© Reuters, For Canwest News ServiceDevices such as the iPhone may actually be changing the way we think.
A message from outer space or a text about a fun weekend and the promise to touch base soon? If you're a digital immigrant -- Statistics Canada says only 27 per cent of Canadians don't text, tweet and Google away their hours -- chances are, it sounds like a foreign language spoken by a generation you can't fathom.
But according to prominent American neuroscientist Dr. Gary Small, this lack of understanding is more than just a generation gap. In fact, spurred by the technological web of mobile phones, computers, the Internet and video games, we are in the midst of what he calls "a brain gap," in which the younger generation doesn't just look and sound different; their brains are rapidly evolving to such an extent they actually function differently, too.
"Because of the current technological revolution," says Small, author of iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind (HarperCollins, 2009), "our brains are evolving right now -- at a speed like never before."
And it's starting at a very early age. While every human is born with the same circuitry, give or take some genetic variations, "studies show that our environment moulds the shape and function of our brains, as well, and it can do so to the point of no return," he says.
In fact, by adolescence, 60 per cent of the brain's synapses, or connection sites between cells, have been pruned to suit dominant learning experiences. In other words, for "digital natives" who have grown up with constant, daily exposure, technology stimulates brain cells and neurotransmitter release, sparking the evolution of new neural pathways -- and weakening old ones.
The result? For digital immigrants and natives alike, the most profound impact has come from continuous partial attention or "keeping tabs on everything while never truly focusing on anything," Small says.
Don't confuse that with multi-tasking. Rather than trying to improve efficiency while juggling phone calls, report-writing and organizing a babysitter, Small says, splitting your attention among email, smartphones, texting and the Internet is more about making connections with others than getting the job done.
In fact, according to a StatsCan research paper on how the Internet affects Canadian life and civic participation, Canadian "communities are no longer linked to neighbourhoods, and people mobilize social capital through a variety of specialized sources, rather than relying on a single close-knit group of neighbours and relatives.
"Rather than being a separate 'second life,' the Internet is firmly and increasingly interwoven with the fabric of Canadian society, and is becoming more so over time."
More connected, perhaps, but Small says we're also more stressed, and we "no longer have time to reflect, contemplate or make thoughtful decisions. Instead, [we] exist in a state of crisis -- on alert for a new contact or bit of exciting news or information. Once people get used to this state . . . it feeds their egos and sense of self-worth, and it becomes irresistible."
Facebook and Twitter are two examples. Almost 70 per cent of Canadians connect with "friends" and "friends of friends" they may never meet via Facebook, compared to an average of 47 per cent in seven other countries.
We're also more expert at disseminating our micro-thoughts across micro-blogs such as Twitter than any other nation, according to the Fleishman-Hillard 2010 Digital Influence Index.
And our people skills are suffering as a result. A 2001 Stanford University study examining the Internet's effect on socialization found that, for every hour we spend on computers, we cut traditional face-to-face time by nearly half an hour.
"With the weakening of the brain's neural circuitry controlling human contact," Small explains, "our social interactions may become awkward, and we tend to misinterpret and even miss subtle, non-verbal messages."
Even so, our evolving brains do have an upside. Along with the average IQ steadily increasing, according to a 2000 Cambridge University study, "we can learn to react more quickly to visual stimuli and improve many forms of attention, particularly the ability to notice images in our peripheral vision. We develop a better ability to sift through large amounts of information rapidly and decide what's important and what isn't."
"Rather than catching 'digital ADD,'" Small says, "many of us are developing neural circuitry that is customized to rapid and incisive spurts of directed concentration."
If You're a Digital Native
Strengthen your memory by increasing face-to-face contact. Studies have found that the more time you spend chatting with the friends in person, the better your memory.
If You're a Digital Immigrant
Beware of Internet addiction. Identify your personal triggers to obsessive behaviours, such as boredom, anxiety, loneliness and other feelings or situations.
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