Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
1–10 of 16 posts
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#2I have known this is the case for a long time; however, it stems back much farther than simply during the age of the Internet. Ever since the ability to write, mankind has been changing the way thought it processed, memories are stored, and information is ignored.
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#3I wish I was joking, but I seriously read to the word "high-tech" in the title and my mind started drifting.
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#4I think people have longer attention spans now. Watch "The Wire" which is by any definition complicated and requiring a huge attention span. Now compare it to "Dallas" which at the time was considered to be too complicated for many people to follow. "The Wire" is certainly far more complicated and hard to follow. I recall watching a whole season and not knowing the names of some major characters because I just didn't have the space to store that information.
These sort of articles get written all the time too. It just seems like it's trying to appeal to an older audience who doesn't understand new technology. I'd imagine more and more newspaper readers are falling into this category.
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#5I stopped reading after the quote: "If our attention span constricts to the point where we can only take information in 140-character sentences, then that doesn't bode too well for our future,"
This seems like a predictable 'woe is technology & future' article.
Yes we use shorter messages and the way we write is different but if that's a problem for you then take a day off and go hike in the woods; it will do your mind wonders.
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#6I stopped reading after the quote: "If our attention span constricts to the point where we can only take information in 140-character sentences, then that doesn't bode too well for our future," This seems like a predictable 'woe is technology & future' article. Yes we use shorter messages and the way we write is different but if that's a problem for you then take a day off and go hike in the woods; it will do your mi…
but even if any specific alarm is overblown, there is a legitimacy to the fear that the ways we're hacking our brains will ultimately result in a net loss.
"what are you doing? you haven't answered your phone for 2 days!"
"playing this game where I have to collect waddels"
"what's a waddel?"
"I don't know but I'm ranked #3 on the server"
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#7I stopped reading after the quote: "If our attention span constricts to the point where we can only take information in 140-character sentences, then that doesn't bode too well for our future," This seems like a predictable 'woe is technology & future' article. Yes we use shorter messages and the way we write is different but if that's a problem for you then take a day off and go hike in the woods; it will do your mi…
but even if any specific alarm is overblown, there is a legitimacy to the fear that the ways we're hacking our brains will ultimately result in a net loss. "what are you doing? you haven't answered your phone for 2 days!" "playing this game where I have to collect waddels" "what's a waddel?" "I don't know but I'm ranked #3 on the server"
I agree, we may be doing things to our brains that are irreversible but I also believe that it's something that we can control and manage.
I used to be an obsessive everquest player but am not anymore because I realized how unhealthy it is. Albeit, that's one small anecdote.
I think the real takeaway here, and I can't say if this article addressed it (because I refuse to read this) is that we as conscious beings have to take time to be self-aware and regulate our activities in a healthy way.
IE Eat your fruits and veggies, exercise, don't smoke, wear seatbelts, don't watch too much TV, spend a limited amount of time on computers, get outside, meditate, play music or draw, explore, expand and be creative and don't read too many alarmist articles.
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#8Our brains are constantly being "rewired" by everything we do... So?
This is just like the silly, "Is google making us stupid?" article in The Atlantic over the summer. (Hint: if a news magazine has a question headline, the answer is usually "no.")
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#9I stopped reading after the quote: "If our attention span constricts to the point where we can only take information in 140-character sentences, then that doesn't bode too well for our future," This seems like a predictable 'woe is technology & future' article. Yes we use shorter messages and the way we write is different but if that's a problem for you then take a day off and go hike in the woods; it will do your mi…
"I stopped reading..."
If a single disliked turn of phrase caused you to stop reading an article that was otherwise interesting to you, and you raced to snipe about it here, then you are already a victim of the syndrome described.
Make an appointment with your local Doctor of Attentionology right now, before you get distracted by something else.
Re: Attention loss feared as high-tech rewires brain
#10I think people have longer attention spans now. Watch "The Wire" which is by any definition complicated and requiring a huge attention span. Now compare it to "Dallas" which at the time was considered to be too complicated for many people to follow. "The Wire" is certainly far more complicated and hard to follow. I recall watching a whole season and not knowing the names of some major characters because I just didn't…
I think you're confusing two different (albeit related) axes.
TV is more complex because attention spans are shorter: they need to pack more twists (and more, shorter scenes) into the same amount of time to keep the attention-addled from switching channels.