Every time we use the Internet, we get a little bit dumber, according to Dr. Val Hooper from Wellington’s Victoria University. Ok, it’s not as dramatic as this, but using it is changing the way our brains work, and it’s not always for good.
Great. So if motherhood hasn’t sucked out every useful thought you’ve ever had, the Internet is now taking the rest. And how about the kids?
A recent study in the US found that in a survey of 2500 teachers, 87% feel that the Internet and new technology has helped create an "easily distracted generation with short attention spans".
According to Dr. Hooper, when both kids and adults read something online, we tend to forget it more and comprehend it less. In a recent article, Dr. Hooper also explains her findings in regards to concentration. We are becoming more and more distracted while attempting to complete tasks online, bombarded with social media, videos, emails, shopping and checking news.
"People almost expect to be interrupted when they're on their computers," Dr. Hooper said. The good news is that while we are absorbing less, we are getting through more information. We skim articles and pick out what is relevant to us. Students are spending less time searching for info because it’s easier to find and more time studying the relevant stuff (or chatting to mates).
Dr. Hooper believes that findings like this will change the way we teach our kids to read. And that large chunks of text simply won’t appeal to students in the near future, or be relevant.
"If you think about how we're training our children to read, they're being trained by those who were trained in the linear fashion," she said. But the way we learn is anything but linear these days. So yes, we are becoming a bit more stupid, but in a well rounded sort of a way.
But who cares - because your Facebook just sent you a notification, right?
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