The Internet Brain!

 *DING*. Check out your best friend’s latest post.*DING*. Check out Taylor Swift’s  new music video.*DING*. Check out the updated exam schedule. Just a regular 2-mins in our life filled with constant information quickies. So, before beginning, I would like to challenge all of you to block out this noise and  read this whole article without opening another app, notification, or that meme your friend sent. I’m guessing you know by now, I will be hating on the internet a little but hear me out considering all this information is also from the internet and not from my mum telling me my phone gives me that stomach ache.

A mind-boggling research done by Microsoft in 2015 stated that the average attention span of adults is now merely 8.25 seconds, shorter than that of a goldfish. I suppose Nemo might be better at finding a way to focus. Now, this research was widely used by well-known outlets of information like Time magazine, USA Today, the New York Times, and the National Post among a few. However, this study is complete clickbait and is based on suspicious statistics. 

Although the research does make several excellent and self-evident marketing points, it focuses more on how users’ attention shifts between technology. The 8-s attention span, in reality, highlights the average time users will spend on a web page before moving on to the next one. Social media sites and marketers are using this data to optimize grappling our attention, even if it affects our brains negatively in the process. The internet and social media apps are purposefully engineered to have an addictive quality so that websites can profit from their consumers' excessive use.

A very relatable and widespread instance of this is TikTok which gained popularity quickly due to the short-video format. These videos are easy to consume and just need a brief period of focus before moving on to the next.To compete with the expanding popularity of Tik Tok as a platform, other sites developed variants of what it offered. Reels, a new Instagram feature that is comparable to TikTok, is one example.

Our daily exposure to information due to the internet is remarkably high. In the 21st century, we are exposed to five times as much information as we were in the 1980s.Says who? Add a citation Our brain has become accustomed to the "popping," quick-paced stream of information we obtain on the internet due to constant stimuli from devices. Given the knowledge and marketing strategy of this age, this constant bombardment is only going to increase.

Additionally, social media apps have created prevalent and ingrained "checking" behaviors, which are identified by fast but regular checks of phones for incoming information from news, social media, or personal connections, even when not utilizing the Internet for any specified reason.

This can be due to "information rewards," which release dopamine to the brain each time an alert is received, strengthening these self-conditioned patterns. These exhilarating emotions intensify ongoing stress and make it challenging to focus on other things.

So you might be thinking this doesn’t sound that bad. Well, this was just the beginning. I think we can all agree that the brain is one of the most fascinating entities to ever exist. When you think about it, everything comes from the brain. Each idea, invention, innovation, and imagination all arise from the brain. But perhaps, the most incredible feature of this squishy ball of tissue, according to me, is it’s ability to change and mold itself, literally. 

This is called neuroplasticity, where the nervous system composed of tiny little neurons rewires itself and forms new connections. Our nervous system is as malleable as plastic. We keep forming new connections while losing old ones when we do something frequently. Experiences and activities when repeated, strengthen links between new and different neurons, literally changing our brains. We may reinvent ourselves thanks to our neuroplasticity, but we can also pick up negative behaviors. Over time, some neurons get stronger while others are removed and therefore if we are not careful, we may start to excel at our detriments rather than our benefits.

Ergo the saying- the tools we use are also using us. Therefore tools around us are molding and reshaping us. The instruments of intellectual technologies have a much greater effect on our minds than other tools. Overall, data suggest that the Internet can cause both temporary and long-term changes in each of these cognitive domains, which may be reflected in different forms of changes in the brain. A multitude of cognitive processes including attention, learning, memory, emotional processing, decision-making, and social interactions to name a few are gravely affected by the internet and more so by social media.

My main focus today is to shed light on our depleting focus. To give some hopefully relatable examples I am going to share some personal experiences depicting my poorer-than-Nemo focus skills. While writing this piece I checked my phone more than 20 times despite the fact that it was on DND. Sometimes while binging through shows as interesting as Suits, I end up scrolling through Instagram instead of watching the show. A 5-minute refreshment break turns into a 30-minute marathon of scrolling. My ability to get myself to work is disrupted by learning the latest trending reel dances. 

*Now adding some data to shed light upon the gravity of this situation* The majority of students who responded to a survey claimed that because they had grown up with technology, they could focus on several things at once (for example, Facebook and schoolwork) without suffering any negative academic effects (Henderson et al., 2016; Karpinski et al., 2012; Kirschner and Karpinski, 2010; Mehmood and Taswir, 2013). However, research suggests that instead of multitasking( performing and carrying out two or more cognitive activities at once) people are actually task-switching (switching between tasks; Karpinski et al., 2012; Ophir et al., 2009). Task switching is also linked to poor information learning and unsatisfactory task performance (Karpinski et al., 2012). 

A neuroscientist from MIT, Prof. Earl Miller explains that our brain in fact can’t have multiple tabs open and is extremely single-minded. We live in an enormous delusion of having an extraordinary ability to multitask. We believe we have the capacity to juggle 6 social media sites altogether- from stalking an ex to sending snaps to your best friend, all at once. On studying this presumed magical ability, neuroscientists found out about task-switching as mentioned earlier. The incredible ability of our brain doesn’t let us notice this because it covers up to provide a smooth flow of conscious experience. What actually happens in this switch isn’t a moment-to-moment reconfiguration of the brain. For example, you’re cramping up for tomorrow’s viva, you get a notification, you look at it, and even though it takes 2 seconds when you go back to studying, your brain has to reset and change from one task to another. This causes a drop in performance.

The "switch-cost effect" suggests  that if you check your texts while attempting to work, you are losing far more time than just the brief moments you spend reading the texts. You are also losing the time it takes to refocus thereafter.

According to a meta-analysis of 41 pieces of research, multitasking is associated with considerably reduced overall cognitive function. More recent studies have confirmed this, further demonstrating that even brief engagement with a highly hyperlinked online environment (such as 15 minutes of online shopping) reduces the attentional scope for a sustained period of time after coming offline, whereas reading a magazine does not result in these deficits. So next time you’re choosing between reading and scrolling, the former would be wiser.

So how do we fix this? Well, neuroplasticity is our knight in shining armor. Step by step, we can help our braint not let the internet bulldoze over it. A cold turkey detox though seems harder than running a half marathon, is one of the most effective ways. By creating a time gap when we return back to social media, it could be easier for us to be mindful of our daily usage. The key is of course to try to reduce experiences of “reel” time and increase the ones of real-time. Monitoring our screen time and some basic determination of spend designated time in tasks of prolonged focus like reading is a cherry on the cake. Additionally, we can use better sources of dopamine release like listening to music, finally going on that beach walk, and hitting the gym to help us get in control of our time and not give into Zuckerberg’s marketing strategies waiting to strangle our ability to focus.

Suchi Ganediwala

First year, B.Sc. Applied psychology

Member at Psycreative column