Technology Changing Attention Spans Technology is a notion that will never end. New devices will be released and then advanced endlessly. It changes society by altering the environment in which individuals adapt. Technology now is a concept that individuals cannot survive without; an average person needs technology, to eat, to entertain, to cook, and to do many other daily functions. Let’s face it, individuals need technology to survive. But this is to an extent, for example a computer can be one of man’s best friends, it helps us write documents, it helps us obtain knowledge through the internet, such as searching Wikipedia, and it helps us entertain ourselves with games, movies, and music. But the computer can also have side effects to
People grew up multitasking; chewing gum and walking, walking and talking on the phone, listening to music while doing homework and so on. Jerome Rekart, author of “Taking on multitasking” emphasizes that “…dividing attention by multitasking impedes learning and performance in the short-term and may, by underutilizing brain structures necessary for the correct type of learning, affect long-term memory and retention.”(61) These new skills that are being pushed upon people are obstructing their ability to focus and concentrate. The lack of ability to reject distractions and the reliance for technology has led people to be suited thinkers. The capability to commit to a broad thought process is failing us because of what Restak would consider as a brain syndrome. He states that “this ability to multitask often comes at a price- ADD or ADHD.”(334) People’s brains are evolving to keep up with the quick information processing happening each time we multitask. If society continues to force people to move at such a rapid speed, Restaks’ prediction of an entire society with ADD will become factual. Multitasking is something everyone does these days. It is hard not to multitask, given all the things we have to do and all the streams of non-stop information.Move up http://i.forbesimg.com tMove down People probably think they are good at multitasking, and to some degree, they are. Anyone can walk and chew gum at the same time. Folding laundry while talking on the phone?