Social Media Rot's Your Brain

[rockfox]

Modern Public schooling and Social Media is destroying our young people's basic reading comprehension and thinking abilities. Just say no to Twitter and Facebook.

A reader who is also a college professor in a STEM field e-mails to say:

My students are unable to analyze, follow and understand written text. To be more specific, they are unable to decipher compound sentences, understand relationship between subordinate and main clauses. They can’t grasp the logical relationship between sentences, let alone paragraphs, which are totally opaque to them.

When I started to teach (only 2 years ago), I prepared material written in normal, rational, technical prose — for adults, or as I understood they would be. Immediately, it became apparent that there was zero comprehension. Well, thought I, let’s make it a bit simpler. So I reduced the paragraphs to bullet point lists.

Still nothing? Hmm.

I started to write step by step, basically cut-and-paste instructions, highlighted the important points, wrote in notes and cross references (like NOTE: you did this in step #2 please refer to #2). Abject failure.

So, especially in the exams, I started to write in answers in the follow up questions, like so: “If you correctly answered #1 as ABC what is the cause of …?”. Basically I give them the answers in followup questions, plus cut and paste documents. My exams are open book, open notes, Internet access.

95% of them fail.

This is what I attribute this phenomenon to: I don’t think that they are able to concentrate for more that a few seconds. Hence compound sentences become an enigma. Their brains are ’trained’ to hold information for the minimum time possible and to move on the next soundbite or tweet. They are unable to hold a thought in their minds long enough to abstract it, analyze it, and form required relationships. As a result they lack the fundamental building blocks for inductive and deductive reasoning. They want to be spoon-fed without ever having to resort to a single abstract thought. They have been ‘educated’ by quick turnaround, expensive and largely incorrect multiple choice question textbooks.

Imagine how this would (and soon will) affect the medical profession. “When you treat appendicitis you will remove a) spleen, b) heart, c) appendix, d) none of the above. “Well, done!” Here is your first patient … (or, in Dr. Zoidberg’s context: Scalpel!, Blood bucket! Priest!).

Their problem is that they are unable to formulate questions. It’s difficult to come up with answers if you don’t know what to ask. So I tell them that my ambition is to teach them how to ask questions. They love my classes but I am told repeatedly: “This was the best class we have had but by far the most difficult.”

Good grief. We have totally destroyed this generation.

Given the caliber and kind of people who usually pursue STEM degrees, this is shocking. And no, it's not normal, this is a radical change, night and day, from even just 15 years ago.

Camille Paglia has noticed a similar change in her own students over the years in their ability to express, read and judge facial expressions, owing to the dominance of text for communicating over face to face, or even voice, interaction.

Cue the NPC memes, it turns out it wasn't just a caricature of their unthinking acceptance of propaganda. This new generation literally can't think.

 

[PeteR]

I'm sorry. You lost me at comprehension and thinking...

What?

 

[GunnarR]

Modern Public schooling and Social Media is destroying our young people's basic reading comprehension and thinking abilities. Just say no to Twitter and Facebook.



Given the caliber and kind of people who usually pursue STEM degrees, this is shocking. And no, it's not normal, this is a radical change, night and day, from even just 15 years ago.

Camille Paglia has noticed a similar change in her own students over the years in their ability to express, read and judge facial expressions, owing to the dominance of text for communicating over face to face, or even voice, interaction.

Cue the NPC memes, it turns out it wasn't just a caricature of their unthinking acceptance of propaganda. This new generation literally can't think.

In nursing school, they used multiple choice questions, along with select-all-that-apply. However, it's still a really difficult challenge. The basic idea for nursing and medical school is "all answers are correct, however, which one is more correct?" Thankfully, I've learned how to research and question the "status quo" of medicine.

With that being said, I completely agree that social media is destroying the mind. Besides creating addictions and destroying the cerebrum (command and executive functions of the brain [this is the mega short version of what happens, I can talk for hours about the brain and addictions]), it also creates a pseudo-perfect world. Every one on social media has the "best" life and it creates a never ending loop of unhappiness.

Besides destroying the brain, it also destroys the ability to create social connections. I have found that those who are addicted to technology have difficulty forming social bonds. I recall reading somewhere that empathy has fallen significantly over the last decade, and it's largely attributed to technology and the smartphone.

