Surfing the Internet and Motivation to Learn

We are beginning to see results of research who study the impact of technology on the human brain. Recently a book was published, authored by Gary Small M.D. titled iBrain. It is a review of studies which show the impact of cell phones, iPods, text messaging, TV, computers, surfing the internet, and gaming.

His point and that of many other authors like him focuses on that fact that brains develop and change based on what mental task is required of them. Therefore, when faced with the impact of technology a child’s brain will form networks of neurons to enable it to better serve or master the activity required of it. When one part of the brain is being exercised another part will not be.

Some conclusions from this research are positive and some are disturbing where a child’s motivation is involved. Some positive things appear to be that technology can help children process information faster and in greater quantities. The reason they are disturbing is that many school teachers are telling about increasing numbers of students who are unmotivated. Many parents are feeling the effects of that from children who will not do homework or who put up a frustrating fight when asked to do it. They would prefer to spend time on the computer or doing something else with TV, e-mail, text messaging, games, and etc. Let’s see if we can understand why.

These researchers have discovered what they believe is a new mental state. It is called “consistent partial awareness,” which comes from doing several tasks at the same time and which is learned because the mental tasks required of technology do not include deep analytical thinking or reasoning. This mental state may be related to a shorter attention span and boredom, especially when children are faced with the form of learning that takes place in classrooms. This type of learning is where a teacher is talking and students listen and occasionally discuss, they read, and they work on projects which required sustained thought.

Other research has focused on the idea that surfing the internet activates and exercises parts of the brain which impact decision making. For instance, in the natural developmental path children make decisions using the temporal lobes or centers of the brain by the ear and below it. This allows them to be concerned for self preservation and focus on the simplest and central parts of a decision. But, it is not the most mature form of decision making. When mature adults make decisions they are more likely to use the pre frontal lobes, in the front of the brain, which are the centers for complex problem solving and permit an individual to take into account more things which are related to the decision. One of these is the impact of the decision on other people or seeing the potential consequences. Some initial research suggests that technology exercises and therefore builds the centers in the temporal lobes but not the pre frontal lobes. These means that individuals will be more self absorbed, impulsive, and less likely to understand the consequences for their decisions on others.

Lastly, for today, there is evidence that high users of technology are less likely to develop the centers of the brain which enable them to understand emotional and facial cues. This suggests that such individuals will be less comfortable in face to face communication.

To understand the possibilities of all this, consider the requirements placed on any individual student in a typical family or classroom. Work needs to be done, listening and attention are required. Rules need to be paid attention to and exist because parents and teachers are trying to provide healthy environments for every student. Students will be required to cooperate, be responsible, and succeed with one another. Now, what if your child is not able to successfully participate in this environment. He or she will become bored, display problems with conduct, and feel unmotivated.

What could we do? We need to place children in situations where they are involved with people and participate more often in social relationships. Then we need to structure their time with technology so what they do there is balanced with other experiences such as hands on learning, reading books, and participating in parent-child learning adventures. Learning can and should be interesting and exciting. Whether students find learning exciting may depend on whether their brains are exercised in the right places.