Technology and the Mind

Life in the present day and age is leaps and bounds different from even twenty or thirty years ago. Technology has now become more essential to our daily lives than ever before, which in turn has an extreme impact on not only millennials, but also on people from previous generations. Our attitudes and outlook on life are extremely different from what they were in the past. While this can be beneficial in regards to productivity and convenience, those exact same benefits could also be interpreted as hindrances and drawbacks.

It's no secret that society is more fast-paced than ever before, and technology plays a direct role in this mindset. Immediate gratification is now considered common and even expected to the point where even the most minute of setbacks can trigger extreme impatience. The "I want it now" mentality is a frightening reality that we are facing, as we are slowly conditioned to rely on technology in our daily lives to the point where we cannot function without it.

Our reliance on technology also has an impact on how the human brain functions as a whole. Regardless of what we are doing on our devices, our brains' processing power is being used, ergo making us fatigued after a certain amount of time. This can and has lead to distraction regarding productivity at school, work, or elsewhere. Memory is another significant factor that is impacted. Nowadays, it is not the information itself that people remember, but where they can find it. This, in turn, stunts the brain's growth in regard to memory and retaining information long-term.

The question now is, what are we to do about this? On a global scale, the answer is, unfortunately, not much. Whether we like it or not, society is going to continue to rely more and more on technology to function. A beneficial practice, however, would be to engage in traditional activities that would exercise the brain, such as puzzles or reading a book (and not an e-book, for that matter). Society is constantly changing, and we must learn to adapt with those changes while retaining a healthy balance regarding technology in our daily lives.