Computers and Our Brains

1548 Words7 Pages
English II 1/31/2014 Computers and our Brain Have you ever calculated the amount of time you’ve spent on technological mediums such as the internet, IPod, or your phone? Unknowingly, most of our everyday activities involve using some sort of technology; we use google to gather information for a research paper, or we use our phone to find a location when we are driving. Our society has been rapidly increasing the invention and use of technology, however, has our drive to “improve” our lifestyle hurting us more than helping us? In the articles: “Is Google Making us Stupid?” written by Nicholas Carr, “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction” by Matt Richtel, “Get Smarter” by Jamais Casio, and “Research Shows that Internet is Rewiring our Brains” by Gary Small and Judy Lin, argue that technology, in many ways, has affected the way we learn and retain information. Although the use of computers is a powerful medium for information, our frequent use affects our long term retention, focus, analytical and critical thinking; parents and teachers need to regulate the time spent on computers and emphasize the importance of effective and productive learning. In some schools, computer games are used as a learning tool to engage underdeveloped minds. The software is intended to keep the student mentally active when learning new information. However, when students use gaming techniques to learn new material, the mind is conditioned to learn by appealing and entertaining itself. In Matt Richtel’s article “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction,” he states, “brains are rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing.” The underlying problem Richtel proposes in this quote is the differences in how the mind quickly jumps from one stimulus to the next when the material is taught using rewards and penalties rather than the basic read and annotation. Also,

More about Computers and Our Brains

Open Document