for social media entertainment among other things instead; which end up with negative effects on the brain like this blog just mentioned. We must understand that the brain is such a beautiful and sensitive organ in our body. The brain controls how the human body moves, feels, and reacts to all the information it’s given. It should be protected.
    In the article “Al Gore on How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think,” Al Gore shares a few behavior changes that are the effect of media technology. Marshall McLuhan points out that the Internet is now so dependable that it plays a role that our brain should do. He mentions how we are allowing our media technology to become apart of our brain by using it as an external storage for memory and information (Gore, 2013). We have become too depended to our Smartphone’s and tablets’ by allowing the Internet to do all the thinking for us. People remember less due to they don’t feel the need to anymore. Think about it, if you can’t remember or don’t know something you can “Google” it. I can relate to this theory because I did not get a cell phone until half way into my sophomore year. Before my first cell phone, I could only use the house phone. This forced me to remember all my friends’ contact numbers and it wasn’t a problem. Nevertheless, if I lost my Iphone5 today, I would be in trouble. I would have a hard time getting in contact with anyone due to I don’t remember any of my contacts numbers. Why? Because I have a phone book in my phone that stores all that information and all I have to do is look for their name. I have made myself depended of my phone. Not only that, but I have reminders of upcoming events and appointments that I don’t need to try to remember anything because I get notifications when things are coming up.
    The problem is not media technology; it’s how we use these devices that can be harming to our brain. Social media sites can positive if you use it in a positive way. We can be more effective on the job by using the tools, software, search bar ect (Gore, 2013). These cite can also connect you to people across the country or just long distance form you. However, these cites can also be very negative fast. They play a major distraction in out daily schedule, and it substitute interaction and relationships with the people around you.
    Media technology is constantly growing and changing the way society connects in general. Everything is going cyber now. I can definitely agree that it is important to consciously put our phone away and give the real world a chance to have your undivided attention. My friends say I’m hard to get in touch with because I take forever to reply in text or call; however, I am the one of those people that enjoys speaking to people in person. Nevertheless, I love social networks and the Internet because I do see the positive and connivance that technology can do; I simply have to keep a balance between both. People need to find their own balance- something that works for them. Technology can do amazing things to better our life if we use them wisely, but it can destroy it too. There should always be a balance between the real world and the cyber world.




    GORE, A. (2013). Al Gore on How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think. THE ATLANTIC, doi: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/01/al-gore-on-how-the-internet-is-changing-the-way-we-think/272498/

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