So you are reading an article online when you get an instant message with a link to
a funny photo, which of course you have to share. And now you are reading your Facebook
News Wall, which sends you to a video of a panda bear attacking a kid. And now you are
reading wikipedia to learn everything you can about the violent behavior of panda bears.
And this is what 3 minutes on the internet can be like.
We live like this all the time, and it has to have some kind of effect on us.
The 'net is making us more superficial as thinkers.
That is Nicholas Carr. He is the author of, "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing
to our Brains."
To understand this whole thing better we need to go way back in time, to say, like, the
prehistoric age.
You wanted to know everything was going on around you because the more you knew about
your surroundings the less likely you were to get attacked by a predator. And there's
even evidence that our brains release some dopamine - a pleasure inducing neurotransmitter
chemical - to reward us for seeking out and finding new information.
So, getting distracted felt good and helped us stay alive. But the problem is that nowadays,
predators aren't much of an issue, but we still have the same brains. And also, there's
the internet, which is...
It's an incredibly information rich environment, uh, that the 'net creates for us. And that's
why we use it so much. I mean, sounds, pictures, words, texts. And what this tends to do is
promote a sort of compulsive behavior in which we are constantly checking your smart phone,
constantly glancing at our email inbox. We're kind of living in this perpetual state of
distraction and interruption.
Which is dangerous because...
That mode of thinking crowds out the more contemplative calmer modes of thinking.
And that focused, calm thinking is actually how we learn. It's a process called memory
consolidation.
And that means the transfer of information from our short term working memory, to our
long term memory. And it's through moving information from your working memory to your
long term memory that you create connections between that information and everything else
you know.
So you've got this awesome, life changing piece of information in your short term memory,
but then you hear that email ding, and poof, there it goes. That email takes its place,
and you never get a chance to learn anything, all because of one distraction.
So attention is the key. And if we lose control of our attention, or are constantly dividing
our attention, uh, then we don't really enjoy that consolidation process.
But I can hear it now, someone is out there saying, "Uh, what does learning matter if
all of the information in the world is just a Google search away?" Well...
Um, that is is kind of short-changing our, our intellects. If that's the way you're using
your mind, just kind of searching very quickly and finding information and then forgetting
it very quickly, you're never building knowledge. You're simply, you're, you're kind of thinking
like a computer.
Which means that our very humanity is at stake. And it would be a shame if we all got assimilated,
because, well, humanity is pretty neat.
I really believe that if you look at the great monuments of culture, they come from people
who are able to pay attention, who control their mind. That's what allows us to think
in the highest terms and think conceptually, think critically, uh, think in some very creative
ways.
And it's this kind of thinking that's at risk: being eroded one cute cat video at a time.
Don't get us wrong: The internet is good for lots of things, and it should be celebrated.
But the best thing we can do for our minds is to find some time every day to unplug,
calm down, and focus on one thing at a time.
Your email -- and those cats -- will be here when you get back.