Often flustered parents will ask me about the effects constant social networking has on their children’s developing minds. This is certainly an issue of growing concern for many of us. Yesterday’s New York Times‘ cover story was a deep dive on adolescents growing up in the age of perpetual distraction.
Some highlights:
*The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 56% of young people (8 to 18) are using technology “some” or “most” of the time.
*Among lower socio-economic classes, computers were used as a form of escape rather than as a tool for education.
*Playing video games negatively affected sleep and learning much more so than the technological bad boy of yesterday—television.
*The brain requires rest and downtime to “synthesize information, make connections between ideas and even develop the sense of self.” ‘Downtime is to the brain what sleep is to the body,’ said Dr. Rich of Harvard Medical School.”
Kids couldn’t pull themselves away from Facebooking or video games to devote focused attention to their studies and were struggling academically as a result. The effects were not just intellectual—one young man admitted he hadn’t exercised in two years.
The quiet question the article kept asking was where was all this frenetic connected action leading to?
One solution which wasn’t discussed was using attention-developing tools like meditation to calm the inner frenzy and cultivate focus. Its my hope that instead of being pushed along by the tide of unrelenting information that we proactively develop ourselves to have a more assertive relationship with the technological forces that surround us.
What do you think?
The whole article is here.
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Lin Xiao says:
Dear Dr. Hunter,
Yesterday, I happened to talk to one of your former students who is recovering from PTSD. I am very curious about his teacher who gives him such strength and knowledge. So I found your blog.
For the issue you mentioned in this blog. I think deep down in our brain, we have this neural circuitry in our midbrain such as nuclear accumbens which let us approach the things we like in our immediate environment without thinking of its future consequence which is mediated by our prefrontal cortex. Such phenomenon is specially obvious during the adolescence since the brain of adolescents is still developing, and the some portions of the prefrontal cortex which relates to our higher brain functions such as decision-making and inhibition or the capability of future thinking mature very late till the age of 21. Therefore, the tendency for approaching the attracts in their immediate environment without thinking of long-term consequence is much obvious during adolescence. Except video games, they are also likely to have other behaviors like smoking, drinking or using drugs. However, despite of all these behaviors, the underlying neural circuits for these brain functions are the same or similar as I mentioned above.
The meditation technique you teach would be very helpful because it increases our awareness and effort, and therefore we can lay down and strengthen a new track in our brain which increases our brain function of decision-making, inhibitory control. All of these functions would contribute to our social emotional intelligence which is crucial in our daily life.
I am currently a research associate in the brain and creativity institute of USC. Hope I can have the opportunity to meet you and know more about your work in the future. Thanks very much! :-)