Are You a 'Digital Native?' | Newsweek Tech and Business

Posted By: chuchman5252 @ 11/03/2008 1:29:06 PM

Comment: I must say the topic is very interesting. I agree with the idea that people still have the choice and option of whether or not they want to be exclusively technogically oriented or not. With that being said, I really think that there will eventually be a copesetic balance between thw tech world and the "old school" of face to face communication. If a balance is achieved then I seriously doubt that natural selection will have any affect on our brain development in that respect.

Posted By: chandras @ 11/03/2008 9:01:18 AM

Comment: personally, technology is extremely important because it seems to stretch our brains to a whole different level, and in that we are able to problem solve and see a broad perspective in our every day life as opposed to just having printed words.

Posted By: sgronend @ 11/02/2008 10:49:33 PM

Comment: Overall this technology has created evolution

Posted By: sgronend @ 11/02/2008 10:47:29 PM

Comment: Technology has changed the way people interact with one another but in the long run it has made us you different parts of our brains and overall technology is a good thing.

Posted By: Sojhin @ 10/28/2008 6:02:23 PM

Comment: Yeah, But who gets minority status?

Posted By: BCoelho2000 @ 10/22/2008 11:44:41 AM

Comment: Excelent stuff!

My work and study to become an Informatic Engineer has definitely changed the way my brain thinks and solves problems.

Posted By: fourjumpchump @ 10/18/2008 3:49:12 AM

Comment: your an idiot futyulebot. your'e not understanding what he is saying.

Posted By: futyutletbot @ 10/17/2008 10:59:59 PM

Comment: this is a lot of sound and fury over nothing - this guy's studies to me seem flawed to start with.
Maybe I gotta read the article again but if he's comparing "digital natives" (young people) versus
"digital foreigners" (old people) then he is comparing brains which ALREADY computer or not show major differences in how they handle problems computers or not. "computers do this blah blah blah" bs...
old people have better emotional grasp of other people anyways younger people tend to have better memory... why is this news? Anybody who likes the internet and uses it a lot is going to show a lot more activity in their frontal lobes than somebody who doesn't. An older person who really doesn't find it exciting isn't going to light up in the scanner either. If you don't like my punctuation fine but you couldn't disprove my points at all. Want to yammer about how you hate young people go ahead but sorry this study is just bs and computers don't do anything exciting to your brain.

Posted By: drsadvani @ 10/17/2008 8:20:32 PM

Comment: The study has to be done on a large scale and on the people of different origins before we can make any inferences.

Posted By: german223 @ 10/17/2008 7:54:40 PM

Comment: All of you are doing excellent job, It's amazing read your enlightining articles.this is the kind of mind the world needs, no minds that just think in war

Posted By: creativeartteacher @ 10/17/2008 7:18:34 PM

Comment: Biotechnology is already implanting electrodes in paralized patients to retrain the brain to talk, walk and withstand pain. The Brain Train is coming...Other research in sports medicine can retrain the brain to focuss intensleyl on the ball's projectory., making better athlethes. New glasses can detect damaged white brain matter in sports competition so that concussions can dignosed and the athlethe is pulled. Wow!

Posted By: creativeartteacher @ 10/17/2008 7:12:15 PM

Comment: Look at the research of Dr. Daniel Amen with his brain scans pinpointing chemical disturbances, hence better dignoses of brain strain.

Posted By: chriswininger @ 10/17/2008 4:54:32 PM

Comment: Just wait until we begin using brain waves to interface with computers. It's beginning to happen. A company called Emotiv is introducing non-invasive BCI device on to the market over the next year. A Japanese company has demonstrated similar technology. Both the Emotiv device and the Japanese devises give pretty low resolution scans but they are crucial first steps. In the lab with invasive technology where electrodes are implanted into the brain things are getting really interesting. As long ago as the nineties they had a ???locked-in??? (paralyzed) patient directly controlling a cursor with his mind. When asked what he felt when controlling the cursor he said ???nothing.??? Work with monkeys has shown that their brain can remap itself to control artificial limbs just as easily as natural ones. This is probably what happened to the paralyzed man. I am a digital native, but I am not cocky about it because I know that I will soon feel just as maladapted as the generations before me. New technology like this is going to render our skills obsolete. If this advance doesn't do it something will. The only constant is change. We wont know we???re becoming a new species until one day we dig up the bones of our ancestors and wonder what they were.