There is an immense amount of problems that arise when addiction to technology takes hold. As my dad always said, "Technology is a tool, not a toy. Therefore, find a way to use it to advance the Kingdom of YHVH." It has great properties, however, this generation must learn how to use it for reaching and helping people, not destroying each other in an effort to promote themselves.

 

[GunnarR]

I'm sorry. You lost me at comprehension and thinking...

What?

More NIACIN!! Haha.

 

[PeteR]

More NIACIN!! Haha.

Nah... that silences the voices in my head...

 

[Joleneakamama]

Nah... that silences the voices in my head...

In my experience niacin in quantity doesn't silence the voices, it just increases peripheral circulation to a level that makes one highly aware of ones dermal layer, and not so aware of any intercranial auditory communications.

Thankfully the effect is relatively short lived, even when severe.

 

[rockfox]

In nursing school, they used multiple choice questions, along with select-all-that-apply. However, it's still a really difficult challenge.

Multiple choice questions are just about the easiest form of testing out there. Depending on the person and the subject, one can often guess the right answer through a process of elimination. And this teacher is working in a STEM context. Traditionally there were few multiple choice questions. Tests would require specific answers, often derived from lots of difficult math, or essays or code.

 

[Mojo]

Besides destroying the brain, it also destroys the ability to create social connections. I have found that those who are addicted to technology have difficulty forming social bonds. I recall reading somewhere that empathy has fallen significantly over the last decade, and it's largely attributed to technology and the smartphone.

Perhaps the missing link in the rise of the mass shooter phenomenon that nobody wants to talk about? Rather than being distracted by the politically popular excuses, maybe the culprit (besides sin) is literally staring us in the face.

 

[rockfox]

While it probably plays some role today, mass shootings predate social media by at least a solid decade. Media propoganda, psychiatric medications, single motherhood, CIA ops, zero tolerance policies / emasculation of boys in school, helicopter parenting and the like well explain it.

Although, some of the problems with Social Media she's pointing out are basically the problems of all passive media, just on steroids. What she's seeing are changes of an order of magnitude or two in just the last decade. But even 15, 20 years ago...performance was an order of magnitude or worse compared to 30 years before.

 

[Mojo]

Media propoganda...single motherhood...emasculation of boys in school...But even 15, 20 years ago...performance was an order of magnitude or worse compared to 30 years before.

I like these three that you point to, but I think that they started the trend towards isolation, especially the single motherhood aspect.

Because of smaller families, breakdown of the family order, divorce and urbanization, you get a large segment of the population that feels isolated. Social media, technology and the smartphone just expedited that feeling on a fast forward mode.

Why is it overwhelmingly young, white, males?

It's hard to tell. Anyone have a guess?

 

[rockfox]

Because of smaller families, breakdown of the family order, divorce and urbanization, you get a large segment of the population that feels isolated. Social media, technology and the smartphone just expedited that feeling on a fast forward mode.

Good point.

Divorce, smaller families, breakdown of the families, etc....you can lay that at the feet of propaganda.

But the isolation, that's an artifact of our consumerist culture combined with our economic system which breaks up extended families and the suburban world (combined with mass media) which eliminates public space interactions.

Why is it overwhelmingly young, white, males?

It's not; especially if you look at it on a per capita basis. And the media famously downplays non-white perpetrators.

But it does hit young white males too. And a lot of that has to do with our culture. They are the undercaste in our society. Our entire social system works to emasculate them. And changes to the legal and school systems have eliminated the space for normal male aggression to play out. Not to mention we've all but eliminated the influence of fathers in children's lives, even in intact families.

 

[Mojo]

I don't have the data to contradict your stats @rockfox, but I'm not counting the gang-related mass shootings that are undeniable. I would think those would tend to be more black/brown and tend to be inside same race neighborhoods, but are still related to absences of a patriarchal male presence. Much has been documented to the aspect of "family" that gangs provide to young blacks and browns. What's different with the mass shootings of recent memory is that these young Whites seem to travel or look for random crowds and target a segment of society as a whole, not a specific target like gang shootings tend to be.

I was also thinking that much of the social experiments of the 20th century started with Whites.

What info do you have?

 

[rockfox]

I was also thinking that much of the social experiments of the 20th century started with Whites.

They might have started with the black community actually. I'm not sure.

What's different with the mass shootings of recent memory is that these young Whites seem to travel or look for random crowds and target a segment of society as a whole, not a specific target like gang shootings tend to be.

