Digital Dementia

[grip]

Surge in 'digital dementia' - Telegraph

Doctors in South Korea are reporting a surge in "digital dementia" among young people who have become so reliant on electronic devices that they can no longer remember everyday details like their phone numbers.

"Over-use of smartphones and game devices hampers the balanced development of the brain," Byun Gi-won, a doctor at the Balance Brain Centre in Seoul, told the JoongAng Daily newspaper.

"Heavy users are likely to develop the left side of their brains, leaving the right side untapped or underdeveloped," he said.

The right side of the brain is linked with concentration and its failure to develop will affect attention and memory span, which could in as many as 15 per cent of cases lead to the early onset of dementia.

According to this we're raising a generation of dysfunctional idiots. Apparently playing with the smart phone 6-7 hrs a day ain't so smart?

Anybody think this is exaggerating or are we obsessed/addicted to the point of distraction?

 

[Superfly]

I've wondered what would happen if we lost electricity. We would be lost. Absolutely lost. A handful of those survivor-type people like on Discovery Channel would do OK, but the rest of us would, at least in the beginning, be screwed.

If I lost my contacts in my phone, I'd be OK, because I have a dry erase board in my kitchen beside the kitchen phone, and all my contacts are on there in case my kids ever need them. It'd just be a pain, loading them all back in the phone. Also, I'd lose a ton of pictures.

I don't use it enough, though, to have early onset dementia.

 

[grip]

I've wondered what would happen if we lost electricity. We would be lost. Absolutely lost. A handful of those survivor-type people like on Discovery Channel would do OK, but the rest of us would, at least in the beginning, be screwed.

If I lost my contacts in my phone, I'd be OK, because I have a dry erase board in my kitchen beside the kitchen phone, and all my contacts are on there in case my kids ever need them. It'd just be a pain, loading them all back in the phone. Also, I'd lose a ton of pictures.

I don't use it enough, though, to have early onset dementia.

The most realistic scenario of losing power for any length of time comes from a major solar flare/EMP event from blowing out transformers or a cyber attack. Congress had a bill in front of it called the Grid to protect it from these scenarios but it died. Now there's a new one called SHIELD that has some support this time.

It wouldn't take much to insulate the transformers but the electric companies are too cheap to want to put up any money, so they lobby heavily against these bills. It's estimated over 90% of the population would die if we lost electricity for months. It's unbelievable that they don't fix this.

I have a hard drive backup of all my photos, videos, songs and personal files. I took an old hard drive out of a PC I replaced and bought a USB connector for it.

Early onset dementia will affect young adults and children who still have developing brains. Adults in this case we be less affected. It can still cause memory problems and create some functional disabilities but nothing too serious.

 

[Superfly]

I read a book not long ago called, "Blackout," by Stephanie Erickson. It was about an event just such as this - I believe it was an EMP pulse that basically fried the planet. A woman is a teacher on the East coast (IIRC) and her husband is a pilot on the West coast. It was an interesting read - kind of sophomoric in it's writing, and the ending was very abrupt. Would have liked maybe one more chapter for closure. I burned through it in a couple of days, but only because I love those types of stories.

 

[grip]

I read a book not long ago called, "Blackout," by Stephanie Erickson. It was about an event just such as this - I believe it was an EMP pulse that basically fried the planet. A woman is a teacher on the East coast (IIRC) and her husband is a pilot on the West coast. It was an interesting read - kind of sophomoric in it's writing, and the ending was very abrupt. Would have liked maybe one more chapter for closure. I burned through it in a couple of days, but only because I love those types of stories.

Scientists will tell you it's not a matter of "if" we'll have another solar flare but "when". There was a major one back in the 1800's that knocked out the telegraph system but there was no running electricity, so no big deal. You'd think as important as our power is to modern life we'd protect it better? With no power we'd have no fresh water, food storage or transportation for more, game over.

If I heard about an event that hit only the US, I'd try to immediately book a flight out of country.

