What are the unintended effects unleashed by our connectedness? Does anonymity plus connectivity always equal misbehavior and cruelty? How are we to explain some of the collective anger that seems to be unleashed online - and is it a result of the same anger characterizing much of our society's discourse, or is it the cause?
Social network sites are putting attention span in jeopardy. If the young brain is exposed from the beginning to a world of fast action and reaction, of instant screen images flashing up with the press of a key, such rapid interchange might familiarize the brain to operate over such timescales. Perhaps when in the real world such responses are not immediately helpful, we will see such behaviors and call them attention-deficit disorder.
Social networking sites can provide a constant reassurance that you are listened to, recognized, and important. Instead the face-to-face, real life conversation, which is far more unpredictable and stressful than the computer mediated conversation, happens in real time; no opportunity to think up witty responses, it exposes your voice tone, body language, and probably even your emitted pheromones. (Molecules that transmit mainly sexual and social messages that others perceive unconsciously)
The pure impulse of reliable and almost immediate reward is being linked to similar chemical systems in the brain that may also play a part in drug addiction. We definitely should not underestimate the delight of interacting with a screen when we puzzle over why it seems so appealing to us.
THIS IS JUST A START...
I like this psychological/neurological start.. Its almost making me (oddly enough) start to make a connection between a chemical reward system in the brain and not only the expediency of the internet, but also the way it is allowing for a level playing field in the social and cultural heiracy. (how the brain rewards the body with the "pleasure receptors", when performing tasks like running and successes, and how that is similar to the "reward" alcoholics and addicts brains may give them.)
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good start. I think I may have touched on how everything is directly at our fingertips. Like you said, because everything is right there, we are able to flip from one thing to the next. There is no hesitation. We do not have to check out one book from the library, finish it, and then check out another. Instead, we can find everything from out bed or kitchen table. We expect everything to be instant.
ReplyDeleteSitting in class for an hour and 15 minutes often seems like a lifetime. We are so used to "googling" and pulling up exactly what we need.
I think this is a unique approach to this topic.
http://janaemyers.blogspot.com/2010/09/digital-nation.html
I some what wrote about the same thing. We have some of the same ideas and theroies. I like how you used the internet/ social networks as a way fo a kid to lose is thought and attention span. I never thought of it like that. It is true though because it is so easy for us to just pull up facebook we sign on and end up staying on it longer than we thought. I like where you are going with this paper. Maybe some examples would make it a strong paper. I love how you connected it to science, I did not see that coming and it is a great perspective im sure no one really looks at.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed writing this blog entry. Each time I started to write I was distracted by a new idea, thought or website. Partially because this was homework and I would rather be doing other things. However, I was laughing at the fact that the very topic I was writing on was effecting the work that I was trying to do at the time. As students we are being pulled in so many different directions it is definitely hard to focus.
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