One More Time With Feeling: No, The Internet Is Not Making Us Dumber
from the no-more-think-good dept
Google is making us stupid. Smartphones have ruined the art of conversation. Video games make you violent. There's simply no limitation to the number of people quick to assume that technology is to blame for long-standing human foibles despite generations of historical evidence to the contrary. There is, however, usually a very sharp limit to the science actually supporting these positions. At the forefront of this yeah I bet that's probably true movement has long sat Susan Greenfield, whose expertise in the field of "justify-my-Luddite-beliefs-at-all-costs" has gained endless media attention.Through media appearances, books and interviews, Greenfield has long pushed the idea that technology as a whole is effectively "rewiring" our brains and altering fundamental cognitive patterns -- for the worse. She's quick to rant against Twitter, complain that video games trigger violent behavior, and has been at the forefront of claims that Google is rewiring the very fabric of memory. For just as many years we've pointed out how this isn't really true; because our brains have adapted to the increased efficiency of having technology around doesn't mean they don't work as hard as ever (well, most of us).
Still, people love Greenfield because she justifies existing beliefs that we were so much better off when technology wasn't so pervasive. The problem is, as a group of actual scientists recently pointed out, the data Greenfield claims supports these positions doesn't say anything close to what she claims it does. These neuro-scientists have, apparently, had enough of the media ignoring this fact:
"As scientists working in mental health, developmental neuropsychology, and the psychological impact of digital technology, we are concerned that Greenfield’s claims are not based on a fair scientific appraisal of the evidence, often confuse correlation for causation, give undue weight to anecdote and poor quality studies, and are misleading to parents and the public at large."Not only that, the researchers note, the evidence she often points to actually disproves many of her claims. Like Greenfield's argument that social networking hinders social interaction and interpersonal relationships. Actually, researchers Bishop, Bell and Przybylski note that quite often, social networking can have the complete opposite and often positive effect:
"Greenfield claims that social networking sites could negatively affect social interaction, interpersonal empathy, and personal identity.1 However, the bulk of research does not support this characterisation. With regard to social interaction and empathy, adolescents’ use of social networking sites has been found to enhance existing friendships and the quality of relationships, although some individuals benefit more than others. The general finding is that those who use social networks to avoid social difficulties have reduced wellbeing, while use of social networks to deal with social challenges improves outcomes."How about Greenfield's claims that using Google negatively impacts memory? Not so, state the researchers, who point out that the human mind is simply adapting to the situation at hand, and it's just as flexible, responsive and amazing as it has always been:
"Another claim made by Greenfield is that reliance on search engines and surfing the internet could result in superficial mental processing at the expense of deep knowledge and understanding. There is indeed evidence that when people know they can access information through search engines they are less likely to remember the content. However, this effect applies to many situations and is not restricted to the use of technology; for instance, people who work in teams are less likely to remember facts when others hold the information, which allows for more efficient use of mental resources. This is a well studied and adaptive form of thinking called transactive memory."That's not to say there aren't conversations to be had about the negative impact of technology. The researchers are quick to note we still need to have vigilant conversations about privacy and safety online, etiquette of technology use, and about issues like childhood obesity (unhelped by unpoliced hours playing Playstation 4). Unfortunately, the researchers note that Greenfield's superficial analysis and cult-like celebrity status is obscuring these more important conversations, while only acting to feed the fear of Luddites everywhere.
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Filed Under: intelligence, internet, internet makes us dumb, susan greenfield, the kids these days
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Rebuttal
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Facts vs. problem solving
I'm so much more efficient, and so much more able to learn new skills, now than I was before the internet.
College taught me how to learn and the internet lets me learn at a rate that college could never support.
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Re: Facts vs. problem solving
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Re: Re: Facts vs. problem solving
At the same time, there are things I never plan to learn/memorize well, because I don't use them often enough, and plain searching (in the sense I think you meant it) is more than efficient enough.
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Re: Re: Facts vs. problem solving
Using such information requires a good grasp of the fundamentals of programming, and how the languages being used work, but expecting someone to remember the details of thousands of function, and any gotchas with the parameters to those function is unrealistic, and programmers that try often end up with difficult debugging problems, because something does not behave as they expect it to.
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A link to the editorial in question at BMJ. (I have no idea why the DOI link is behind a paywall.)
http://press.psprings.co.uk/bmj/august/technology.pdf
/ my google-fu is strong
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So does addiction to (insert object or phobia here).
Anything can become addicting when the addiction subject controls and/or dominates one's life. There are a few people who simply can't disconnect from electronics, whether it's social media, online gaming, or anything else. Not to mention employers who require their employees to be accessible at all times via cel phone or email. If one cannot be without internet access no matter the platform for even one whole day they need to step back and assess their life, even if it means asking for help.
Greenfield's arguments are off the planet, but if she's targeting addiction more power to her for drawing attention to it.
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Hmph.
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Take This Comment For Instance
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Re: Libraries
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Breaking news!
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Scholars vs hollers
(5.7 grade equivalency reading level; Flesch-Kincaid Readability score of 66.8, on a scale from 1-100 where higher is easier to read.)
or
(28th grade equivalency reading level; Flesch-Kincaid Readability score -5.4 - on a scale from 0-100, where higher is more readable)
If you want the average American to understand, use small words and short sentences.
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Re: Scholars vs hollers
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Re: Re: Scholars vs hollers
See, for example:
https://cmdrysdale.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/the-curse-of-the-spell-checker-strikes-again/
And to think there are still some people who think technology is NOT making people dumb.
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Re: Re: Re: Scholars vs hollers
That is a big fat correlation/causation error (you did read the article didn't you?). You see someone doing something dumb with technology and assume the technology caused the dumbness. A hundred years ago that person might have had trouble figuring out how to use a plow.
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I bet they said something like that. Humanity isn't dumber because you can't make dumber something that is already dumb.
And these comments show us clearly how dumb humans are.
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Probably said the same thing about cave paintings.
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Technology is evil!
Socrates to Phaedrus, regarding the written word.
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Re: Technology is evil!
We can't have people reading without being told what to think about it!
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These Guys Need to Get Out More
Presumably, the "positive effect" that this will have will be that most of the dumb bunnies who can't be bothered to look where they're going will (eventually) be weeded out of the gene pool through interacting socially with car or a bus.
Then there was the time I happened to be a cinema some months back with 30 or so other people. When the house lights dimmed to start up the ads maybe 90% of those 30 people took out their smartphones and began tapping away. (You could tell who was doing that because of the betraying glow from the phone screens!)
In other words rather than interacting socially with their dates they were choosing to interact with someone else via the Net.
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The strange continuing propagation of crosswalk readers.
Yes, we're told to stay alert in public, but strangely enough the predator we're told to watch for is the pickpocket, not the speeding bus.
The thing I notice as a transit rider (and to be fair this is entirely anecdotal) is that riders do interact more, just with people they want to interact with. Friends, boyfriends, family. So there are more smiling faces and laughter. There's also the occasional snarling and rageful thumb-punching at the touchscreen when someone has mobilized their household contention.
As for our dates, maybe I never got the cue. When I was single, the person I want to interact with most on a date was was in my face (on good dates right in my face) so the siren call of the cell phone just failed to have that allure. Again, it's only anecdotal.
Ma Bell was proud (in the early 20th century) that Americans were trained to answer the phone even during sex (which Europeans were never willing to do). So yeah, we may just have a generational duty to respond to social telecommunications.
I certainly check who texted me and about what, even when in a social setting, such as a restaurant, but that's because there are people who depend on me for emotional support when crises emerge. My friends and partner find the interruptions tolerably infrequent.
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Deficate ONE
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