The rage now days is this stupid "zombie" crap that's not realistic. We might have a serious virus outbreak like with this MERS respiratory illness but not freaking cannibals. Maybe if people get digital dementia bad enough they'll eat their smart phones? :lol:

 

[Superfly]

LOL I love the zombie stuff, but I love it all in fun. There's a lot more to worry about what can happen to us now without worrying that we are going to have our brains eaten. I guess I look at it as, the more you have, the more you have to lose. We have a lot to lose in this country. A lot. People don't think about just how bad things will break down - just by losing power.

 

[grip]

LOL I love the zombie stuff, but I love it all in fun. There's a lot more to worry about what can happen to us now without worrying that we are going to have our brains eaten. I guess I look at it as, the more you have, the more you have to lose. We have a lot to lose in this country. A lot. People don't think about just how bad things will break down - just by losing power.

This younger generation (30yr or less) have never lived without modern technology and easy means. Back in the 70's people were a lot poorer overall and didn't have computers, cell phones, DVD-VCR, video games, microwaves, cable or very nice cars. Many didn't even have central air & heat.

I think some of them are already like zombies with the dumb looks on their faces.

 

[Superfly]

LOL right. I think it's funny that, in the event of a breakdown, the ones to save the world would probably be the boomers that the under-30 crowd hates.

 

[grip]

LOL right. I think it's funny that, in the event of a breakdown, the ones to save the world would probably be the boomers that the under-30 crowd hates.

These 30 yr punks running multi national corporations have the maturity and sense of a doodle bug.

 

[Spartacus FPV]

These 30 yr punks running multi national corporations have the maturity and sense of a doodle bug.

I guess I'm one of those punks, I cannot remember a single phone number other than my own and my mother's. But I didn't start forgetting #'s until High School, back before I had a cell phone I had at least 30 #'s memorized... I still remember all of those. Including my old 2nd line @ my mother's house.

 

[Helix]

reading something on the net is no different than reading a book : it just depends what you're reading. i tend to doubt that debating and interacting with people online is rotting my brain.

i remember when television and rock and roll was going to destroy society. now it's computers and smartphones.

ok, i'm losing interest in this subject; time to go watch cat videos.

 

[grip]

I guess I'm one of those punks, I cannot remember a single phone number other than my own and my mother's. But I didn't start forgetting #'s until High School, back before I had a cell phone I had at least 30 #'s memorized... I still remember all of those. Including my old 2nd line @ my mother's house.

Not every 30 yr old is an asshole or executive but I think there are a lot of them. I don't remember names or numbers either, never did.

 

[tech30528]

EMP or solar flare is actually near the top of the list of real disasters according to FEMA. We have a solar flare/ EMP scenario training course for our CERN group on Saturday, it will be interesting to see what we discuss. While communications would be a major issue, the lack of refrigeration is what would most likely be the big killer. We would likely have to go back to propane or natural gas refrigerators. They are a very simple design and use very little gas.

Oh, and the "zombie" thing: For some it just a fantasy scenario, when you hear "preppers" talking about zombie scenarios it is really a blanket scenario for planning for anything without being too specific about what that may be.

 

[Gipper]

I know my mom's number, my dad's number, my number, my aunt's number, and one of my girlfriend's numbers. I could manage.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

Surge in 'digital dementia' - Telegraph




According to this we're raising a generation of dysfunctional idiots. Apparently playing with the smart phone 6-7 hrs a day ain't so smart?

Anybody think this is exaggerating or are we obsessed/addicted to the point of distraction?

Funny - because I've read that we use more brain power, now, than ever before - and are capable of computing and processing a larger amount of information in one sitting than in the past.

I guess it depends on the scientists, or those who they study. :shrug:

Non-issue in my view. I use the computer and my devices to expand my knowledge - not to keep up with menial little things that I can do on my own. I guess some people are too reliant - but that doesn't constitute for a large percent of the population and odds are - they'll suffer heart attacks from sitting too much before dementia sets in.

Of course - we can't forget that time hasn't gone by to study the REAL effects - just assumptions on future events.

