It seems incredible that the Internet has been with us for less than three decades, since technology has already had an immense impact on humanity: in the way we communicate, foster relationships and provide us with information.
But there is one detail that scientists are unsure about: what effect does the Internet have on the human brain? A new review by researchers from five universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia has tried to find the answer.
The theory goes that neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to change structurally over time, means that the experiences and lessons we get from using the internet could be having a significant echo with it.
Identifying and understanding these changes in children and young adults is particularly important since their brains are still developing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already expressed its concern, recommending that children under the age of 5 do not spend more than 1 hour a day in front of any type of screen.
The study, which was published in the journal World Psychiatry, took into account three areas: attention span and concentration; memory processes; and social cognition. By examining numerous findings from previous studies, the researchers were able to analyze whether the Internet was doing good or bad in each of these cases.
Multitask
Regarding digital multitasking , the evidence showed that multitasking on the internet did not improve individuals’ ability to multitask elsewhere. In fact, it could increase the likelihood that people would become much more distracted.
“The unlimited flow of messages and notifications from the Internet encourages us to constantly maintain divided attention, which, in turn, can diminish our ability to stay focused on a single task,” explains Joseph Firth, leader of the work.
However, more research is needed to discover the immediate and long-lasting effects of this type of behavior in young people.
Then they studied memory. Whereas previous generations had to store data mentally, today’s humans make use of the Internet. This may actually provide some benefits to the brain , allowing it to focus on other, more ambitious tasks, the researchers theorize. “Given that we now have most of the objective information in the world literally at our fingertips, this seems to have the potential to begin to change the ways we store, and even value, facts and knowledge in society and in the brain. “.
But again, more research is required on the long-term cognitive effects of relying on the internet for data.
Social improvements?
Social interaction was the last element of research . The team found that the brain appears to process online interactions in surprisingly similar ways to real-life interactions. This can be beneficial for older people who struggle with feelings of isolation. But young people, on the other hand, seem to be more susceptible to the social consequences that arise from interactions on the internet, such as peer pressure and feelings of rejection.
The review failed to find a causal link between internet use and poor mental health. However, the researchers noted that advancements such as social media can function as a form of therapy for young people with mental health issues.
There is still a lot to learn
“The findings in this paper highlight how much more we have to learn about the impact of our digital world on mental health and brain health,” says study co-author John Torous. “Certainly there are new potential benefits for some aspects of health, but we need to balance them with the potential risks .”
Referencia: The “online brain”: how the Internet may be changing our cognition. Joseph Firth John Torous Brendon Stubbs Josh A. Firth Genevieve Z. Steiner Lee Smith Mario Alvarez‐Jimenez John Gleeson Davy Vancampfort Christopher J. Armitage Jerome Sarris First published: 2019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20617
