NEWS

This is your brain on Internet

Next year, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) will include "Internet Addiction Disorder." A recent Newsweek article takes an in-depth look at research surrounding our digital habits and how they effect our well being.

"Internet Addiction Disorder" will be added to the DSM-5, albeit, in an appendix for "further study." (The release of the final DSM-5 is expected in May 2013.) Indeed, many studies have emerged in the past decade about the effects of the Internet on our brains and how social media makes us anxious.

From the Newsweek article:

But the research is now making it clear that the Internet is not “just” another delivery system. It is creating a whole new mental environment, a digital state of nature where the human mind becomes a spinning instrument panel, and few people will survive unscathed.

To read the Newsweek article, "Is the Web Driving Us Mad?" click here.

19/07/12

[image © flickr.com/ssoosay]

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other reasons for distraction?

Submitted by Stephany Tlalka on Wed, 08/01/2012 - 16:43.

Technoluddite, could that argument also be made for living in an urban environment? (i.e., cars whizzing by, lots of lights and noises, lots of places encouraging you to shop.) I just wonder if there's a larger problem here than the Internet. Maybe you discuss this more on your blog, but I'd be interested to know if you see these distracted/reactive tendencies as occuring before the Internet, or due to the Internet?

Distractions Galore

Submitted by TheTechnoLuddite on Thu, 08/02/2012 - 02:15.

Yes. Exactly. The internet is just the latest and most powerful example we have. TV was very distracting and for some, myself included, addictive. Likewise I find billboards, especially the new electronic ones very distracting to the point of being a hazard to drivers. Though I love the convenience and capability technology brings us, I really believe we would be better off with a simpler way of life. And that's coming from a programmer who makes his living by technology. I also think materialism has much to do with the problem. As you mentioned, "lots of places encouraging you to shop." The greedy business environment we live in is driving a lot of these changes. This is nothing new, almost a hundred years a go Sigmund Freud's nephew Edward Bernays introduced psychological manipulation to american capitalists and they have been perfecting it ever since. Technology, like the internet, seems to only increase there ability to control us. My blog may sound radical, but let it be known, I have no foolish notions of stopping technological progress or even giving it up completely myself. I just think talking about these issues and making people aware of the effects can help us make wiser choices and not be mindlessly sucked along in the flow of so called progress.

Excessive Internet Use Is Harmful

Submitted by TheTechnoLuddite on Wed, 08/01/2012 - 15:26.

Through the multi-tasking and deluge of stimulation and information, the internet, email and video games are transforming our minds to be fast twitch and reactive. It prohibits deep thought and dehumanizes us. I talk about some of the adverse effects of technology on my blog.