 

[tech30528]

One casualty of this "everything at your fingertips" age is attention span. Ever watch a teenager on an IPod? They don't even listen to full songs. A few seconds and it's on to something else. Even here on this forum, if you post an article your point had better be explained in the first 2 paragraphs or it will be skipped. I've watched kids play video games for hours on end, seemingly unaware of the passing time.

And that is what I see as the biggest danger. It is not what they are doing, it is what they are not. That time spent is time lost. How important is that? Well, here is an example:

Alexander Hamilton was born between 1755 and 1757. I could probably find a closer date but this was something that struck me when I was reading the Federalist Papers, it was mentioned in the prologue. That means at the time the Revolutionary War started (April 19th 1775) he was no more than 20 years old. At the signing of the Declaration of Independence he was no more than 21. Today a 21 year old is likely to be in school or working a low wage job, and more often than not still living with or off of their parents. I suppose progress is subjective, but in many ways we have not progressed at all, in fact we have taken several steps backward.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

I wonder how many bits of 'knowledge' were basic components in life 75 / 100 / 500 years ago that we're entirely incapable of pulling up - now. At one time remembering numbers wasn't necessary :shrug:

 

[lizzie]

According to this we're raising a generation of dysfunctional idiots. Apparently playing with the smart phone 6-7 hrs a day ain't so smart?

Anybody think this is exaggerating or are we obsessed/addicted to the point of distraction?

In our society, we are replacing cheap entertainment for thoughtfulness and reflection. I don't think that's a good thing.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

In our society, we are replacing cheap entertainment for thoughtfulness and reflection. I don't think that's a good thing.

I write for free publications online - I don't see that. I see the opposite. Knowledge is readily accessible, endless and free - I don't see a dumbing down of people, I see people more able to express their thoughts and communicate with others.

Forums alone are a good sign of this - look at this forum and how it's grown in the last few years. People are finding their beliefs, investigating their theological views and political standpoints. . . and shooting from the hip.

 

[lizzie]

I write for free publications online - I don't see that. I see the opposite. Knowledge is readily accessible, endless and free - I don't see a dumbing down of people, I see people more able to express their thoughts and communicate with others.

Forums alone are a good sign of this - look at this forum and how it's grown in the last few years. People are finding their beliefs, investigating their theological views and political standpoints. . . and shooting from the hip.

I'm not really referring to knowledge, but to self-awareness and emotional security, which seems to be fading in the age of instant communication capability.

 

[Menard_K]

In our society, we are replacing cheap entertainment for thoughtfulness and reflection. I don't think that's a good thing.

I can dig it!

Truly the emperor is NAKED!

 

[GottaGo]

I'd have to dig for the article, but I recently read that the people who deal mainly in 'life on-line' have a tendency to lose grip on RL societal interaction, and some can become dependent on electronic communication. Like those you see constantly checking their texts, or spend a great deal of time in chat rooms (or political boards, lol) and actually fail to develop the ability to interact face to face.

With the information at your finger tips, they also lose the thinking process on how to research something that's not online, old reference books, things of that sort.

I'll see if I can find the article, I found it rather interesting.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

I'm not really referring to knowledge, but to self-awareness and emotional security, which seems to be fading in the age of instant communication capability.

Why do you think that?

 

[lizzie]

Why do you think that?

For several reasons, but in part, because of the rise we have seen in the use of prescription psycho-active drugs for depression and anxiety.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

For several reasons, but in part, because of the rise we have seen in the use of prescription psycho-active drugs for depression and anxiety.

So that's different than this digital dementia theory - and online communications.

That is an interesting point, though - I know quite a few people who struggle with depression and anxiety and rely on medications, though none work and often they make their problems worse.

I think that stems back to the growing and relatively new science which related to psychology (forefathers are Freud, etc) - the forefathers of Psych studies penned what is 'normal' human behavior and then anyone who is not 'normal' is encouraged to be medicated / altered to be 'fixed' . . . sounds to me like the humors which were a main staple of medicine for quite some time in Western-European history.