Another thing that the all-encompassing
presence of technology does is allows us to pursue topics that are of
interest to us and to avoid topics that we don't think are all that
interesting. We can have it our way. Now when it comes to educating
our children and ourselves, it's important to expose ourselves to
things we may not necessarily be interested in. When someone proposes
a class in some unfamiliar area of Christian doctrine, there is a
tendency to avoid that class or to allow your children to avoid such
a study.
Bauerlein writes, “For education to happen, people must encounter worthwhile things outside their sphere of interest and brainpower. Knowledge grows, skills improve, tastes refine, and conscience ripens only if the experiences bear a degree of unfamiliarity.” (Dumbest, page 145)
From this I take it that we shouldn't
try to get off easy when it comes to what kind of learning we subject
ourselves or our children to. If we continually read things that we
are already interested in we won't learn much. With our technology
the tendency is to read about and follow trains of thought that are
of interest to us. Because there is so much information available, we
do not need to explore the unknown or difficult. One would think that
having the proliferation of technology would allow people to learn
more and grow more. But the natural tendency is the reverse. It is
not natural to delve into something difficult or that we think we
wouldn't understand. But if we don't, our minds won't be
strengthened.
As technology moves along there is a tendency to substitute web reading for book reading. As an older person who was raised on books, I find that I read the web much the same way I read a book. This is not the case with younger readers. And if I spend more and more time reading online rather than in a linear text such as a book, my brain will be affected and changed as well. Book reading affects regions of the brain for language, memory and visual processing whereas web reading affects the brain areas for decision making and problem solving. (Dumbest, page 120) Why the difference? Because when reading the web there are hyperlinks and ads and other messages along the periphery of the text that causes your brain to constantly be making decisions as to the relative importance of these links.
Deep reading is hindered by
problem solving. Intelligence requires taking things into short term
memory and then weaving it into conceptual schemas in long term
memory. If our problem solving areas of the brain are active, the
concentration and focus aren't there to transfer information into
long term memory. Our problem solving capacity has been using up
brain power to decide on which links to click on or avoid. This can
overload working memory which results in distracted-ness,
“understanding” weakened by overloading
Why am I
emphasizing all of this detail? Because I think we as Christians
should have an idea of what's at stake. As we read the Bible and
religious texts about the Bible and Christian devotional life, God
wants us to meditate and reflect deeply on the truths they contain.
In order for that to happen, we need to understand what we read and
then take that information deeply into our lives where all sorts of
interconnections can be made so that it affects our life. It's
important to understand that out-of-control technology and its
resulting distractedness can rewire our brain in such a way that
understanding and assimilating the truths of Scripture can be
severely impaired. We certainly shouldn't want that to happen to
ourselves, and we especially need to be careful to prevent that from
happening to those who are most susceptible to this danger, our
children.
Next
time we'll look at some additional steps you can take to help prevent
this from happening to you and your children.
References:
Bauerlein,
Mark. The Dumbest Generation.
New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2008.
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