The Impact Of Internet On Human Brain

The Internet, a word that is vaguely observed by the many people of this world, is an idea that plays with people’s minds and manipulates individuals by slowly taking over the way they conduct themselves. A person’s mind and the way they control their daily lives changes as the Net dominates the world of technology. In the novel The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr, the Net is expressed through the psychological and mental health of people’s habits. Over time, society has become accustomed to the ways of self-connection and a loss of interpersonal communication, using the Internet as their shield from the communal society. No matter the type of person an individual identifies as or what electronic device

In the present day, the development of internet causes considerable changes in social relations and people lifestyle. Internet users spend most of their life online. One of the recent trends is the development of social networks, which encourage the creation of realistic communities. In such a situation, the question concerning the impact of Internet on human being, especially on human brain and behavior arises. In this concern, views on the impact of Internet vary consistently. On the one hand, Internet is recognized as a valuable intermediate, which helps users to share and broadcast information easily. But, another view on the impact of internet, that Internet is noticed as a threat to the social life and identity of individuals

Over the last 30 years, the methods of human interactions have grown explosively, from face-to-face conversations, to video calling, instant messaging, texting, Facebook, Youtube, Snapchat, and Instagram. As the technology we surround ourselves with pervades an increasing number of aspects in our lives, it has begun to affect our mental health. A Carnegie Mellon study concluding that internet usage leads to significant increases in loneliness and depression received U.S. national media coverage (Kraut, Patterson, et al., 1998). However, others argue that the internet may just provide a place of refuge for those suffering from loneliness, anxiety, and depression. (McKenna and Bargh, 59)

Internet usage is damaging our brains and complicating the way we consume information. Your brain is taking a toll from the consistent changing of our neural pathways and endless redirections on the Internet. So the question is, why do we keep doing this to ourselves and falling deeper into an information, consuming hole? Most people are oblivious to the consequences that come with using the Internet, such as, “scattering our minds, lessening our focus, and diminishing our aptitude,” says Kabir Sehgal in his article, The Internet Makes Us Stupid and Here’s Why. Others have an addiction to the Internet and cannot cease, even if they are aware of the consequences, much like drug and alcohol addicts. Books do not cause these negative effects on our brains and could be a positive alternative.

In the world today, the predominant force in teen’s lives is the use of their mobile devices, computers, and other forms of electronics. As the use of technology increases, concerns are growing about the amount of screen time teens should be exposed to, and if the use of technology can affect a teen’s brain development. The American Academy of Pediatrics, or the AAP, is considering raising the two hour screen time limit to four hours because of the growing use of electronics in our day and age. However, because teens’ brains develop differently than adults, parts of their brains are not mature enough. Some parts, such as the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for thinking ahead and sizing up risk and reward, are not fully developed. Therefore, the use of technology can greatly impact a growing teen’s brain, and influence from mobile devices or electronics can have both a positive or negative effect on their brain. As a result, some people believe that the screen time limit shouldn’t be raised, however others believe the AAP should raise its standards. In the texts, “What’s Going on In Your Brain?” by Linda Bernstein, “Growing Up Digital” by Matt Richtel; “Attached to Technology and Paying the Price” by Matt Richtel, “AAP Policy Statement: ‘Children, Adolescents, and the Media’”, it has been delineated that the use of technology can have a negative influence on growing teens. Therefore, the AAP should not raise its recommended daily entertainment screen time from

Technology is everywhere. Americans are surrounded by it on a daily basis. Although, we seem to be fully immersed in the technological world, we really aren’t. Most Americans believe that they are knowledgeable when their actual knowledge of technology is limited. Specifically, today’s youth, ages eight to eighteen, use technology a staggering eleven and a half hours a day, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Their brains have become ‘wired’ to use their tech gadgets effectively in order to multi-task. . .often exposing their brains to shocking and sensational images and videos. Many people are desensitizing their neural circuits to the horrors they see, while not getting much, if any, off-line training in empathic skills. And the effects may even reach young people,” says Dr. Gary Small. The effects of technology on the adolescent brain include a decrease in empathy; Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. A study done by the Harvard College of Education states that 80% of the youth surveyed stated that personal achievement and happiness was more important to them than caring for others. In the new age of technology empathy has taken a backseat to self-centeredness. The same survey by Harvard College of Education found that 30% of middle schoolers reported being bullied, more than 50% of girls between seventh and twelfth grade reported being sexually harassed, and more than 50% of high schoolers admitted to cheating. This

