Are Our Brains Under Attack From the World?

Not intentionally, at least I hope not.

You may be asking — how can our brains be “under attack”? It sounds pretty vague. And crazy. But hear me out, because I believe just the sheer number of things pining for our attention is changing how we are functioning on a day-to-day basis.

Horrible pictures aside, it is no secret that our brains are easily stimulated, and subsequently malleable. Essentially, depending on how you behave, act, and go about your life, your brain will change over time. If I sat myself down in a room for five days with nothing but a piano, and I practiced playing this piano for these five days, my brain structure would be altered in the regions associated with things like finger movement, dexterity, and probably piano-playing confidence too. But, don’t just take my word for it. This exact study was conducted by Harvard University professors and the results I listed actually occurred. The control group was put into the room with no instruction regarding the piano — it was just there. The other group was given instruction to pretend like they were practicing the piano as if they were an expert. In the end, the group that practiced demonstrated the marked improvements in dexterity, finger movement, auditory processing, and more.

“It is no secret that our brains are easily stimulated, and subsequently malleable.”

Now thankfully, people everywhere aren’t being forced into a room for five days with nothing but a piano. However, our world today has demonstrated the sheer need for humanity to be ‘connected’ with everyone and everything.

Smart phones. Smart tablets. Facebook. Immersive video games. The list goes on and on.

We are always doing something. We have to be, because being bored sucks. But this incessant need to always be doing something and always be on the move is changing how our brains work. It isn’t being locked in a room with a piano for five days; it is being unknowingly trapped in a world that won’t shut up.

Now to me, boredom is an art. It gives your brain time to relax and to chill out. It is a luxury that people have carried for thousands of years, because they didn’t have Doodle Jump or Snapchat to occupy them when times were slow. If you didn’t know how to be bored, you were probably perceived as a crazy person.

But like I said before, being bored sucks. While it may give for some nice cool-down time, I can’t just stay bored forever. So I inevitably look at my phone, I text, I check the internet, I put a sports game on TV, and I don’t think twice about it.

But I should. We all should.

The non-stop usage of technology is changing our brain structure, and it could end up having negative ramifications towards society. Just some of the things that can and will occur with an overuse of technology are: shorter attention spans, lack of abstract thinking skills, lack of critical thinking skills, and poorer personal communication abilities. When we engage with screens instead of people, even if we are using screens to engage with people, we are practicing non-verbal ‘skills’ instead of the other way around. Just like practicing the piano for five days changes your brain accordingly, overusing technology changes your brain too.

To clarify: I am not persecuting technology and saying we should all give it up. I believe we just need to take a step back and evaluate how much we really use it.

Instead of texting and IMing, simply try calling people and talking to them on the phone! Regardless of how you consciously go about lowering your technology usage, or even if you don’t do it at all, just remember that you should always try to live a healthy, balanced life to the best of your ability. That’s all you can ever do.