Posted By: chriswininger @ 10/17/2008 4:53:22 PM

Comment: Just wait until we begin using brain waves to interface with computers. It's beginning to happen. A company called Emotiv is introducing non-invasive BCI device on to the market over the next year. A Japanese company has demonstrated similar technology. Both the Emotiv device and the Japanese devises give pretty low resolution scans but they are crucial first steps. In the lab with invasive technology where electrodes are implanted into the brain things are getting really interesting. As long ago as the nineties they had a ???locked-in??? (paralyzed) patient directly controlling a cursor with his mind. When asked what he felt when controlling the cursor he said ???nothing.??? Work with monkeys has shown that their brain can remap itself to control artificial limbs just as easily as natural ones. This is probably what happened to the paralyzed man. I am a digital native, but I am not cocky about it because I know that I will soon feel just as maladapted as the generations before me. New technology like this is going to render our skills obsolete. If this advance doesn't do it something will. The only constant is change. We wont know we???re becoming a new species until one day we dig up the bones of our ancestors and wonder what they were.

Posted By: chriswininger @ 10/17/2008 4:53:08 PM

Comment: Just wait until we begin using brain waves to interface with computers. It's beginning to happen. A company called Emotiv is introducing non-invasive BCI device on to the market over the next year. A Japanese company has demonstrated similar technology. Both the Emotiv device and the Japanese devises give pretty low resolution scans but they are crucial first steps. In the lab with invasive technology where electrodes are implanted into the brain things are getting really interesting. As long ago as the nineties they had a ???locked-in??? (paralyzed) patient directly controlling a cursor with his mind. When asked what he felt when controlling the cursor he said ???nothing.??? Work with monkeys has shown that their brain can remap itself to control artificial limbs just as easily as natural ones. This is probably what happened to the paralyzed man. I am a digital native, but I am not cocky about it because I know that I will soon feel just as maladapted as the generations before me. New technology like this is going to render our skills obsolete. If this advance doesn't do it something will. The only constant is change. We wont know we???re becoming a new species until one day we dig up the bones of our ancestors and wonder what they were.

Posted By: miamian @ 10/17/2008 3:21:27 PM

Comment: actually im gay , and that comment you made mzplaero1 is just as immature. i dont believe this will affect us because our brains adjsut to the information available and it doesnt rely on where it actually comes from the brain doesnt recognize it as digital , granted theres no sound associated with reading, they might want tot do a test on sound / word association / recognition and its effects. i think this has to do more with memory than anything. the brain is always being rewired even as it ages. now if they start putting chips in our heads to remeber things.. like a mini gps or such lol.. then i would say were moving in the right direction. but the fact that this is biological i tend to think that the brain will advance but not as the writer states above. as far as social setting due to the Digital age yes we are becoming less social but not because we arent social it has more to do with hyper information since were accustomed to so much at our disposal online or what not , it seems irrelevent to partake in smaller or less stimuli that may be something to look for that just my opinion. im not a doctor lol.. just an observer heck of even myself. i think in the attempt for use subconcionsly or not to attain the best information at the quickest rate and make a split decision is now bleeding into our social spectrum so maybe that has to do with us being less inclined to interact interpersonally. there is no better teacher than experience and self exploration. and trust me google maps has been wrong plenty of times. but i have a really good gps my brain that im amazed at..

Posted By: miamian @ 10/17/2008 3:16:41 PM

Comment: actually im gay , and that comment you made mzplaero1 is just as immature. i dont believe this will affect us because our brains adjsut to the information available and it doesnt rely on where it actually comes from the brain doesnt recognize it as digital , granted theres no sound associated with reading, they might want tot do a test on sound / word association / recognition and its effects. i think this has to do more with memory than anything. the brain is always being rewired even as it ages. now if they start putting chips in our heads to remeber things.. like a mini gps or such lol.. then i would say were moving in the right direction. but the fact that this is biological i tend to think that the brain will advance but not as the writer states above. as far as social setting due to the Digital age yes we are becoming less social but not because we arent social it has more to do with hyper information since were accustomed to so much at our disposal online or what not , it seems irrelevent to partake in smaller or less stimuli that may be something to look for that just my opinion. im not a doctor lol.. just an observer heck of even myself.

