12 Ways The Internet Is Changing How We Think

People worry about the Internet's effect on concentration.People have worried about the Internet's effect on concentration for years.According to a 2015 study,A 2015 study addresses people's worry about the Internet's effect on concentration.Those fears of becoming "digital goldfish" may finally be real.

Goldfish average attention span is about 9 seconds. Humans had 12 seconds, but that dropped to 8 seconds after 2000. Mobile phones caused this shift.

A generation gap exists in attention spans. Nearly 80% of 18-to-24-year-olds surveyed admitted they grab their smartphone when nothing else is demanding their attention. Only 10% of people over 65 share this habit.

How often do you check your phone?A 2016 study found that the average smartphone user checks their phone over 2,600 times daily. This equals a million checks yearly, and this number will likely climb as people rely more on their devices.The 2016 study found the average smartphone user checks their phone over 2,600 times a day. This adds up to a million checks per year; that number will likely increase as people depend more on their devices.

It traps us in constant distraction.A 2015 interviewNicholas Carr, author ofThe Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our BrainsCarr calls this habit "a state of perpetual distraction and constant disruption." This is the cost people pay for having "unlimited information at our fingertips."

"If you exist in a perpetual state of distractedness," Carr warns.Carr warns that you will never reach the deepest sources of human insight and creativity.Carr warns that you will never tap into the deepest sources of human insight and creativity.

Constant browsing, scrolling, and clicking can affect a person's ability to keep and recall information. Moving information from your working memory into long-term memory needs a memory consolidation process that depends on attention, Nicholas Carr explains.Nicholas Carr explains the link between browsing and memory consolidation.If you constantly get distracted and take in new information, you push data in and out of your conscious mind. You do not attend to it the way is needed for strong memory consolidation.

Carr's ideas have support from aA 2011 studypublished byScientific American. Researchers saw subjects remember less information because they knew they could easily Google it later. Access to the Internet encourages a lazy mind.Access to the Internet encourages a lazy mind..

For socialization, the Internet makes users feel more connected than ever, but also more separate. Professor Fritz Nordengren observes this.Professor Fritz Nordengren observes that the Internet connects users but also separates them.:

"At first glance, having many friends on social networks shows great connection. But you likely face the downside of electronic social circles, like a party where guests stare at their devices and tap messages. One-on-one talks may get lost to digital connections."

Studies suggest thatPeople spend more time online, so they interact less with family and friends in person or on the phone. Their social circles shrink, and they feel depressed.

Twitter beefs, trolls, cyber bullies. Every YouTube comment section shows this.Data backs this theory up.You only need a few hours online to see how it taps into humanity's darker side. Nicholas Carr shows this.Nicholas Carr.Carr suggests this continues polarization might happen because of it.

This culture of constant distraction and interruption harms attention needed for deep thoughts and deep connections with others.

One study I mentioned in the book [The Shallows] supports this.The Shallows.The more distracted you get, the less you can experience empathy.

The human brain is neuroplastic.This term means the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.Brains physically change and adapt. This malleability brings both good and bad results.

Nicholas Carr.Carr thinksAssuming any brain change is good is dangerous. Carr states, "A lot of people will assume that if our brains can adapt, then our brains will adapt to the flow of information and all will be well. But what you have to understand about neuroplasticity is that the process of adaptation doesn’t necessarily leave you a better thinker. It may leave you a more shallow thinker... we might get smarter or we might get dumber, we’re just adapting to the environment."

Clive Thompson wrote.Smarter Than You Think.Thompson offers a more optimistic view on how the Internet affects human intelligence. During his talk at the2014 IdeaFestival,Thompson stated that "connected thinking" helps solve problems and explore new frontiers. He believes knowledge can now be crowd sourced.

The 24-hour news cycle can skew a person's view of the Internet. Nicholas Carr seems to thinkthat this constant content floods people's ability to filter information properly.This endless content overwhelms people's ability to filter information.

"There are studies suggesting a loss of cognitive control—not just attention, but the ability to control your mind and decide what you think about. A Stanford researcher pointed out that the more you get used to the technology and the constant information flow, the less you can figure out what matters to focus on. Your mind just gets drawn to what's new instead of what's important."

The web holds.billionsInternet users absorb more written information than ever before. But how much of that is long-form writing? Will people lose the ability to read a good book as internet use grows?

Writing forEdgeSocial software expert Clay Shirky sees a threat to literary culture. People read more, but the literary world loses its cultural hold.

Science historian George Dyson predicts a drop in human interest in ideas due to digitization. Will books end up locked away, read by few?

The Internet can connect all humans on Earth into one hive-mind, though not everyone has access yet. This connection exposes people to new knowledge and views. But writing forEdgePlaywright Richard Foreman questions the effect of this expanded digital awareness:

Are we becoming 'Pancake People,' spread thin connecting to the vast network of information accessed by a button touch?

People divide attention across many screens. They might become jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

The Internet cures loneliness but also makes people spend less time alone with their own thoughts.

Why does this matter? Oxford University researcher Baroness Greenfieldthinksthe Internet discourages deep thinking that builds knowledge, concepts, reflection, and contemplation.

People use the Internet like a digital megaphone for their brains, recording every inner monologue, no matter how simple.

In hisIdeasFest talkClive Thompson calls this 'public thinking,' a trend unique to the Internet. With 3 trillion words written daily online, he argues the Internet makes everyone a writer.

Ambient awarenessAmbient awareness means noticing others' actions, thoughts, and experiences without being near them or asking for details. Reading a status update or watching a vlog increases this awareness.

Clive Thompsonnotes, "Like we catch subtleties in body language, small messages [like tweets or status updates] help us know how friends feel."