The internet is eating my brain...and its eating yours too (Blog Group 2)

Digital technology provides easier cross communication and information access but prolonged use is causing changes to our brain functionality

Digital media are not just passive channels of information, they supply content, but they also shape the way we think (Keegan, 2012).

The development boom in digital culture was triggered by and has been continuously fueled by the fast pace spread of broadband Internet and digital imaging tools (RAB, 2015). But it seems that the convenience of digital technology comes with a price - it's changing the way we think, the way our brains process information for both the better and the worst. After a long day spent scrolling through your mobile apps or chatting with friends and family in online chat rooms, odds are that when you finally do pull the plug, you can feel your brain winding down like spinning top, trying to reestablish a sense of equilibrium.

Your Brain on Digital

The brain is dynamic, connected and adaptive throughout our lives - our brains are extraordinarily malleable (Keegan, 2012). Brain functionality is in a continuous state of breaking new data flow connections and establishing new ones. As you get older, this process slows down, which supports the adage to learn things like new languages or how to play musical instruments when you are young because this is when your brain can more quickly connect, absorb, and adapt to newly acquired information. The constant scrolling, flipping, and linking to information reflected in modern tech usage is creating new cognitive patterns that only become more ingrained the more we partake in our now habitual digital activities.

With the use of digital technology becoming more and more prevalent in our every day lives, it creates opportunities for researchers to begin to examine the impacts this kind of repeated long term exposure may be having on us as a society and as individuals.

Evolution has given us a brain that allows us to change our minds - constantly and this also has implications for how we are using technologies. Repeatedly activating certain neural pathways rapidly creates fixed habits of behavior and thinking (Keegan, 2012). Digital technology use can expand our abilities for analytical and critical thinking, but also has the capability to lower our attention tolerance, cause us to become less reflective, and minimize internal creative explorations like daydreaming.

Recognizing changes in your own behaviors and thinking gives you an open opportunity to seek out ways to curb the major influences that digital technology may be having on you. Do yourself and your brain a favor and set scheduled time periods to power down completely - read a book, enjoy outside activities, meditate, engage in one on one conversations, all things that allow your brain to retain some of its traditional pathways of engagement, memory, and learning.

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References

Keegan, S. (2012). Digital technologies are re-shaping our brains: What are the implications for society and the research industry?. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 15(3), 328-346.

RAB, Á. (2015). Slow-tuning digital culture. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae - Social Analysis, 5(1), 15-27.

Rebooters.net. National day of unplugging. Retrieved from https://www.nationaldayofunplugging.com/