Posted By: missaw @ 10/17/2008 3:12:02 PM

Comment: I second douggondogo's comment. We are becoming very weak at dealing with each other in any sort of social situation unless it involves alcohol or we want something from someone. I still stand by the thought that the digital is pushing us away from productive lives in the end.

Posted By: kauaiq @ 10/17/2008 3:09:48 PM

Comment: I would like to see more research done on child development and the link to ADD.
Learning from electronics eliminates much of the organic thought proccess as ideas are fast forwarded, inturupted, and injected.
there is no doubt add has become a phenom of our time. for every action their is a reaction

Posted By: kauaiq @ 10/17/2008 3:05:12 PM

Comment: I

Posted By: kauaiq @ 10/17/2008 3:04:11 PM

Comment: I would like to see more studies on electronics and A.D.D.
children who are overly exposed and learn most of their life lessons from tv and the intrnet are less likly to develop social skills, the constant interuption, fast fowarding of ideas and insertion of pop culter and consumerism has to have a effect on the developing brain and their is no doubt A.d.d. has become a phenomonon of our time. For every action their is a reaction

Posted By: douggondogo @ 10/17/2008 2:55:51 PM

Comment: That's great that internet use improves functionality of the brain, but the article neglects to mention some of the possible ill effects the cyber-age. For example, are we losing the ability to interact with others in community settings and friendships? It seems that our growing internet dependency has weakened our need to seek out interpersonal interactions in the real world. What are the ramifications? More antisocial behavior, like road rage, random Greyhound beheadings, etc? Inquiring minds want to know!

Posted By: mzplayer01 @ 10/17/2008 2:43:50 PM

Comment: Comment: To mzplayer01; shnookskiki comment was well stated and they brought up several points that should be tested. Saying their comment sounds like crap is immature and shows you have little intelligence if you can't come up with more constructive feed back then that.
However, I can't say that I agree with all shnookskiki said. I think you'll find that sometimes digital natives are analytical and metaphoric, capable of deciphering complexities of human character, and capable of citing historical precedent, as you say, depending on the person. I'm 15 and have had internet as long as I can remember. However I spend my time differently. I read books (sometimes online), research what I want to know, and hang with friends like normal teens. The internet is a big part of my schooling and also of my connecting with people around the world. I have learned more about countries by listening to natives then listening to a teacher in a class. Doesn't that have some merit? I think you should be open to the idea that technology can be more helpful in certain situations for certain people.

YOUR GAY!!!!!

Posted By: jojoba32 @ 10/17/2008 1:59:47 PM

Comment: To mzplayer01; shnookskiki comment was well stated and they brought up several points that should be tested. Saying their comment sounds like crap is immature and shows you have little intelligence if you can't come up with more constructive feed back then that.
However, I can't say that I agree with all shnookskiki said. I think you'll find that sometimes digital natives are analytical and metaphoric, capable of deciphering complexities of human character, and capable of citing historical precedent, as you say, depending on the person. I'm 15 and have had internet as long as I can remember. However I spend my time differently. I read books (sometimes online), research what I want to know, and hang with friends like normal teens. The internet is a big part of my schooling and also of my connecting with people around the world. I have learned more about countries by listening to natives then listening to a teacher in a class. Doesn't that have some merit? I think you should be open to the idea that technology can be more helpful in certain situations for certain people.

Posted By: missaw @ 10/17/2008 1:59:30 PM

Comment: Stop with the Obama/McCain comments. Neither man will be able to do anything about our country???s current condition if Congress doesn???t want him to. The people we should be screaming at is the political parties that tie a politicians career so tightly to them that if they dare to break and vote their mind, they are done.

