Digital Dementia
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'Digital dementia' on the rise as young people increasingly rely on technology instead of their brain [^] I must confess there is some truth to this as far as I am concerned. I find myself having trouble with simple arithmetic that I normally used to be able to do in my head. Has anyone else noticed a decrease in their mental abilities due to relying on technology?
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Absolutely. I can no longer remember 7-digit phone numbers long enough to transcribe them on the phone's number pad. On the other hand, I can remember a number of the easter egg key sequences for Windows 8, and I'm starting to remember at least a dozen of my more used random passwords, and I can remember all sorts of odd arcane stuff about every program I've used in the last 6 months and how to avoid their bugs or use their non-intuitive user interface. Seriously, my memory is no worse than it used to be (well, accounting for my aging), I'm just choosing to remember, or being forced to remember, far more other stuff. Its crowding out the stuff I used to keep memorized.
We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.
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'Digital dementia' on the rise as young people increasingly rely on technology instead of their brain [^] I must confess there is some truth to this as far as I am concerned. I find myself having trouble with simple arithmetic that I normally used to be able to do in my head. Has anyone else noticed a decrease in their mental abilities due to relying on technology?
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
The only relevant change I notice is that I read almost no printed books now. This had me worrying about literacy especially when I began to find it difficult to find the words to express myself. Ironically, because I was always interested in Computer Science I turned to my computer for the solution. I took computer programming back up and sure enough, that is both analytical and creative enough to engage me and actually improve my cognitive functioning. I cannot say that would work for everyone, but I do think the solution to this problem is simply returning to an intellectually stimulating activity that you may have set aside at some time in your past.
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I take your point about the video games. However, before video games, kids used to fill their time by using their imaginations and building their creative skills. That might make a difference.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Actually, before video games kids used to fill their time by sitting in front of a TV set watching stupid shows and even dumber commercials. I'd say that video games are an improvement, they require you to actually think and participate in what's going on. I was playing Neverwinter Online last night, and got into a nearly hopeless situation where I had to think fast and several steps ahead in order to survive, and the biggest part of it was staying calm, not panicking, and working the problem methodically. And after it was over, it was time to number-crunch and make tactical improvements based on the experience. Those are useful life skills, and a real mental workout. And as for creativity, you're overlooking the fact that kids aren't just playing games, but modding them and even creating their own. Neverwinter Online even includes the ability for players to create and share new content with each other. There are more opportunities for creativity and honing mental skills with video games than with any other type of popular entertainment.
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Actually, before video games kids used to fill their time by sitting in front of a TV set watching stupid shows and even dumber commercials. I'd say that video games are an improvement, they require you to actually think and participate in what's going on. I was playing Neverwinter Online last night, and got into a nearly hopeless situation where I had to think fast and several steps ahead in order to survive, and the biggest part of it was staying calm, not panicking, and working the problem methodically. And after it was over, it was time to number-crunch and make tactical improvements based on the experience. Those are useful life skills, and a real mental workout. And as for creativity, you're overlooking the fact that kids aren't just playing games, but modding them and even creating their own. Neverwinter Online even includes the ability for players to create and share new content with each other. There are more opportunities for creativity and honing mental skills with video games than with any other type of popular entertainment.
StatementTerminator wrote:
kids used to fill their time by sitting in front of a TV set watching stupid shows and even dumber commercials.
True. And their development did begin to suffer.
StatementTerminator wrote:
kids aren't just playing games, but modding them and even creating their own
What percentage of kids do you think are doing this?
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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StatementTerminator wrote:
kids used to fill their time by sitting in front of a TV set watching stupid shows and even dumber commercials.
True. And their development did begin to suffer.
StatementTerminator wrote:
kids aren't just playing games, but modding them and even creating their own
What percentage of kids do you think are doing this?
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
True. And their development did begin to suffer.
So it was a step down from what? Listening to The Lone Ranger on the radio? Playing marbles (which is actually a lot like playing a video game)? When exactly was the golden era when kids were smarter because of a lack of technology?
Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
What percentage of kids do you think are doing this?
Probably a lot more than you think (and judging by the quality, maybe too many). It's considered "cool" these days, it's very popular.
