The Internet and our Brains

[Goldengirl]

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr (2010)

https://books.google.com/books/about/The...8jnjgYrgYC

Fascinating book on how the net is changing our attention spans, and how we read and process information. What I want to know is this: if the internet is changing our brains, is it changing how we dream?

Any thoughts?

[Cassandra]

I think we may dreams about things we see on the internet. I don't feel like for me personally it has changed the process.

[Goldengirl]

I think we may dreams about things we see on the internet. I don't feel like for me personally it has changed the process.

Thanks for the input Julie! I had a perfect example last night of what has been happening to me.

http://nationaldreamcenter.com/forum18/T...ling-Again

My dreams, while they have returned, are in bits and pieces. Not full scenarios like they used to be. It may just be that I am tired from work, and I am trying to return to normal. But this book has some interesting things to say and it got me wondering what would happen if I cut back on my internet time. No harm, no foul, right?!

I am on the computer all the time for my job, and then I spend my rec time on the internet. I used to read more, but have a hard time of it lately.

So I think I am going to cut back and only go on the internet when necessary, and try and limit my time on the internet as well. I will report back if it helps any!

If anyone else has experienced anything similar, I would love to hear about it!

[NH watcher]

Yes, the Internet has "dumbed us down" to the advantage of having more bits and pieces of varied information at our disposal.  I cannot read books as I used to, and have had to accept it.  It is important to stay offline at night, especially if your work requires you to be online most of the day.  I go online in the mornings, and all day at work, but rarely when I get home or at night.  My sleep has been disrupted enough, in just not being able to settle down, and then also, being much more aware of everything around me.  Not to say the Internet is to blame for all of this, but in the early days of social media, I made a decision to stay off it, as much as possible.  Family and friends still think I am nuts for foregoing Facebook and Skype.  People talk about fasting from the Internet for a week; hell, try a day!  And the easy access on our smartphones does not help at all.  It is unsettling knowing that the PTB (powers that be) know where we are, at all times.  I am simply amazed by what people expose of themselves online (even me, now!), and always remember what my grandmother said:

It is good to have "a little" mystery about yourself.

I believe the quick and dirty presentation on the Internet (versus extended and deep analysis, similar to a meditative state) also has played havoc to people's intuitions.  Intuition is not fear.  I see much fear everywhere these days, people quick to judge and quick to anger.  Or, conversely, way too accepting ... almost a nihilist point of view.

Our dreams, therefore, must be equally affected, in various ways.

[Cassandra]

The art of conversation is lacking in our society. I think the cause is texting and the internet. I even began to notice people speaking in what I call sound bytes
.

[Goldengirl]

Yes, the Internet has "dumbed us down" to the advantage of having more bits and pieces of varied information at our disposal.  I cannot read books as I used to, and have had to accept it.  It is important to stay offline at night, especially if your work requires you to be online most of the day.  I go online in the mornings, and all day at work, but rarely when I get home or at night.  My sleep has been disrupted enough, in just not being able to settle down, and then also, being much more aware of everything around me.  Not to say the Internet is to blame for all of this, but in the early days of social media, I made a decision to stay off it, as much as possible.  Family and friends still think I am nuts for foregoing Facebook and Skype.  People talk about fasting from the Internet for a week; hell, try a day!  And the easy access on our smartphones does not help at all.  It is unsettling knowing that the PTB (powers that be) know where we are, at all times.  I am simply amazed by what people expose of themselves online (even me, now!), and always remember what my grandmother said:

It is good to have "a little" mystery about yourself.

I believe the quick and dirty presentation on the Internet (versus extended and deep analysis, similar to a meditative state) also has played havoc to people's intuitions.  Intuition is not fear.  I see much fear everywhere these days, people quick to judge and quick to anger.  Or, conversely, way too accepting ... almost a nihilist point of view.

Our dreams, therefore, must be equally affected, in various ways.

