Technology and the Brain

Recently, five brain scientists spent a week in May in a remote area of Utah, rafting the San Juan River, camping on its banks, and hiking the tributary canyons.  A New York Times article "Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain" described this as "a primitive trip with a sophisticated goal: to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects."

The trip was organized by David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah, who is studying "what happens when we step away from our devices and rest our brains — in particular how attention, memory, and learning are affected."  Strayer observed...

"Attention is the holy grail.  Everything that you're conscious of, everything you let in, everything you remember and you forget, depends on it....  On a day-to-day basis, too much digital stimulation can take people who would be functioning O.K. and put them in a range where they're not psychologically healthy."

Strayer and fellow trip participant Paul Atchley, professor at the University of Kansas who studies teenagers' compulsive use of cell phones, argue that "heavy technology use can inhibit deep thought and cause anxiety, and that getting out into nature can help."  They planned the trip to prove their point.

Find everything you need, all in one place, all online.

Internet-based Childcare Management Software

Cutting-edge technology at an affordable price.  Attendance tracking, financial reports, monitor employees, communicate with parents & much more!  Monitor your business from home or while traveling.     

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.

© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site