In this 21st century, it is uncommon that we, the younger generation, ever encounter situations in which we really need to engage the mind. With the obvious exception of schoolwork, instead of going outside and using our imaginations as we did in our early youth, we spend most of our leisurely time using the internet, video games, and our cell phones.
I am an avid Vsause watcher on YouTube. Michael’s newest video tackles the curiosity of the human state of boredom. In that video, he mentions the case of a girl whose father negligently and cruelly locked her in her room for the first 13 years of her life, while restricting human contact of any sort (resulting in excruciating extended boredom). I was intrigued, so I further researched the girl. She was unable to learn language, because the receptors and neurotransmitters in her brain shut off. I immediately linked this to our modern society.
Although not as severe as the poor girl’s case, we often find ourselves bored and disengaged with the world. I find that the smartest of my friends, who seem to never be distracted from schoolwork and simply get it done, are the ones who limit their internet usage. I did some more research on this topic and learned quite a lot.
According to Nicholas Carr of BigThink.com, the brain likes to be efficient. As it’s strengthening the paths that you’re exercising, it’s weakening the connections that supported old ways of thinking. We begin to lose the facilities that we don’t exercise. Our brain is qualitatively neutral;Â it doesn’t care what it’s strengthening, as long as it adapts to the things we do the most often.
The use of online media enhances our visual cognitive abilities so that we are able to keep track of lots of things at once, but we lose the ability to pay deep attention to one thing for a sustained period of time and filter out distractions. The ability to pay attention is also connected to our ability to built memories. It is a physical process, but it translates directly into your emotions and day-to-day activity. He mentions that deep concentration is important, and is the deepest and most distinctly human way to contemplate, as opposed to multitasking.
So, even if it may be in a miniscule way, are we losing what makes us human? The age of enlightenment did not require the use of Google or Bing (hahaha just kidding; who uses Bing?); in fact, if Galileo was able to access Google, he may have been lazier and not as inquisitive and brilliant as he was. Maybe we’re doomed to not have another age of enlightenment ever again, just due to the fact that we don’t need to be enlightened—heck, all the information ever known to man is available at your fingertips, why bother learning anything new?
So, to conclude, my Internet addiction probably explains my mild ADD and inability to do math problems for more than 10 minutes at a time. If you’re really willing to make a change in your life for the better, I would suggest turning off your screens for good and opening up those textbooks. Stay smart my friends.
Harvard graduate Nicholas Carr explains:
Michael from Vsause tackles boredom
TLC documentary on Genie the Wild Child; skip to 9:15
SourceFed: 7 signs you’re addicted to the Internet
very interesting article – i used to be addicted to games when i was young and now it makes me wonder if i should spend less time on the computer and more time on the things that matter most.
but the computer is so useful and the games seem to be an important part of my life so balance is quite difficult haha
Thanks for sharing this with us, Louisa! Your article is really well-written – I especially love how you incorporated Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to support your argument. There are other researchers who agree to the same thing: computers, rather than improving our lifestyles (as it should), is depleting us of our most basic abilities of thought. A quick look down a street or down the aisle of the C-train would illustrate this unfortunate conundrum: countless eyes glued to screens of all sizes. It’s time for others to realize this and take up other activities!
Louisa, this is a great post! Teenagers today, watch Youtube videos to get ideas for their craft or art projects! So the main purpose of these projects ‘to enhance and encourage creativity’ turns out to be futile. This post is a must read for our internet-addicted (internet-dependent!…did I just say that!!..hahah!) generation!