Posted By: jojoba32 @ 10/17/2008 1:57:39 PM

Comment: To mzplayer01; shnookskiki comment was well stated and they brought up several points that should be tested. Saying their comment sounds like crap is immature and shows you have little intelligence if you can't come up with more constructive feed back then that.
However, I can't say that I agree with all shnookskiki said. I think you'll find that sometimes digital natives are analytical and metaphoric, capable of deciphering complexities of human character, and capable of citing historical precedent, as you say, depending on the person. I'm 15 and have had internet as long as I can remember. However I spend my time differently. I read books (sometimes online), research what I want to know, and hang with friends like normal teens. The internet is a big part of my schooling and also of my connecting with people around the world. I have learned more about countries by listening to natives then listening to a teacher in a class. Doesn't that have some merit? I think you should be open to the idea that technology can be more helpful in certain situations for certain people.

Posted By: mzplayer01 @ 10/17/2008 1:51:15 PM

Comment: I believe that the nation....well...forget it.....POOP ON MCCAIN!!!! GO OBAMA!!!

Posted By: sparkly @ 10/17/2008 1:46:52 PM

Comment: "The brain's plasticity - it's ability to change" ... The brain may evolve, but the inability of supposedly well-educated writers, and their editors, to remember that:

it's = "is is" and
the possessive is spelled "its"

... will endure though the agaes. But what can you expect? They're merely college graduates.

Posted By: sparkly @ 10/17/2008 1:46:17 PM

Comment: "The brain's plasticity - it's ability to change" ... The brain may evolve, but the inability of supposedly well-educated writers, and their editors, to remember that:

it's = "is is" and
the possessive is spelled "its"

... will endure though the agaes. But what can you expect? They're merely college graduates.

Posted By: missaw @ 10/17/2008 1:46:00 PM

Comment: I believe that we as a nation are being lead by a very small group of people who strive to have us only see and understand what they want us to. All forms of media, while sometimes very correct in their output, can be EXTREMELY misleading--whether or not intentional--and we, blindly enrage, scoff or judge a topic based on what we see, hear or read. While I am grateful for all that the digital age has brought, I am saddened by the lack of communication, responsibilty and caring that the human race now exhibits. Anyone who truely thinks that our children, as a whole, are better at interacting with others as a result of the "new digital age" is deluding themselves, has no children or is in the same boat with the children.

Posted By: shnookskiki @ 10/17/2008 1:15:43 PM

Comment: v

Posted By: shnookskiki @ 10/17/2008 1:10:47 PM

Comment: I would like to see other studies showing the negative effects of being digital natives. For example, digital immigrants, who are more methodical and precise, as you say, are more analytical and metaphoric too. Those among them who read literature are able to decipher complexities of human character in, say, a Dostoyevsky novel. Try getting a digital native to sit long enough to read Dostoyevsky. Digital immigrants also can cite historical precedent when haveing political discussions. Natives always talk about the here and now. Natives depend on blips of info, headlines, blurbs, sound bites. This kind of thinking eradicates the layered reasoning which is dependent on 1. a great amount of reading - long form books and essays 2. critical interpretation 3. Classroom learning whereby a teacher interacts face-to-face (not Facebook) 4. Social network... again, not Facebook or Myspace 4. The arts. The arts allow us alternative worlds by which to judge the real world. As to natives actually spending more face-to-face time, as you say, I don't believe it. My nephew's isolation at family holidays, his cordoning himself off to play Nintendo, is my own experience. When these kids are face-to-face, they talk about pop culture, video culture, and sports. There is scant deep conversation between kids. That is usually the case in this country with adults too. Believe me, there are many ways in which we are all losing the above numbered skills due to technology.

Posted By: mzplayer01 @ 10/17/2008 12:35:23 PM

Comment: your comment sounds like crap!!

Posted By: mzplayer01 @ 10/17/2008 12:02:47 PM

Comment: GO OBAMA!!!!

Posted By: mzplayer01 @ 10/17/2008 12:02:17 PM

Comment: When i take a huge poop on my computer it tells me exactly what ive eaten. in this case today it said CORN

Posted By: ochuks @ 10/17/2008 11:40:22 AM

Comment: I totally agree with Wisconsin-Madison.

