In what might be the first legitimate inquiry into internet use and brain connections, this story showed up on my Reuters feed this morning:
He said a study of 24 adults as they used the Web found that experienced Internet users showed double the activity in areas of the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning as Internet beginners.
Is surfing the Internet altering your brain? | Technology | Reuters.
There are some questions I have. The study is very small. The generalization is not clear to me. Is he seeing the increased activity because of the internet? Or is he observing the difference between expert and novice thinking? This is a significant question because it has long been established that novices and experts in any domain have different thought processing patterns.
So, is this finding relevant to internet or just another instance of somebody selling his book by tagging on some well-known snake-oil saleman?
October 27th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I find the aricle talking about brain functions and how surfing effects mutli-tasking and so forth with little references. They site one doctor and lack references from others. As for having a balance of social skills and internet, of course there should be a balance. You have to surface and eat and interact with other human beings like your family. There will always be certain people that will take it to one extreme or to the other in both worlds. I find that if he is selling a book, I’m not interested. I use the internet and spend time with the humans in the world.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I’m not sure if I am answering this question correctly, but I think that “putting your brain to work” by working with technology probably will show more brain activity. However, I think that doing other things besides simply technology could increase brain activity as well (such as simple math problems, reading books, etc.). Actually, this is what my first game evaluation concerned. It involved the game brain age and stated that the scientist did a study and working with simple mathematical problems and other simple activities increased brain activity…I’m sure that these activities don’t have to be on a DS or computer to be effective in increasing brain activity.
As for neglecting human contact, I think that many of us who use technology still have to be in contact with other people on a daily basis. I don’t think that we have totally isolated ourselves from society as of yet.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
As I reviewed this article, I came up with very similar questions. There seems an extremely small sample, no clear control group, and lack of key scientific components. I almost felt like I was listening to testimony from a paid expert. I personally see the benefit and critical thinking aspects of internet use but this is not the way to prove it. If you multiply this sampling by about 1000 and better define sample characteristics and control group then you may have a start. As with anything else, there are extremes but I don’t think that this serves the purpose of the experiment. Overall, I think the idea/hypothesis is good but the lack of intensity and detail of the experiment defeats the purpose.
October 28th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I don’t think that 24 adults is a big enough sample to determine this study. I do believe that different activities trigger different responses in the brain, but I am not too sure that using the internet will have this effect on the brain. One statement said that people that will come out in the top in the next generation will be those with a mixture of technological and social skills. I don’t think that a study needs to be done to make such a profound conclusion :). I think this is common sense. Technology is almost essential in all occupations and yes you do still need to be able to talk to people face to face. I do think this is just another way to make money and some people will believe it. I however would need a lot more research with a bigger population and an extended study to even consider this finding.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I think that if the good doctor wants to REALLY prove that his research on the matter is correct, he is going to need more than the 24 people he used for this. Nothing can be proved from only using 24 subjects. It’s impossible. The way he has conducted his research is just not credible at this time. I also think that in order to be more credible he needs to do research while his volunteers are doing other activities also like playing games (see what the difference is between those who play and those who don’t) to see if there is some kind of pattern here.
November 1st, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I also agree that there are some problems with the research that leave me unconvinced. I definitely think that the out come could possible change with a larger test group, and he could possibly add some other variables. But, it is an interesting study.