Is the internet and social media influencing your brain? Documentary filmmaker Tiffany Shlain investigates our changing behaviors in the connected world.
How do media and technology impact our brain? According to a "a recent study, Dr. Small observed brain activity in two groups of subjects interacting with a search engine –one that was 'net-savvy' and one that was 'net naïve'. The results showed increased brain activity in the experienced netizens, reflecting Shlain’s hypothesis that our online behaviors stimulate more brain systems."
For more information and to view a video on "our connected world" click through to the article.
Via Beth Dichter, Alistair Parker
When you hear the word "addicted", normally the first thing that comes to mind is drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, what about the internet? I found it extremely interesting that there is actually a classified disorder in today’s age, Internet Addiction Disorder. What if you go out to dinner, and you are sitting at the table for just to long, have you ever gotten a craving to just go check social media? It appears to me that social media is chemically changing our brains around. An interesting route to go might be quitting the Internet “cold turkey”, if it works for other addictions, why not try it for this. Seeing how the dopamine, and other chemicals are really reacting inside our brain could be beneficial to determining a solution to this up and coming problem. It seems as if our changing society has lead to such problems, maybe these are some of the repercussions we must face with our advancing technological state.