No one can predict what the future holds in stock for us.

Philip Emefe

Posted By: robia427 @ 10/17/2008 11:17:38 AM

Comment: If increased use of technology correlates highly with decreaesd ability to socialize (in the traditional way), wouldn't the tech-savy people be the ones "selected" out of the population? Those who lack traditional social skills, it would seem, might have a tougher time finding a mate...

Posted By: robia427 @ 10/17/2008 11:15:38 AM

Comment: Well, if increased use of technology correlates highly with decreased use of traditional social skills, wouldn't it seem that the technologically savy would be the ones to be "selected" out of the population? Those who can't socialize properly would have a hard time finding a mate, wouldn't you think?

Posted By: mzplayer01 @ 10/17/2008 10:44:23 AM

Comment: This is a very interesting comment, but I'm very skeptical that natural selection can be involved in this. I'm no expert, but wouldn't natrual selection in this case require that people who are predisposed (by DNA) to interact well with digital information have a better chance at survival and reproduction? It sounds to me like this study simply shows that all our brains are highly adaptable at a young age. I doubt anyone is is already "hardwired" is going to die sooner or even reproduce less and even if they did, it only matters if we are taking something out of the gene pool. This article doesn't seem to say anything about differences between people who are predisposed to work well with technology and those who arent
WHAT A ***!!!!!!

Posted By: mzplayer01 @ 10/17/2008 10:40:54 AM

Comment: sometimes when i poop on my keyboard it actually acts like its mad at ME. It does have a brain and seems not to like corn.

Posted By: mzplayer01 @ 10/17/2008 10:39:58 AM

Comment: sometimes when i poop on my keyboard it gets all fried like it actually mad at ME. It has a brain and seems not to like corn.

Posted By: danred99 @ 10/17/2008 10:10:34 AM

Comment: This is a very interesting comment, but I'm very skeptical that natural selection can be involved in this. I'm no expert, but wouldn't natrual selection in this case require that people who are predisposed (by DNA) to interact well with digital information have a better chance at survival and reproduction? It sounds to me like this study simply shows that all our brains are highly adaptable at a young age. I doubt anyone is is already "hardwired" is going to die sooner or even reproduce less and even if they did, it only matters if we are taking something out of the gene pool. This article doesn't seem to say anything about differences between people who are predisposed to work well with technology and those who arent

Posted By: Richards @ 10/17/2008 9:15:36 AM

Comment: I sometimes feel that, when the machines delays to open or function, I often get angry and my BP rises. This could be dangerous and discouraging as missing a letter or card at boarding school pegion hole.

Posted By: Gordon F. Terry @ 10/17/2008 9:06:43 AM

Comment: FARRR-OOOOUUUUUUTTTT

Posted By: Gordon F. Terry @ 10/17/2008 9:05:54 AM

Comment: farrr-oouuuuuttttt

Posted By: justin cool @ 10/17/2008 2:34:06 AM

Comment: goods news....

Posted By: justin cool @ 10/17/2008 2:33:32 AM

Comment: good news ...thank you...

Posted By: ClementW @ 10/16/2008 11:40:56 AM

Comment: The internet is definitely changing the way children learn. Attention Deficit Disorder may by related to this or, more likely, what is being diagnosed as Attenton Deficit Disorder is really the inability to ponder the information obtained easily allowing the child the opportunity to go elsewhere having satisfied the immediate want or need. As an adult, I have found myself over the last few years as internet speeds have increased, being able to get deeper and deeper into the subject. I expect that children of the internet era have lost or are losing the ability to use their imaginative abilities and their curiosity will end up being shallow as a result of being too easily satisfied.

It would be very interesting to do a study on childhood curiosity using the frequency of use of the word "Why" by children in different age groups and comparing it over a period of perhaps the next 5 years. It would have great implications for education and mental health. I believe we are indeed seeing the birth of a new "Disease".

