Getting well-informed without losing ability to focus

High-tech world has made many advancements to make our lives easier. But with brain evolving and shifting its technological skills, it drifts away from fundamental social skills.

We are facing an information overload today that may outpace our brains’ capacity to assimilate the surge. The challenge is to be well-informed without being inundated. As the data to be consumed grows exponentially our ability to focus may be seriously undermined, making us uncritical, inattentive or even irritable.

The eventual adjustments to cope with the expanding information overreach may bring about changes as suggested by scientist Dr. Gary Small, the author of “iBrain.” He believed that the dramatic shift in how we gather information and communicate may eventually precipitate brain development. That impact is now being studied.

Perhaps not since early man discovered how to use a tool has the human brain been bombarded so dramatically, according to Dr. Small. “As the brain evolves and shifts its focus towards new technological skills, it drifts away from fundamental social skills,” he states.

Studies using brain imaging showed that the people tend take six to eight seconds longer to respond fully to stories of virtue or social pain, things in the realm of morals than the time taken to react to mundane matters at an unemotive level.

Scientists suggest a slow-down or building “firebreaks” into our consumption of reams of info. Digital bingeing or constant bombardment by outside high-intensity stimuli is unhealthy. We need to digest the information, match it with culturally resonant reactions and then execute well-considered behavioural responses.

Slow reaction to terror

Info overload may have made us shrug off the normal inclination to take definite action on matters of critical importance. The slowness with which many people reacted to the horrors of terrorist atrocities everywhere is shown as an example of the reluctance to stand up to debauchery by some even in the face of unspeakably ruthless acts of horror.

The data-numbed brains seemed to state “whatever” to the troubles confronting many. The trauma we witness on our screens - and the indignation that it should ignite “seemed to have gone unprocessed as our minds sought refuge in trivial things like “who was winning the talent shows or what happened at the movies.

The more swamped we are the less we show a sense of caring “oblivious to humane considerations. One fear is that addiction to habitual rapid web browsing can, ironically, block our ability to develop apt or wise decisions.

Anxiety over mind-lag

The sense of mind-lag that resulted from info-overload with significant levels of anxiety and depression had been raised by recent studies. Streaming digital news may now run faster than our ability to make moral judgments. Rapid info-bursts about violence and suffering are consumed on a “yes-so what” level without making us indignant, compassionate or inspired to act.

Many in the West seemed spurred on by a primitive impulse to respond immediately to a multiplicity of demands, perceived opportunities or emergent errands. The heightened stimulation or a rush of adrenaline is inevitable. It is no rocket science. The addiction to web browsing is overwhelming.

Multitasking often leads to tedium or absolute boredom. The resulting mind-set could lead to deadly consequences: We know what havoc cell-phone-sporting drivers and train engineers reportedly wrecked. The dopamine gush has reached giddy heights. Far graver damage may have inflicted our psyche causing a sizeable drop in creativity.

Our inborn traits sidelined

Researchers at the California University, San Diego, announced recently that they had compelling evidence that even the universal traits of human wisdom empathy, compassion, altruism, tolerance and emotional stability are hard-wired into our brains.

The deluge of information often changes those perspectives. We are born with the capacity to grow wise. The info blitz of modern life can sideline it. The neurons associated with those caring attributes seem to be bypassed when people feel stressful and their primitive survival instincts grab the controls according to research by scientist Prof Dilip Jeste. Psychosocially positive behaviours such as admiration and indignation are more work for the brain than basic emotions such as pain response.

Research by scientists at the Southern California University Brain and Creativity Institute showed that, while we pick up signs of other people’s pain and fear in a flash, it can take significantly longer time for our minds to develop socially evolved responses such as compassion.

Need for relaxing breaks

The study points to the need to take relaxing breaks from our daily data-browsing or risk becoming ethically numbed by it all. The gravitational pull of the attention-requiring info-overload hallmarks the digital age.

In comparison the lack of more measured response dealing with deeper experiences may be causing psychologically adverse impacts according to the research done so far.

The human mind’s information-gathering capacity is being tested, for sure. Scientists have suggested that we develop new, calmer conventions for media consumption, rather than carry on trying to multi-task ever faster in a doomed attempt to keep pace.

In 2006 the world produced 161 exabytes (an exabyte is one billion bytes) of digital data stored, according to the Columbia Journalism Review.

That is three million times the information contained in all the books ever written. By next year, the total is expected to reach 988 exabytes.

We may be reaching the point of reversal, the brain’s self protective reaction to info-overload to shut down. Two cultural critics Arthur and Marilouise Kroker in their book Digital Delirium pointed out that faster the advance in technology slower the speed of thought and still slower the rate at which society changed.

It is feared that accelerating digital advancement may not cause the necessary responsive changes in the brain.