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Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
True. And their development did begin to suffer.
So it was a step down from what? Listening to The Lone Ranger on the radio? Playing marbles (which is actually a lot like playing a video game)? When exactly was the golden era when kids were smarter because of a lack of technology?
Richard Andrew x64 wrote:
What percentage of kids do you think are doing this?
Probably a lot more than you think (and judging by the quality, maybe too many). It's considered "cool" these days, it's very popular.
StatementTerminator wrote:
When exactly was the golden era when kids were smarter because of a lack of technology?
Listening to the Long Ranger on the radio at least required one to use one's imagination. The point is the trend. The trend is toward kids using less and less of their brains and building fewer and fewer skills all the time.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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StatementTerminator wrote:
When exactly was the golden era when kids were smarter because of a lack of technology?
Listening to the Long Ranger on the radio at least required one to use one's imagination. The point is the trend. The trend is toward kids using less and less of their brains and building fewer and fewer skills all the time.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
I can see your point, but I think that you misunderstand video games. From what I've seen as a life-long gamer, it's turning the trend of passive, brainless entertainment around. If you don't play them, then you can't understand how much skill and thought are actually involved, it only looks like a mindless waste of time if you're watching from the outside and don't understand what's going on.
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Daily Mail wrote:
They say that teenagers have become so reliant on digital technology they are no longer able to remember everyday details such as their phone numbers.
Of course they won't memorize phone numbers! Why should they if their smart phones and computers are much more capable and reliable at performing that job for them? There's plenty of other stuff to remember, why waste valuable resources on stuff that modern devices can handle? Tomorrows news: "Cars cause degrade in chinese farmers' physical fitness" (because they drive to town rather than walk 10km every day in order to sell their stuff) And the day after: "Ticket machines degrade commuters' conversational skills" :doh:
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'Digital dementia' on the rise as young people increasingly rely on technology instead of their brain [^] I must confess there is some truth to this as far as I am concerned. I find myself having trouble with simple arithmetic that I normally used to be able to do in my head. Has anyone else noticed a decrease in their mental abilities due to relying on technology?
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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'Digital dementia' on the rise as young people increasingly rely on technology instead of their brain [^] I must confess there is some truth to this as far as I am concerned. I find myself having trouble with simple arithmetic that I normally used to be able to do in my head. Has anyone else noticed a decrease in their mental abilities due to relying on technology?
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
I've made it a point over the years to not use technology for that very reason. I use the contact list in my phone to store numbers, but I'll look them up and then dial manually to help me memorize the number. I'll do math problems in my head just for practice, or do an estimate in my head to double check what came up on the calculator in case I make an entry error. Stuff like that. Steve
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I can see your point, but I think that you misunderstand video games. From what I've seen as a life-long gamer, it's turning the trend of passive, brainless entertainment around. If you don't play them, then you can't understand how much skill and thought are actually involved, it only looks like a mindless waste of time if you're watching from the outside and don't understand what's going on.
But what kind of job is playing a game all day going to get a child in the future? Over playing a game to where it is an obsession will not get that child a good career, unless he wants to be a game tester.
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But what kind of job is playing a game all day going to get a child in the future? Over playing a game to where it is an obsession will not get that child a good career, unless he wants to be a game tester.
I guess that depends on what kind of job the kid wants and what kind of education and training he/she gets. Not everything a kid does has to be directly related to a career path. But you never know, games are a big part of what led me into computer programming. It's entertainment, not job training. It can develop skills that are useful for all sorts of things, and at least it involves working out the brain a little. I read an article a while back about surgeons who played video games to sharpen their manual dexterity, and they were really serious about it too, so you never know what's going to be useful. [EDIT] I found a link to the article I mentioned: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070220012341.htm[^ That's not so odd when you consider that robotic surgery is very much like a video game. The way that military drones are flown is literally the same as a video game, aside from the fact that it's real (which is a bit disturbing). The army has been using video games to teach small unit tactics. Flight simulators used for training pilots on the ground are video games, and popular on a commercial level too. So video games really can be useful training tools, in some ways.