Posted By: garyrose66 @ 10/15/2008 12:55:16 PM

Comment: The main problem is not socialization; that is a symptom. A majority of children who have computers now read, research, and analyze almost exclusively off the computer; book reading is done only when assigned, and this has led to a change in the way children acquire information and process it. They can only concentrate on a few lines at a time. Dense intricate language cannot be followed. They learn to skim for key words, then scroll for more. They want the answers to pop up; they cannot follow sequential ideas to create a conclusion. They read just enough for an answer to a question; they don't question the text for why or how . The same thing is occurring in socialization; lack of depth in assessment, inability to reason through sequential concepts to reach a conclusion; need for instant shallow responses, immediate reaction to appearance without assessing why or how. That is the shift I see, and I have two teenagers who are high achievers in school, and I see all their friends who are also the high achiever crowd at schools.

Posted By: JRamirez86 @ 10/15/2008 10:44:04 AM

Comment: This article is related to class discussion two weeks ago about the rise of Web 2.0 technologies and how students' minds are adapting to such changes. The rise of technology does have implications for the field of education because many students are familiar with technological literacies from which they access and create information. One key point that we focused on was the way in which the human mind is changed by such technologies. After understanding this, then we can move on to how we can incorporate these in our classrooms.

Also, I wanted to respond to the poster about how we no longer teach "proper grammar" or "sentence diagramming" in our classrooms. According to Freeman & Freeman in Essential Linguistics, teaching grammar has no significant impacts in terms of cognitive abilities. In fact, all these grammar rules we know about were imposed by Latin teachers once Latin was no longer the language of schooling. Therefore, we should consider what motivates us to teach "grammar rules" in our classrooms.

Posted By: JRamirez86 @ 10/15/2008 10:41:30 AM

Comment: jh

Posted By: prudishbunion @ 10/15/2008 9:24:53 AM

Comment: I have been teaching third-graders for seven years and have already seen a difference in the way they learn. The parts of their brains that are used while playing video games are growing at the cost of the parts that control impulsivity, pro-active problem solving, and anything that takes longer than half a second to process or requires deep thought. The future will require "less of the traditional social skills and learning strategies that we have cultivated over eons". It is not our socialization that concerns me for the future, it is our ability to think beyond the reactionary.

Posted By: prudishbunion @ 10/15/2008 9:11:06 AM

Comment: As a teacher of third-graders, I was hoping the study would delve into the educational ramifications of technology use. I have been teaching for seven years, and have already seen a difference in the way kids learn and think. The parts of their brains that are used while playing video games are growing at the cost of the parts of their brains that control impulsivity, proactive problem solving, traditional social skills, and anything else that requires more that a half a second to process.

Posted By: benluclar @ 10/15/2008 8:49:24 AM

Comment: Oh, I just have to comment on the apostrophe postings below and, secondly, the social interaction theory.
Advertising careers -- my pre-retired state of mind -- give a person a strange insight to the way people evolve socially over decades. I noticed back in the 1980s (onset of computers) that even college graduates, when doing resumes which I was preparing for their job search, would use the funniest notion of their qualifications. For example, one I remember in particular mentioned as a special social skill he had was the fact that he ''swept the floor on Saturdy without supervision". Anothr said they worked at a weekend job at a restaurant that served (ad I quote) "PANCAKE'S".
Lesson here was that back in the 80s I noticed a tremendous trend for college students to use an apostrophe with ANY WORD that had an 's' in it. It was uncanny .... and alarming.
So, now I wonder, was that the decade in which our learning systems began to no longer teach the difference between PLURAL and POSSESSIVE, or was it because primary education no longer taught one of English's best lessons: the art of SENTENCE DIAGRAMMING?
I think that, in all fairness, these studies should include the course of EDUCATION EVOLUTION versus (or including) the use of technology and the impact on the brain and its ability for social interaction.

Posted By: BRobertson @ 10/15/2008 8:26:09 AM

Comment: I wish that people, particularly news reporters would stop using the word "evolution" referring to subjects that aren't evolution. In paragraph one, the line "As the brain evolves and shifts its focus towards new technological skills, it drifts away from fundamental social skills." is quoted, then in the second paragraph, the line "Still, that's not the same thing as evolution." is used.

