The Internet Is Making Our Brains Evolve

A growing number of researchers in the field of psychology and evolutionary biology seem to think that the Internet may literally alter the way in which our brain thinks and develops, potentially leading to the accelerated progress of the human race. The Web has already changed the way we search, gather and consume information, and has prompted a rethinking of the way we carry wars and communicate with each other. It may not be so far-fetched to believe that its action goes deeper than that.

Up until this point, scientists have failed to find out if the changes the Internet prompts in each single one of its users are good or bad. There are still insufficient data available to make such an assessment, and long-term research also has to be completed first. A few investigators believe that the human brain is currently undergoing a process of unprecedented and accelerated evolution, but even they don't know to what this development will lead in the future.

The main concern is the fact that the ease with which people can spend countless hours per day online could trigger feelings of social lack of adaptation at one point, and might make teens and young adults recede into this world even more. Thus, social interaction may become obsolete and future generations could grow in a world where most human interaction is achieved in the virtual environment, rather than face to face.

“My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment. I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitized and easier screen dialogs, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf,” Oxford University neuroscientist and the director of the Royal Institution, Baroness Greenfield, wonders, as quoted today by The Daily Mail.

“Students are developing a positive attitude towards using technology systems, editing and customizing content and thinking about online design and layout. They're also sharing creative original work like poetry and film and practicing safe and responsible use of information and technology. The Web sites offer tremendous educational potential,” Oxford University learning technologies researcher Christine Greenhow, who is also the lead author of a new study on the matter, explains.