Food for Thought - Or lack of, rather!

The effect of changing technologies on the teen psyche

A long time ago I had an article handed to me by one of my teachers, called 'Game Over' (Sydney Morning Herald, 14/06/08) and it talked about a loss ofidentity among today's teens, because of the inordinate amounts of time spent infront of screens, big or small; but has also linked computer games into thefray. The article is about Dr. Susan Greenfield's views on a loss of identity due to technology, or a 'nobody syndrome'.

And why wouldn't it? A profound change in the stimuli available to us, or a change in the way we live day to day life is bound to trigger changes in "The minds ofof the younger generation..." She goes on to say "...The brain, has plasticity: it is exquisitely malleable , and significant alteration in our environmentand behaviour has significant consequences." This can be extended to include things such as the lack recognition or proper expression of emotions.I once read in a book a long time ago that if a teen doesn't exercise certain areas of the brain then the brain actually 'cuts its losses' in order to becomemore efficient at what it is good at. So if a teen is interacting more with their mobile phone or the internet, and less with 'real people', it standsto reason that they would lose the ability (or some of the abilities) to deal with 'real people', and the focus of the brain would be to make more efficientthe estimated 6-9 hours spent looking at or using screens.
Dr. Greenfield also states that when one plays a video game, the focus shifts from the content (where it should be) to the process.

For instance, if I start Open Ground Melee 6, and I'm standing there with my titanium-zirconium alloy blade, killing the bystanders and opponents, they turn from people to objectives. She goes on to say that if a goal is reached (such as killing 100 opponents), and something comes of it, then a greater dopaminehit is realeased than if you killed one person. Dopeamine is the hormone of happyness (in leymanns terms). Excessive amounts of dopeamine in the brain hasthe effect of reducing ther acitivty of brain cells in the pre-frontal cortex - leading to a partial shutdown. This has been know to lead to an increased focus on the present (the here-and-now) and less focus on the past and future. This could have implications such as less recognition of the notion thatactions have consequences, and a complete lack of respect for those who came before. It could also have the implication that 'memories aren't important', again because the brain is 'cutting our losses'.

I think we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves, and spend more time with real people. So go! Talk to your families, you friends, the yobbo down the street(I'm sure he's lovely, no really!). Otherwise we're going to end up beings who can't relate to eachother, in the here and now. Some say technology may be the downfall of humanity, they may well be right.

References

Game Over. 2008.
The Sydeny Morning Herald, 14th of June