Technology’s Impact on Brain Utilization: Trojan Horse of The Tech Revolution

Technology can be defined as using peripherals and new techniques to enhance the day-to-day life of people. In today’s context, there are numerous peripherals and techniques that have uplifted the human lifestyle. From the tiny nano particle to the humongous skyscrapers are evident as examples of this technological rising. At present, the advancement of technology has created a very user friendly surrounding around us.  Everything we seek for is a mere fingertip away.

Are we loosing Touch?

With this massive boost in technology, a lot of discussion is depicted in the areas of how these advances has affected on the human independence. On a present day context, we should,  alarmingly admit that we are very dependent on technology and have so much reliance on tiny gadgets labeled with catchy phrases such as automation, smart, sophistication, intelligent and etc… while we thrive forward very proudly boast of  the fact that we are very well supported with numerous “gadgemetics” created using top notch technology, we care to simply ignore the basic argument that we have paid a huge price in pursuit of  this level of convenience; that we are at the verge of abandoning lengthy list of perks that only human beings are blessed with.  These perks, we can collective call them “Human Independence”.

Recent researches have clearly shown that the brain utilization of the humans have drastically diminished amid the introduction of various technologies. Scientists have been proving to the world continuously that the new advances in life free brain from utilization in large scale in areas like memory, stochastic thinking, simple mathematics and so on…

These ample amenities have caused massive blow on human life in terms of memory utilization. It is a agonizing reality to reveal that we can simply reflect our own way of life and isolate numerous examples that prove this obvious truth. We no longer can remember a simple mobile phone number.  We cannot spell a word properly without a word processor. We hardly remember driving directions. This is how badly dependence on technology has downgraded our skills. Research work conducted by Author Nocholas Carr, author of  the book “Is Google making us stupid?” and Dr. Gary Small, Professor of Psychiatry & Bio-behavioral Sciences, and Director of the UCLA Center on Aging suggest through their research that the new technology does have a very serious impact of rewiring of neural networks in the human brain. Too much dependence on modern communication results in weak memory. “People who use tools to store information on their behalf, would likely find it difficult to remember many things”, said Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, vice-chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) at the opening of the ICT Inovate week 2008 in Penang.

We indulge ourselves in the bogus concept shining brightly saying “New is always better”. But haven’t we evolved from hardworking, athletic personnel to a figurative vegetable that spends the majority of our time stationary in front of a computer staring at a flood of information feeds? The advancement of service industry has envisioned the world to a brand new level of convenience and luxury which comes at a terrible cost of human health.

In further discussion of technology’s impact on human activity, we cannot ignore the severe perceptional drift mankind is going through. It is surprising how human perceptions and values have evolved (rather had a massive blow) with the enhancement of technology. Our human relationships and inter dependencies have been drastically replaced with lonely, self-centered souls strongly entangled in self-contempt.  It is also a pity how we have lost the ability of Emotional Quotient of our brain which helps us to take very accurate decisions based on human instincts. With the advancement of technology, the rapid evolution of knowledge areas such as cognitive science, human perception, logic, philosophy, and reasoning sciences, the impact of the methodology implemented by our own selves have rather changed. The dark hour of reason has crushed the Emotional Intelligence that has been naturally gifted to mankind.

Mankind still is thriving forward rapidly having their focus on one aspect of development. It is high time that we understand and be aware of the world view before it is too late.