Your Brain on Computers - Attached to Technology and Paying a Price - NYTimes.com
Your Brain on Computers - Attached to Technology and Paying a Price - NYTimes.com
Article #2 (probably the most telling quote form the article):
"Even after he unplugs, he craves the stimulation he gets from his electronic gadgets. He forgets things like dinner plans, and he has trouble focusing on his family.
His wife, Brenda, complains, “It seems like he can no longer be fully in the moment.”
This is your brain on computers.
Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.
These play to a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored.
The resulting distractions can have deadly consequences, as when cellphone-wielding drivers and train engineers cause wrecks. And for millions of people like Mr. Campbell, these urges can inflict nicks and cuts on creativity and deep thought, interrupting work and family life.
While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress.
And scientists are discovering that even after the multitasking ends, fractured thinking and lack of focus persist. In other words, this is also your brain off computers."
Question:
So what's a modern homo-sapien to do?
Article #2 (probably the most telling quote form the article):
"Even after he unplugs, he craves the stimulation he gets from his electronic gadgets. He forgets things like dinner plans, and he has trouble focusing on his family.
His wife, Brenda, complains, “It seems like he can no longer be fully in the moment.”
This is your brain on computers.
Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.
These play to a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement — a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored.
The resulting distractions can have deadly consequences, as when cellphone-wielding drivers and train engineers cause wrecks. And for millions of people like Mr. Campbell, these urges can inflict nicks and cuts on creativity and deep thought, interrupting work and family life.
While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress.
And scientists are discovering that even after the multitasking ends, fractured thinking and lack of focus persist. In other words, this is also your brain off computers."
Question:
So what's a modern homo-sapien to do?
posted by Colette at 2:32 PM
2 Comments:
turn off the TV, turn off the radio, put down the cellphone, put down the newspaper, clean up the non-computer distractions (i.e. clean house), and then go foster a hobby like writing, yoga, building ships in a bottle, etc; anything that allows one to spend some alone time with their thoughts.
I have no problem unplugging at home. After work I'm usually our working in the yard, or playing with wood and powertools. Reading.
Where our multitasking culture bothers me most is at work. I can't tell you how often I'll be deep into a problem/task and have to stop and mentally switch gears because someone comes in with a question. It takes time and I think it does make me less productive and effective. My mind is not truly focused on either task at that point.
I realize it's the nature of the job, but I really wish they would institute a 1 or 2 hour "quiet time" where you don't bother people unless there's a production issue. Or maybe I just need to get a laptop and go hide somewhere so I can get some work done. :-)
C2
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