Superficial reading has become the norm, and it threatens our brain

We have become otherwise receive and assimilate information

Look around the next time you travel by plane. The plates are now given to children instead of a pacifier. Younger students read on smartphones, older play video games. Parents and other passengers are immersed in e-books or browsing the mail and news.

All in this situation integrates invisible metamorphosis: neural network, giving us the ability to read subtle, but is changing rapidly. And the consequences of this change will affect all.

Judging by what is now known Neurosciences, over 6000 years ago, the emergence of literacy has led to the emergence of a new neural network in our brain. It has evolved from a simple mechanism to decrypt the basic information such as the number of goats in the herd, until now difficult arranged by reading brain. And thanks to him we have formed one of the most important cognitive and emotional processes: acquisition of knowledge, reasoning by analogy, and the formation of conclusions, empathy,

stocktaking and the generation of ideas. But with the transition to digital forms of reading their development was threatened.

It is not only in technological innovation and the opposition paper and electronic media. According to the sociologist Sherry Torkl (Sherry Turkle), we as a society do not make mistakes when innovate, and when we ignore what is destroyed in the process of innovation.

"Cognitive impatience" can deprive us of critical thinking

From research we know that to read the neural network is not transmitted genetically as vision or language. For its development requires the right environment. The network then adapts to the demands of the situation: the system of writing and performance of media being used.

Digital media that dominate today, contribute to the development of processes, focused on speed, multitasking and processing large amounts of information. And neural network adapts to them.

As a result, less time and attention is given to slow processes typical for thoughtful reading: construction of terminals, critical analysis, empathy. And they are necessary for learning at any age.

This trend speaks more and more teachers and psychologists. According to the teacher Mark Edmundson (Mark Edmundson), many students actively avoid classical literature XIX and XX centuries, because they do not have the patience for a long and deep lyrics.

The excitement is not so much "cognitive impatience" of children, but the fact that lies at its core. Namely, the potential inability to read with the level of critical analysis, which is necessary for understanding of complex ideas and reasons. It can be fiction or scientific texts, wills, contracts or deliberately confusing policy proposals.

Many researchers say that the reading from the screen leads to problems with reading comprehension at the senior schoolboys and students. For example, Norwegian psychologist Anna Mangen (Anne Mangen) together with colleagues explored as seniors perceive the same material on different media. The scientists asked students questions about the story, the plot of which is close to all adolescents (a love story full of passion). One half of the respondents read the text in electronic form, and the other - on paper. Judging by the results, the latter better understand the reading. They make it easier to list items and to retell the story in chronological order.

Superficial reading has become the new norm. We notice some phrases, but in the rest of the text is run only through the eyes. Or to read the first line, and then looking for a keyword.

As a result, we do not have time to understand difficult passages to understand the feelings of others, understand the beauty and make your own opinion.

Some also point out that the tactile sensation when reading on paper, adds a bit of geometry and spatial words belonging text. As noted by the writer Andrew Piper (Andrew Piper), people need knowledge of where they are in time and space. Then we can return to certain places in the text and learn through repeated reading.

The question is what happens with the understanding of children and young people flick through the writing on the screen. This text is devoid of spatial belonging, and it discourages return to it. According to the researcher Tami Kattsir (Tami Katzir), the negative effects of screen readers are already evident in the fourth and fifth grades. And it can affect not only the understanding, but also to the development of empathy.

The loss of critical thinking and empathy will affect everyone. It will impact on our ability to navigate the constant flow of information, not allowing to distinguish the lies and demagoguery from the truth.

You can still fix it

Those who engaged in neuroscience, there is a saying that never gets old, "Use it or lose it." It sounds reassuring, because it suggests that we have a choice.

All this history with the changes that occur in the the brain when reading, it is not over yet. We have the knowledge and research, and technology, to identify them and rectify the situation, as long as they have not yet taken root. We need to cultivate a new kind of brain - the brain 'dual literacy, "the ability to think deeply in reading and in digital and traditional sources.

From this it depends very much: our ability to try on someone else's point of view and to distinguish truth from falsehood; the ability of our children and grandchildren to appreciate and create beauty; the opportunity to go beyond the current abundance of information to gain knowledge and wisdom, so necessary for the development of society.