Hi,
I'm interested in the effects of Internet use on cognition/attention. I've looked in the nootropics community for talk about this but I've found little. To remedy that I've created a survey that I hope will get some responses. It's only five multiple choice questions; it should only take a minute. Please fill it out and pass it on to a friend who's interested in nootropics or another nootropics community.
I've just posted this same thread on r/nootropics. I'm just saying this clearly so I'm not accused of spamming; these are the two largest nootropics communities that I'm aware of. Here's the reddit thread:
https://www.reddit.c...as_a_factor_in/
Here's the survey:
https://docs.google....szVf6I/viewform
To pique interest I'll post some studies suggesting that the topic is worthy of consideration,
Reading Hypertext and the Experience of Literature https://journals.tdl...icle/view/35/37
Hypertext has been promoted as a vehicle that will change literary reading, especially through its recovery of images, supposed to be suppressed by print, and through the choice offered to the reader by links. Evidence from empirical studies of reading, however, suggests that these aspects of hypertext may disrupt reading. In a study of readers who read either a simulated literary hypertext or the same text in linear form, we found a range of significant differences: these suggest that hypertext discourages the absorbed and reflective mode that characterizes literary reading.
The Influence of Cognitive Load on Learning from Hypertext (full article is behind a paywall) http://jec.sagepub.c.../23/3/237.short
Advances in technology have enabled the development of hypertext-based instructional materials. These computerized information presentation systems are becoming increasingly popular as schools and businesses develop the technology infrastructure to support their use; however, before hypertext-based instruction completely takes over the classroom and the boardroom, a number of questions about the utility of this presentation medium must be answered. The present study is an examination of the effects of the cognitive load associated with using hypertext linking capabilities to “criss-cross the conceptual landscape” on student learning. Results indicate that extensive use of hyperlinks to compare and contrast concepts when reading hypertext may inhibit learning. Cognitive load theory is discussed as a possible explanation for these findings.
Cognitive control in media multitaskers http://www.pnas.org/....full.pdf html"
Chronic media multitasking is quickly becoming ubiquitous, although processing multiple incoming streams of information is considered a challenge for human cognition. A series of experiments addressed whether there are systematic differences in information processing styles between chronically heavy and light media multitaskers. A trait media multitasking index was developed to identify groups of heavy and light media multitaskers. These two groups were then compared along established cognitive control dimensions. Results showed that heavy media multitaskers are more susceptible to interference from irrelevant environmental stimuli and from irrelevant representations in memory. This led to the surprising result that heavy media multitaskers performed worse on a test of task-switching ability, likely due to reduced ability to filter out interference from the irrelevant task set. These results demonstrate that media multitasking, a rapidly growing societal trend, is associated with a distinct approach to fundamental information processing.
Your brain on Google: patterns of cerebral activation during internet searching http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/19155745
Although the present findings must be interpreted cautiously in light of the exploratory design of this study, they suggest that Internet searching may engage a greater extent of neural circuitry not activated while reading text pages but only in people with prior computer and Internet search experience. These observations suggest that in middle-aged and older adults, prior experience with Internet searching may alter the brain's responsiveness in neural circuits controlling decision making and complex reasoning.
I'm not totally convinced to what extent there's a problem or what the right solution is. If anyone has thoughts or more studies feel free to post them here or in the survey.
Thanks!
