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Nelda Live Ep. 40 | Nicholas Carr | How Technology is Affecting our Brains

  - 40:58

Originally uploaded to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWrBJC6FNS0 by NeldaTV Nicholas Carr on How Technology is Affecting our Brains Is technology making us stupid? Are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply because of constant online distraction and addiction to smartphones and social media? Science and technology writer Nicholas Carr has explored these concerns in numerous articles and his New York Times bestseller The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. The news is not good. Neuroplasticity is the ability of brains to physically change in response to stimuli. Human brains are changing as a result of our interaction with technology. For Pulitzer Prize finalist Nicholas Carr, his interest in this phenomenon started with himself. “I seemed to be losing my ability to concentrate, to focus my mind. I began to suspect that it was all the time I was spending online in front of a computer screen.” Carr launched into researching how our brains are affected by technology and the history of technology. His intuition proved to be correct, and his worry turned into a real concern. When the internet was emerging, Carr was excited by the possibilities. “Human beings are by nature information gatherers and our minds tend to be attracted to whatever’s most salient or important in our environment.” Carr understood that this could be a wonderful and powerful tool, but anticipated risks. “Technology is either going to solve all the problems with the world, or it’s going to create all the problems in the world.” His research showed that technology was evolving to do both. According to Carr, access to unlimited information is a double-edged sword. While these tools have been beneficial especially for people who have felt isolated, endless amounts of unfiltered information moving past in a constant blur actually undermine deep thinking and reinforce biases. It promotes shallow thinking and encourages people into tribes of beliefs rather than broadening their perspective. The smartphone and social media took this to warp speed. The constant presence of these devices also has resulted in unrelenting extraction of human attention. We simply can’t help ourselves from checking our phones, our social media, or being on the internet. If your phone is even nearby, it will draw your attention. One scientist described cell phones as a “divisive device of supernormal salience” because it contains so much—our photographs, our social lives, news, entertainment, everything that’s salient or important to us in any given moment. Carr certainly doesn’t advocate for the elimination of technology but rather the informed use of technology and a balance with real human interaction and deep thinking. “It’s attentive thinking that unlocks the full potential of the human mind. There’s a whole lot of activities that are actually more enjoyable and fulfilling if you do them with your full attention without being constantly distracted by technology.” It’s a compelling argument for closing your laptop, turning off notifications, and putting that smartphone down—in another room far, far away. What you’ll learn 00:00 Intro 03:42 What prompted Carr to investigate the impact of technology on human thinking 06:34 Neuroplasticity and how our brains are adapting to technology 08:14 The evolutionary roots of human’s natural desire to gather information 09:20 How the smartphone has created a divisive “supernormal salience” and what that is 10:48 Why social media has become the most addictive technology 12:18 Why unfiltered information undermines deep thinking and narrows perspectives 15:44 The dangers of endless amounts of communication 18:31 How smartphones are undermining human richness of thought 24:13 Tips for breaking the cycle of constant technology distraction 30:59 When is the best time for children to have a cell phone Learn more about Nicholas Carr: https://nelda.tv/nicholas-carr/ Connect with Nelda: https://nelda.com https://www.facebook.com/NeldaSueYaw https://twitter.com/NeldaSYaw https://www.instagram.com/neldasueyaw/ Learn more from Nicholas Carr: http://www.nicholascarr.com/


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Uploaded 3 years ago  

April 22nd 2021  

File Size: 372 MB







2 Comments

DreamSpaceMarvin

- 3 years ago  

Cell phone addiction reminds me of the unaired Star Trek pilot The Cage, where the Talosians had developed enormous mental powers. Their dreams became so important, that they forgot reality. Vina describes: "But they found it's a trap. Like a narcotic. Because when dreams become more important than reality, you give up travel, building, creating. You even forget how to repair the machines left behind by your ancestors. You just sit, living and reliving other lives left behind in the thought record." http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/1.htm And that's also why I don't think that the technocratic, transhumanist, Agenda 21 sustainable smart city, where you don't own anything, but still are so happy, because everybody and everything's connected, and you're provided with everything (the engineers think) you need, is actually feasible. These are all the insane fantasies of rich people who are not in touch with normal life as a human being.

Pandoras Box

- 3 years ago  

I don't own a cell phone and my landline is always turned off. So no one can call me and disturb me. A few years back on Christmas eve went to visit a home. There were 5 others there with cell phones They wee texting to who ever and not talking at all. I made a coffee and sat down and watched them for about half an hour or so. Now my dog went to each one and put his head on their laps hopeing to get petted. He was 110 pounds pretty hard to not notice. Well he was ignored by all 5. He was rather mystified by this. So after about half an hour went to the washroom, put on my winter gear and took the dog for a walk. I needed someone intelligent to talk to and the dog was that intelligent being. He was the type of dog that would answer you back. Funny fellow loved to chat up a storm. So we walked for way over half an hour and I was thinking about what to do with those 5 cell phone addicts. It was a nice night all the lights were on and it was just a lovely walk. Got back crossed the street and looked into the front window and they were still texting and not talking. So for way over and hour give or take that is all they did. The temptation to just go home was really high on my agenda at that point. Anyway went back into the house. Stood at the living room door and growled. My first words were you are all sitting here texting to whoever and not talking to each other, What the hell is wrong with you? They were in fact texting each other. WELLLLLL Sitting no less then about 2 to 5 feet from each other and they were texting each other. You really don't want to know how the rest of that conversation went as the language used was not very pretty. I gave them a good piece of my mind let me tell you. It was the most pathetic sight one could see from grown ups. My bottom line was put the phones away or I am going home. So the discussion lead to the fact they were completely oblivious to what they were doing and for sure it was very stupid of them. Their own conclusion was I think we have a problem. LOL I just could never give up a good opportunity to have a good rant. But for sure tech does mess with people and real communication between people. Unless of course you have a major ranter in the crowd. I ranted for a good half hour. In the end I was laughed at their foolishness. And well the dog finally got the love and attention, he wanted to start with. So in the beginning it was like being in a room with a bunch of insane people. Totally disconnected from reality. Believe it or not, their parents did teach them all how to talk. It certainly was interesting to observe how cell phone can affect what use to be normal people.