Posted By: Victorious Mary @ 10/15/2008 8:25:24 AM

Comment: What does this mean for the world of education? How can we use this information to form the upcoming generation to be what it needs to be as future leaders and interactors in our own country and in the world?

Digital learning is one thing but face to face interactions with others does have its time and place and skill. Which is the more humanly accepted? Which is going to be the one which will bring happiness and fulfillment over the long haul of life? I am not expecting answers. It is something for us to think about and discuss. We are preparing our students for life long success now for a future which we are still do not know even on a brain development level.

Posted By: azvoiceteacher @ 10/15/2008 8:20:28 AM

Comment: I'm counselor specializing in teenage behavior. I work with teenagers every day and I can tell you the lack of social skills is alarming. They also exhibit very dangerous behavior sexually usually knowing a person only a few days (if that) before having sex. Most teen relationships last less than a month because they don't know how to interact. A good example is a couple that when texting got along great but in the same room together could not communicate at all. Also studies regarding their gaming behavior shows a huge increas in th release of dopamine which causes their addiction. Most of the kids don't arrive at school until after noon because they can't get up for school having played on the computer or video games all night.

Posted By: daniellie08 @ 10/15/2008 8:18:51 AM

Comment: This is not evolution. It will only become evolution if it becomes a heritable trait selected for by a potential mate. It is adaptation, which is one of the first steps towards evolving. And I'm not so sure this womans niece is as vulnerable as she thinks. She might just be in that self absorbed pre/teenage state. Either way I think its wrong to blame her overall behavior to her involvement with technology.

Posted By: charmioconnor @ 10/15/2008 7:34:05 AM

Comment: Saw my niece in the store and spoke to her and her mother. The niece did not make any eye contact or say hello, keeping her full attention on her texting, and grinning privately occasionally. The thought that crossed my mind was that she was very vulnerable, as she did not indicate any acknowledgment that she was aware of her surroundings at all. What if her environment were in some way unsafe? How is her brain wired to deal with that?

Posted By: Alison Driscoll @ 10/15/2008 7:31:22 AM

Comment: Interesting that what sounds like a logical adaptation actually has some scientific study to support it. I think it's most intriguing to contrast people in their early 20s with those just 5 or 10 years younger and see the marked difference in the way these two age groups differ.

Posted By: cintimarg @ 10/15/2008 7:26:55 AM

Comment: I'm with ranchozaragoza. If you don't know the difference between "it's" and "its," your information falls on blind eyes.

Posted By: cintimarg @ 10/15/2008 7:25:39 AM

Comment: It's hard to accept "evidence" when it's presented with incorrect grammar. I'm with ranchozaragoza; "it's" means "it is," not "belonging to it."

Posted By: ranchozaragoza @ 10/15/2008 7:23:52 AM

Comment: Well, I Googled "possessive pronouns" and found that nothing has changed with that: They still don't get apostrophes.

Posted By: ranchozaragoza @ 10/15/2008 7:21:35 AM

Comment: Well, I Googled "possessive pronouns" and found out that nothing has changed there: They still don't get apostrophes.

Posted By: kalyan @ 10/15/2008 3:34:22 AM

Comment: hi, i am an addict . can you chang my mind ?

Posted By: zale1549 @ 10/14/2008 11:11:37 PM

Comment: very interesting article!!!. being a 63 year old "digital imigrant" i feel the difference between my two worlds. computer reading on a daily basis i feel is wonderful mind exercise and i see the difference when i
spend time with friends my age who do not use the computer. thanks again!

Posted By: benluclar @ 10/14/2008 9:18:28 PM

Comment: I believe this and am not startled to hear these conclusions.
My whole working life I was a computer operator before it was politically correct for everyone to have one, working in the newspaper and advertising sector, and am now retired and 60 years old. I spend hours a day on the computer doing work and reading news.
The difference is this: when I was working steadily and on the computer, I was a hyperactive workaholic, with quick-wittedness and energy second to none. However, now at this age, and after two concussions, I find myself a nervous wreck from too much stimulation caused by long periods of computer interaction. It noticeably affects me differently and more profoundly.
I hope to read more about this in the coming weeks, as I find this very interesting.
Thank you for this article.

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