Digital Distractions - What to do?
Is The Internet changing our brains? I felt there is a certain way in which we take the information from pages on net and printed pages, our brains process Internet pages differently than they do printed pages. That can affect how much we learn when we read—and even alter our brains themselves. After a period of time we get adjusted to a specific kind of reading and accordingly our brain gets adjusts to it. For the past many years, reading books has helped train human brains to concentrate intently over extended periods of time, an ability that has helped to produce ideas and inventions. If we abandon books in favor of the Internet, our ability to maintain focus and think up new ideas might diminish.
There are distractions which don’t just slowdown our reading, they also make it less likely that we will understand and retain new knowledge. When we read online, words are not the only information coming at us. There usually are eye-catching Pop up advertisements alongside the text and hyperlinks in the text in case we wish to jump to different Web pages on related topics. We might have our e-mail program open and a Facebook feed; too, alerting us each time a new message arrives. Even when a printed book is transferred to an electronic device connected to the Internet, it turns into something very much like a Web site, with links and other digital enhancements.
Some may say, we can choose not to click a hyperlink or open an e-mail message—but ironically, the fact that our brains must make this split second decision to not be distracted is in itself enough of a distraction to break our concentration. Reading books often is portrayed as a passive activity when compared with surfing the Web, but the truth is, we think more deeply when we read printed pages than when we read Internet pages. The “quiet space” afforded by the printed page lets us think over what we read. That quiet space usually doesn’t exist online, so we’re less likely to form reasoned conclusions about the validity of what we read or to create unique ideas by combining the new information we read with things we already know.
The Internet gives us more information than ever at our fingertips—yet it actually leads us to read and rely upon a smaller set of information resources, encouraging uncreative group thinking. The trouble is that the Internet does not just provide information. It also subtly evaluates and arranges it for us.
For example Search engines typically sort their results in order of popularity, and few of us check past the first page of results. When you are searching based on the some keywords given, the search result may not usually give out what specifically you are looking for and you might have to look past the first page to get substantial information.
The ease and speed with which we can find specific facts online carry a hidden cost, too. Prior to the Internet, we often had to dig deep into newspapers, magazines and books to find the facts we needed. These days, search engines such as Google direct us to the desired snippet of data in seconds. Once we’ve found the fact or data that we are after, we usually stop reading. That’s in a way unfortunate, because the time we previously had “wasted” searching through lots of resources gave us a chance to stumble across other important or interesting facts or ideas.
The Internet is no longer confined to our desktops. Laptops, e-Readers and smart phones increasingly allow us to bring the online world wherever we go—a trend that will accelerate in the years ahead. The dangers of digital distractions while driving already are well-publicized. Less discussed is the potential danger that such portable distractions pose while we’re just sitting around with friends or loved ones. The distractions created by the use of mobile Internet devices make it less likely that we will fully grasp the psychological states of those around us. The weaker our grasp of other people’s moods, the less able we are to show appropriate empathy, weakening the bonds that hold together human communities, families and friendships.
There are distractions which don’t just slowdown our reading, they also make it less likely that we will understand and retain new knowledge. When we read online, words are not the only information coming at us. There usually are eye-catching Pop up advertisements alongside the text and hyperlinks in the text in case we wish to jump to different Web pages on related topics. We might have our e-mail program open and a Facebook feed; too, alerting us each time a new message arrives. Even when a printed book is transferred to an electronic device connected to the Internet, it turns into something very much like a Web site, with links and other digital enhancements.
Some may say, we can choose not to click a hyperlink or open an e-mail message—but ironically, the fact that our brains must make this split second decision to not be distracted is in itself enough of a distraction to break our concentration. Reading books often is portrayed as a passive activity when compared with surfing the Web, but the truth is, we think more deeply when we read printed pages than when we read Internet pages. The “quiet space” afforded by the printed page lets us think over what we read. That quiet space usually doesn’t exist online, so we’re less likely to form reasoned conclusions about the validity of what we read or to create unique ideas by combining the new information we read with things we already know.
The Internet gives us more information than ever at our fingertips—yet it actually leads us to read and rely upon a smaller set of information resources, encouraging uncreative group thinking. The trouble is that the Internet does not just provide information. It also subtly evaluates and arranges it for us.
For example Search engines typically sort their results in order of popularity, and few of us check past the first page of results. When you are searching based on the some keywords given, the search result may not usually give out what specifically you are looking for and you might have to look past the first page to get substantial information.
The ease and speed with which we can find specific facts online carry a hidden cost, too. Prior to the Internet, we often had to dig deep into newspapers, magazines and books to find the facts we needed. These days, search engines such as Google direct us to the desired snippet of data in seconds. Once we’ve found the fact or data that we are after, we usually stop reading. That’s in a way unfortunate, because the time we previously had “wasted” searching through lots of resources gave us a chance to stumble across other important or interesting facts or ideas.
The Internet is no longer confined to our desktops. Laptops, e-Readers and smart phones increasingly allow us to bring the online world wherever we go—a trend that will accelerate in the years ahead. The dangers of digital distractions while driving already are well-publicized. Less discussed is the potential danger that such portable distractions pose while we’re just sitting around with friends or loved ones. The distractions created by the use of mobile Internet devices make it less likely that we will fully grasp the psychological states of those around us. The weaker our grasp of other people’s moods, the less able we are to show appropriate empathy, weakening the bonds that hold together human communities, families and friendships.
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