Web-Based Brain Damage and Mindless Data Consumption http://rgn.bz/DyRG

Originally shared by Before It's News

Web-Based Brain Damage and Mindless Data Consumption http://rgn.bz/DyRG

“Even though we think we’re getting a lot done, ironically, multitasking makes us demonstrably less efficient.” ~Daniel J. Levitin, Neuroscientist

Web-Based Brain Damage

Evidence is mounting that our haphazard info-consuming ways on the web are adversely affecting our neurological and cognitive functioning – as well as wasting time by making us far less efficient – and far more distracted – than we think we are. The internet is a wonderful (read: essential) thing for humanity, but the way we use it seems to need some tweaking.

According to a study in the Journal of Digital Information, people who read documents online containing hypertext didn’t retain as much information as people reading without hypertext. The temptation to click on hyperlinks caused breaks in focus and attention, interrupting the flow of the material, thus compromising memory retention.[i]

Long-term memory is essential for building models, maps, or schemas – a.k.a. context. When we are poor in context, our ability to make informed assessments of incoming information is crippled. New information may be rejected simply because no groundwork (context) has been laid within which to assimilate it. Learning is stifled.

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