What Happens to Your Brain When You Look at TV and Smartphones for a Long Time?
what does this lead to and is it not a disaster for our intellectual abilities? Modern researchers have come to grips with this issue.
Even 20 years ago, watching TV was considered a common thing. With news, movies and TV shows, people spent the weekend, and it seemed to them that time in the company flies unnoticed. Switching from one monitor to another is a habit that the British called double screening. But what happens to our brain at this moment?
Fatigue
As you know, the human brain cannot perform several tasks at the same time. Evolution did not see fit to share this functionality with us. Don’t believe it? Then try to place bets at any online bookmaker and at the same time solve mathematical examples in your mind. As soon as the brain receives two or more tasks, it starts to freeze. That is why the laws of many countries prohibit driving and talking on the phone at the same time. In this case, you will consciously perform only one action, and the second will be performed automatically and, most likely, of poor quality.
Interaction with several gadgets at the same time is also multitasking. Modern media put us in such conditions, but it is already difficult to fix anything. We listen to podcasts, immediately watch videos and read an article with one eye. And all this with the TV on. The result is too much sensory stimulation. Now it is more relevant than ever.
Weakening of Attention and Low Concentration
Studies conducted by modern psychologists and doctors have shown that the volume of the brain areas responsible for the concentration of attention in people who live in conditions of media multitasking is much smaller than in the control group.
How quickly and intensively the brain will change under the influence of gadgets is not clear. But the fact remains: the results of such interaction with monitors are reflected in the performance of specific tasks and the effectiveness of your work.
Change in Brain Structure
If you are a fan of watching TV and simultaneously scrolling the smartphone feed, you should be aware that first of all, you may experience changes in the structure of the anterior cingulate cortex, which is necessary for performing important cognitive functions. These include the analysis of facts when making decisions, the control of emotions and the management of impulsivity. That is people who switch their attention between several gadgets at the same time risk becoming nervous, impulsive and not ready for serious and deep analysis. If you make a choice and make a decision based on the first thought and surface emotion that comes to mind, you risk making more than one mistake.
Brain Plasticity as a Risk Factor
But why do we so easily lose the ability to concentrate and think analytically? Such rapid changes are associated with brain plasticity. This is the body that instantly adapts to the surrounding reality and begins to change. In 2004, the theory of plasticity was proven by the neuroscientist Bogdan Draganski. He built his explanation around asking people to learn new skills and controlling whether the brain changed as they did so.
Positive Moment
On the one hand, a low concentration of attention nullifies all our efforts to solve complex multi-stage tasks. But on the other hand, the modern digital world requires mobility and speed from us. The digital stream covers us like an avalanche in the mountains, and only those who are used to exist in such conditions will be able to survive.
