internet's adolescence, all of the information simply isn't there yet. In some ways our minds has evolved to this new way of the thinking, relying on the information's existence and availability, so much so that it's almost impossible to conclude that the information isn't findable because it just isn't online. The web has also enabled amazing dynamic visualizations, where an ideal presentation of information is constructed — a table of comparisons or a data-enhanced map, for example. Therefore the availability of information has made freed us from thinking only in the parameters that textbooks and teachers provides, instead making us more open to learning and opportunity, however, it has also reduced our patience and in a way, our understanding. This reinforces the fact that it has undoubtedly changed the way we think yet whether this change is completely positive remains to be seen. On a scientific level, it is widely believed that the internet has been responsible for a noticeable change in not only our way of thinking but caused a great change in or minds on an organic level. Thanks to the internet’s instant rapid-fire ability to provide masses of information in seconds our brains are now changing and activated, particularly with regards to memory and decision-making. Given that there were only 3.5 million web searches in total in 1998, as opposed to the modern day where there are 4.7 trillion search queries daily, a whole generation has grown up and developed as beings with the availability of this innovation. Therefore having the sum of all knowledge is in our pockets has had a direct effect on our brains. 1 Neuroimaging of frequent internet users shows twice as much activity in the prefrontal cortex as sporadic users. This part of the brain is reserved for short-term memory and quick decision-making. Essentially, our brains recognize that most of the flood of online information is trivial, and doesn’t deserve our full attention. The problem is, the brain does what we train it to do. And every time we open a browser, we prepare for skimming instead of learning. So even if we really want to remember something from Google, our brains are predisposed to forget. Perhaps we are becoming ‘Pancake People’ — spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button, making us faster decision makers, yet this very action has made us less able to absorb and understand the information we are processing. As a result our way of thinking has changed so that everything we ever wanted to know is available to us, and yet we have conditioned ourselves to ignore it-opting for a general look rather than a detailed understanding or study as we believe it is always accessible Another effect the internet has had on our way of thought is not widely discussed, yet is an incredibly important one. Thanks to the accessibility and openness of the internet, it has provided platforms like social media and online forums, we now live in an age where we are able to express opinions and emotions in a way that was not previously possible. You can now send a message to your favorite director, informing them of your opinion about their new movie. Thus the internet has perhaps liberated us as a free-thinking society, on the other hand with this platform, we now have a mask to veil our identity from others, enabling one to hurt others online simply because there is an inherent lack of consequence. Thus this liberation of speech has come at a cost. Has the independence of ideas and opinions resulted in an altercation with our moral compass. This reveals a darker side to the internet; many people have become accustomed to being able to say whatever they wish simply because there will be in essence no dire consequence to themselves in doing so. Thus we have resolved to a way of thinking which surpasses the initial objective of the Freedom Act, 2000 which dictated we have a ‘Right to Know’, perhaps we now believe that we in fact have a ‘right to say, regardless’. It is evident to see the vast change the internet advent of t has had on our society as a whole; Our ability to use and access information has surpasses that of virtually any civilization, while we have become attuned, as beings to new ways of thinking which include: the freedom to express ourselves
1 G.W, T.D Moody, P Siddarth, and S.Y Bookheimer. ‘Your Brain on Google: Patterns of Cerebral Activation During Internet Searching.‘ The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry : Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry . 17.2 (2009): 116-126. Print.
102
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker