Table of Contents 94e1i
In 2000 there were about 738 million people on the internet. In 2018, that number reached 4 bilhões. What is the high use of the internet doing to society? If we go back a little in history, we will understand that most of the problems theoretically caused by the internet, in fact, have been around for some time. 3m66t
Books 193t6i
in the 1700s books became accessible to ordinary people and that changed the world. A problem called “reading mania” or reading mania and the concern was that people were no longer talking to each other or leaving the house as they used to, because they had their heads down, reading a book. Sounds familiar?
In the 1880s, the New York Times wrote that books were not healthy, saying that life was over-represented in the novels. They said the imagination would be affected.
O Journal of Neuroscience did an MRI study to understand what happens to our brains when we read a book. Their hypothesis was that when you read you associate real life actions in your mind. Then the words we read turn into real actions. If we're reading books about wizards in the UK, for example, you're picturing in your head all the actions they do.
Another study, done with specific literature from the 18th century, found that the executive function areas of the brain lit up and, of course, so did the pleasure center. Therefore, like today's social media, reading helps us to give prizes in our brain, that is, it activates our brain reward system. We like to read, interact with people and have fun, so we want more of that.
radio and telephone 6g1u4g
Around the 30s, radio arrived in people's homes and was soon considered an addiction, mainly for children. In 1939, a newspaper lamented that children at the time had abandoned the game. "Police and thief" to stay at home listening to the radio.
In the 50's to 80's phones were the danger. In 1984 an article said that addiction to telephones was one of the most serious and unreported diseases of antisocial behavior in America. O New York Times also wrote his article on the problem, in which he said that the United States was getting addicted to phone conversations and they no longer had time to cook, clean, take care of the children or relax.
Television 1f4i3r
O Journal of Behavior Addiction, in 2013, did a literary review of all studies on television addiction and found that the first mention of the problem is from 1954, when TVs were still small and images were black and white. They also mention that television addiction is not that different from gambling or substance use. And, as seen in literature studies, people who watched television activated the brain reward system.
It is important to note that all the infrastructure that we have today, from the rapid publication of books to the satellites that allow better television signals, were created because everyone asked for it, because everyone used these resources and wanted it more and better. Books have given us unprecedented access to power, as have newspapers, radios, telephones, etc. And now the internet.
Internet 2l2h5a
Most of us have heard about internet addiction. I'm sure many of you who are reading this text right now have heard your mothers complaining that you they just want to know about staying on the computer or cell phone, did not play in the street as in their time, etc. Concern about internet addiction has been the subject of articles since the early 90s.
From the desire for the constant use of the internet, the smartphones, starting with BlackBerry, followed by iPhone and Androids. These devices make it possible for us to have our social networks with us at all times and, like books, phones and television, they activate our brain reward system. Today smartphones and social networks are considered great enemies of a social and healthy life. The concern is such that there are even rehabilitation centers for people addicted to smartphones.
Conclusion a5r1x
After all, is the media in question to blame for all the problems mentioned or the use we make of it? Should we waste time criticizing and treating social media as the terror of humanity, or should we spend that time figuring out a way to use it in a healthy way for everyone? Please leave your comment on what you think of these issues!
Clicking here you can read a little more about it.
This text was based on the video "The Internet Didn't Create Shorter Attention Spans — Blame Books!” from the Seeker channel, and in the article “What technology are we addicted to this time?”, by Louis Anslow for the TIMELINE website.
