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The modern advancements in information and communication technology led to a major improvement in the efficiency of data sharing and knowledge exchange. However, both Nassir Ghaemi and Nicholas Carr are concerned about the impacts of such technology on human wellbeing and brain development. Both authors believe that reciprocally affected by communication technology in a negative manner because the human brain is vulnerable to the social and information context created by the instruments. Therefore, Internet facilitates the development of depression among adolescents without providing any protective measures, and it also impairs deep cognitive functions through distraction and makes human cognition machine-like.
Adolescents are one of the most vulnerable members of the population due to their sensitive developmental phase, and they are experiencing the negative brain-altering effects of communication technology the most. Ghaemi (2018) writes that “it’s now clear that there’s a strong association between use of social media and depression in adolescents. The more depressed adolescents are, the more they use social media; the more they use social media, the more depressed they are” (para. 3). In other words, interactions with social media and the Internet are not a one-way input because the described tools also affect the human brain. Teenagers are in their developmental stages, which means that their full development requires correct information and social context. However, social media ‘hacks’ the core social elements making them more exposed and vulnerable to a wide range of negative forces. For instance, social media filters can enhance one’s beauty to an unrealistic degree, which creates an illusion of unobtainable standards of beauty. The social approval elements of such platforms make adolescents vulnerable to shallow online provision of attention, and the examples include likes, emojis, or even comments.
Moreover, the current social context and structure are not protective of vulnerable groups, such as adolescents, since they are given an excessive level of freedom, making them more exposed to the described negative effects. Ghaemi (2018) states that “yet many parents appear to tolerate the use of marijuana and alcohol by adolescents, just as they also appear to tolerate early and frequent sexual activity” in addition to social media and pornography (para. 13). Teenagers have the freedom to engage in activities that are actively harmful to them. Society’s social structure has no elements which would protect teenagers, children, and even adults, from the harms of communication technologies. For example, adolescents are protected from cigarettes with an age restriction, but they can use social media whenever and wherever they want. Therefore, it is clear that the current social context and structure are not adapted to the emergence of communication technologies of the information age. Teenagers have unjustified and excessive freedom to act and consume as if they are adults without serious concern from parents.
It is important to note that the impact of communication technology in terms of human brain alteration is not limited to adolescents because adults are vulnerable as well. Carr (2008) states that “our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged” (para. 9). In other words, modern communication technology negatively impacts adults by atrophying critical cognitive elements. For example, the emergence of cars made walking obsolete in addition to horse riding and bicycles, and many human inventions led to the elimination of physical labor elements in one’s daily life. However, such a change also led to a sharp decrease in the amount of physical activity, which caused new problems, such as a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and a weakened heart. In response, humans realize that one needs to incorporate exercises in order to compensate for the loss. Similarly, communication technology and the Internet atrophied certain elements of cognitive function, such as attention, memory, and focus. However, no measures are taken to compensate for the described losses.
Subsequently, the social environment created by communication technology leads to the facilitation and promotion of thought patterns favoring the use and excessive reliance on the Internet. Carr (2008) argues that “when the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brains as operating “like clockwork.” Today, in the age of software, we have come to think of them as operating “like computers” (para. 17). Internet and social media shape the very core human thought process, where it becomes more similar to a computer. The rate of involvement of such technologies in human interaction and the social environment is increasing, which alters the way people think and act. Collectively, it manifests in a society, which further facilitates the use and reliance on online platforms rather than traditional means of communication. The resulting shift creates a positive reinforcement loop, where people use the Internet and social media to become more dependent on them.
In conclusion, communication technology affects the human brain both in the developmental stage and developed stage, which leads to a reciprocal reinforcement of the perpetual cycle of negative interdependence. Both authors warn and prove that the human brain changes when it repetitively uses the Internet and social media. The current social context does not provide protection from the negative impacts of technology but rather reinforces it. In addition, the human brain reciprocally changes into a thought pattern resembling a computer, which facilitates further use.
References
Carr, N. (2022). Is Google making us stupid? The Atlantic.
Ghaemi, N. (2020). Snapchat depression. Tufts Now.
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