Thanks NH and Julie too because I think this discussion is important to our well-being, and our well-being is important to our dreaming. There have been studies done where people who have been dream-deprived get messed up psychologically. I stayed offline last night, though nothing to note yet. While I remember dreaming, I don't remember about what. Even just the blue-light from devices can prevent you from sleeping deeply. And don't get me started about how everyone roams around with their faces in their device, not talking to one another!  

[twiceblessed9]

This is a great discussion. In my original response to this thread (but for I changed it) I noticed that I had written 4 brief sound bytes. hahaha! I think I better watch how I communicate in the future. I do know it is more difficult for me to fall asleep if I am up late on my computer.

[Goldengirl]

Thanks Twice! I have been putting in extraordinarily late nights working (not the norm), and I'm sure it affects my rest. I'll go to bed with the brain racing, and then it seems like I blank out until the early hours.

[NH watcher]

It is the addiction to "instantaneousness" in our culture too, largely created by the Internet, and the hope/desire/what have you that the answer to every question you might have is online. What used to take an extended period of research in a library, or a judicious thought process, has been replaced by what we think is this great collective cerebrum online which answers all. This then prompts us to "jump" from one thing to the next to the next, hence the term "multitasking," which means that multiple tasks at the same time aren't done well, just adequately enough to get them all done. Postal mail now seems like the age of the dinosaurs, and even the greeting card industry has taken a big hit. Walk into any Hallmark store and notice how the cards keep getting pushed further and further to the back, a smaller section, to make way for selling jewelry, clothes, purses, whatever ... Hallmark realizes that people do not send cards anymore, not like they used to ... even for the holidays.

And there is also an addiction to be "noticed" online. We all succumb to that ... now it seems everyone wants to be a celebrity, even if only for a moment. One has to draw upon one's spirit to really "step back" and rest. Get back to just enjoying the mundane, and realize that most of our earthly life is mundane.

Some parents used to be called nuts for restricting TV use by their kids; now the same parents are called nuts if their kids don't have an IPad by the age of 2. We marvel at the technological prowess of our youth, but what then aren't we teaching them? Common courtesy, extended thought. The fact that some things are unknown, will remain unknown, and that is okay.

[IslandHippyMama]

I recall reading an article recently that discusses our cellphones, iPads, laptops, TV's, etc, give off a light that simulates daylight; tricking our brains into thinking it's daytime & time to be up. So when we finally turn everything off, our brains are still fully "wired" & awake... I had a real problem with sleeping (or the lack of it) a few months back until my daughter posted the article on my fb wall. It suggested turning off all electronics by 7pm at night to give your brain a few hours to wind down before bed.

I also want to mention that at one time, my dreams nearly stopped or became so severely fragmented, I couldn't make sense of them. I had read another article about how disrupting cellphones and towers are to us, our brains, and other living creatures, and I started thinking about the connection to my dream/sleep problems. So I started turning my cell off completely at night and I leave it across the room, away from my head. Our phones should be at least 4ft or more away from heads while we sleep anyways... It worked. It took a little time, but my dreams started to come back to normal.

I also read that taking "holidays" from all of our electronics helps us to reset our internal clocks, too. I have friends that regularly go camping just to do this. No electronics allowed during the trip. If you take a cell, it has to remain completely off, unless there is an emergency.

It's funny... I just started thinking about the people who want to become "computerized". Being able to plug in and upload information whenever they want. Always being connected... Nu huh, not me! No 'Transcendence" for me!

[esholars]

all I know is that, according to the internet IQ test I took, I have lost 40 IQ points since I began using the net to get information! I also know that I did not have that many points to begin with so I do feel a great loss.

[Goldengirl]

all I know is that, according to the internet IQ test I took, I have lost 40 IQ points since I began using the net to get information! I also know that I did not have that many points to begin with so I do feel a great loss.

Internet tests.....they're like fast food, not very filling and definitely not nutritious!

I ran across this article on boosting brainpower with exercise, especially strength training. I've lost 40 pounds by eliminating most grains (although I do love my pizza and beer! Cheers!) and I need to get back to the weights. If it helps my brain out too, BONUS!!!

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness...1237436560