Anyone can look around and see how technology has changed human society. But has it changed human brains?Anyone can look around and see how technology has changed human society. But has it changed human brains? An article about digital technology and how it may affect someone’s brain states that frequent digital technology use has a significant impact which can be both negative and positive on how the brain functions and its behavior. Because of this, harmful effects of extensive screen time and technology use may include struggling to pay attention, impaired emotional and social intelligence, or disrupted and unsettled sleep. These symptoms can lead to the conclusion that excessive technology use negatively impacts the brain and how it functions. An article of the human brain being affected by an excessive amount of time technology is found in an article titled All That Scrolling; How scenes impact students, is described by students who found that those with internet addiction are more likely to suffer from ADHD than from any other psychiatric disorders. The article stated people are impacted the most by their ADHD.
A young child’s developing brain is affected by any long term exposure to computers, phones or television. The author further explains that spending too much time on digital media leads to spending less frequent hours communicating with people face to face during the day and can affect people in the way they communicate, the relationships they have with other people, and the sources from where they get their information. The same article mentioned these changes that are being made in people’s lives are simply shown and play a big role in how we relate with ourselves as an individual. One of the biggest issues with the notifications is that any brain will feel the distraction. Some people might respond to it by checking their phone, however other people may not. People with ADHD can be more apt to hear the notification going off on their phone and begin to wonder what app the notification came from or who messaged them or what celebrity just posted on Instagram. These distractions can lead to poorer performance on academic tasks being school assignments for students, daily job performance, and personal business in their daily lives. Furthermore, an article by the National Institution of Health mentioned if we do not take the proper care our brain needs in order to function at its best and highest level possible, technology can change and shift our brains which can become a horrible thing.
An example of how the human brain needs to function at its best and highest level is described in an article that explains how we feel when we get excited about something we receive. Further, an article by Cleveland Clinic stated that, “Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that communicates messages between the nerve cells in your brain and to the rest of your body.” Furthermore, the article mentions how this neurotransmitter gives you a feeling of a sense of pleasure. For example, when you’re doing something that gives you pleasure either by scrolling on a social media app or posting pictures on instagram or even watching your favorite show on Netflix, your brain releases a large amount of dopamine. Which makes You start to feel good and it makes you crave that feeling and want to find more of it by continuing to do it for a long time which increases your screen time in order to receive more of that feeling. Therefore, humans have to find a good balance of not too much screen time but also still having the same happy feeling when our bodies release dopamine. To add on to this, our brain is divided into many different sections that all work together to let our brain function properly without having any sort of distractions nearby which could mess up how the brain works. One of the most important factors that helps processes for our brain to function as best as it can throughout the day is getting deep REM sleep.
Deep sleep plays a huge role in how our brain functions and is a great way to help our brains reset from any distractions we come across. Researchers from Harvard Medical School stated in an article that sleep is essential for processing and storing information from the day and placing it deeply into your memory. This article states the process in which sleep activates a part in our brains which is known as “brain’s reward system.” Pepperdine Boone Center for the Family mentioned in an article said how the brain’s reward system can be described as “a group of structures that is responsible for the feeling of wanting, craving something in order to get a reward in order to have done what was wanted.” The human brain must get deep sleep in order to function at its highest and greatest potential and technology in many ways could affect how they sleep, how many hours they get and how deep their sleep is. Furthermore, in order to get good sleep people should block out light to get good sleep. As both natural and artificial blue light can boost your alertness and mental sharpness, it is best to avoid too much time spent using blue light before bed because it may keep you awake. This being said, your body knows that it needs to wind down soon before bed to get the best sleep your body knows it needs.