Each hour you spend on screens, thirty minutes is lost to face-to-face interactions. Screen time has been used for the wrong things. A synapse is the space between one neuron’s axons and the other neurons dendrite. In order for your brain to make a decision, tiny special cells “talk” with each other through a series of neurotransmitters, like a circuit in a computer. Then the whole network puts out a response which becomes your outward behavior. Information travels from neuron by way of their axons and dendrites. To make the connection better the axons wrap themselves in myelin through myelination (Scholastic). Kids spend over seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen, that means their brains will develop differently from other generations. The overuse of technology such as Google might cause us to synaptically prune our brains and our thinking will be negatively affected. People are getting a lot of information so that makes the attention span get worse (San Crooker). Finally, screen time has been used for the wrong things.

Over the years, technology has increased in usage within many ways and has caused successful changes in a person’s lively routine. However, technology has evolved since the very beginning which concern has grown over the negative effects of its excessive use. Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” addresses the tendency of technology to create a sort of mental laziness where people look for instant answers rather than thinking for themselves. Daphne Bavelier, C. Shawn Green, and Matthew W.G. Dye have written in “Children, Wired: For Better and for Worse” on the transient and persistent effects of technology on children, particularly in terms of media exposure of television, movies, and video games. Additionally, Matt Richtel, writer for The New York Times, states in “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price” that the tendency of the brain to respond to immediate stimuli has a negative impact on the average user, ranging from disinterest to daily tasks to the risky behavior of texting and driving. Ultimately, these three articles agree that regardless of potential conveniences of heavy technology use, the tradeoff is something to be strongly considered.

“Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think.” These daunting words were echoed by Nicholas Carr, author of the non-fiction , “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.” His work has received both acclimation and criticism for exploring the extent of the internet’s influence on cognition. While Carr argues that the internet is indeed responsible for rewiring our brain leading to negative implications, others believe that the internet can be tailored to generate long-term benefits, and some believe that it there isn’t enough experimental evidence to support either side.

The internet has been around for a few decades now and several people are accustomed to using it in their everyday lives. Recently however, an author named Nicholas Carr published a book arguing that the internet is not good for us, and our brains. He claims that the internet is making us into shallow individuals, hence the name of his book, The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains. After reading this book, I must agree with Carr’s argument that the internet is altering our mindsets.

For a part of the people, they always have a preconceived notion that the game will cause damage to the brain, but that is not a correct opinion. Nicholas Carr states that Internet technology will hurt people long-term memory, and that was based on what he found in a study researched by Columbia University. The study shows because people are able to find information in the Internet easily, they will automatically to decrease the ability to form their long term memory. Nicholas Carr believes the Internet technology affect on people long-term memory, because the study proves what he states, and this could represent many others opinion about the Internet.

The Internet is a technology that has negative impacts on our daily lives. It has changed aspects of our life for the last 50 years, and it has demonstrated the considerable influence on people’s lives. Almost 3.2 billion people in the world use the internet. The Internet has gained acceptance across the globe, and it has also become a reason behind the critical changes in the modern society. Some of the changes are social isolation, health disorder, lack of privacy and internet addiction.

The effects of the internet on me and this society have been rapidly changing. Did you know that approximately 3.2 billion people use the internet, about 200 billion emails and 3 million google searches would have to wait if the internet was turned off for one day. Let me tell you about something that happened when i was little, it might be off topic a little but when i was little i was born backwards, meaning i came out legs first. My hips were out of place and until i was about 2. My dad is always on the internet and loved taking pictures of his “Little princess”, the pictures can still be found on facebook along with a lot of other things from my family memories. That was when i started wanting to get on the internet, i asked for a facebook and they said no, being a rebel i made one anyways just to play the games on it. The internet can have positive and negative things about it for younger and older people, for example the internet engines are one of the best information givers out there, they bring almost everything and anything to a lot of internet users that lange from all over the world. The internet can provide ways to communicate with family and friends from a long distance, and even meet new people. Bad things about it is people sharing and storing illegal information on the internet, much like the dark web. The addiction to the internet and the online network can be disturbing a person's way of living and professional activity.

There is a big influence of technique on our daily life. Electronic devices, multimedia and computers are things we have to deal with everyday.

There are dangers of online communication such as social networks where users can lie about who they are [4]“Megan thought she was being abused by 16-year-old Josh Evans, she was actually talking to Lori Drew, the 49-year-old mother of one of her former friends who, it is alleged, had set up a fake profile to taunt Megan.” in social networking sites it is very easy for people to