Well I think gang shootings and mass shootings are two different phenomena. But the mass shootings have come from all quarters. The Orlando and San Bernidito shootings were by immigrants. Several of the recent ones were native whites. There have also been a few black perpetrators (a couple church shootings).

A quick look found me this. Whites had the highest number, but they were underrepresented on a per capita basis. All, or most, other ethnic groups were over-represented. But the media does like to focus on young white men, in part because school shootings have more of an emotional impact. However if we look at just school shootings, they are disproportionately white perps. We can ignore the young part for obvious reasons in that subset. But in the larger set, testosterone does decline with age and ties into aggression; not to mention all the life changes the youth go through; so I'm not surprised youth are more likely to commit these crimes.

Over the last three decades, 90 percent of high school or elementary school shootings were the result of White, often upper-middle class, perpetrators

Though since that article blames white male privilege, I take that quote with a grain of salt. Especially since their proof of that was to quote Elliot Rogers (a mixed race perp). But assuming it's true, I'd suspect it has to do with how the different ethnicities handle aggression; whites are more prone to bottling it up, upper class whites more likely to go to schools with well enforced zero tolerance policies.

But I don't even trust those first stats. Both the government and the media have a track record of misclassifying perpetrators (as did that second link). And several of these shootings have clearly had patsies. So the race of the 'shooter' sometimes only tells you what message they're wanting to send.

 

[steve]

While all of these issues are true, I think that the greater problem is today’s spiritual atmosphere. As on the other thread, dark being the absence of light/evil being the absence of Yah.
By removing/denying Yah from every place from which He has been ousted we have exported the “light” that used to exist. The natural goodness of man was intended to shine through without His interference, but what we are experiencing is the darkness that floods in in His absence.

Quite frankly, I am surprised that it isn’t much worse. Dead baby jokes have been a thing for more than 20 years. Self centeredness is so much more the norm than ever before, social media and etc. are just symptoms.

 

[steve]

But social media still rots your brain.

 

[Mojo]

Thank you for your stats @rockfox. It seems like it's a mixed bag and no one race is more sinful than any other (not what I was trying to imply, btw).

Another thought hit me. What if non white young boys with violent tendencies are quicker to be arrested or tracked by the system (because of gang ties) if they are non white, or perhaps have less support at home and are funneled into the system before they act out? I'm not saying White privilege is a thing, but if it was, maybe this could explain some of the differences in the school shootings.

 

[Slumberfreeze]

I'll be a tiny bit flippant and say that there is some correlation between school shootings and psychotropic drugs. And what kind of people are most likely to wack their kids out on drugs because they seem to have an emotional problem?

I came from a mixed race neighborhood in the east bay. Only kids I knew that took antidepressants or anti-psychotic stuff were wonderbread white.

 

[rockfox]

I'll be a tiny bit flippant and say that there is some correlation between school shootings and psychotropic drugs. And what kind of people are most likely to wack their kids out on drugs because they seem to have an emotional problem?

I came from a mixed race neighborhood in the east bay. Only kids I knew that took antidepressants or anti-psychotic stuff were wonderbread white.

Ok that is a really good point. Especially in the 90's, it was pretty much exclusively kids on psychotropics which the FDA later admitted caused violent suicidal tendencies. Never thought about the racial connection on that.

What if non white young boys with violent tendencies are quicker to be arrested or tracked by the system (because of gang ties) if they are non white, or perhaps have less support at home and are funneled into the system before they act out? I'm not saying White privilege is a thing, but if it was, maybe this could explain some of the differences in the school shootings.

That could be. However white kids don't tend to get into gangs. And a lot of the shooters are the steriotypical loner who wasn't into crime. The upper middle class connection comes in those are more likely to be zero tolerance for violent behavior which means those kids have no outlets for their aggression; so it builds up like a pressure cooker.

 

[Mojo]

The upper middle class connection comes in those are more likely to be zero tolerance for violent behavior which means those kids have no outlets for their aggression; so it builds up like a pressure cooker.

And those upper middle class neighborhoods tend to be mostly...White. I'm not linking the race, but perhaps it's more a cultural thing. When you live in Stepford, and everything is neat and pretty (including behavior) you will try to limit all signs of being outside that norm.

Werent most of the Hippie counterculture types from these same types of upbringings? They often blamed religion for pent up anxiety. Well, their society has largely dropped religion, but not necessarily the expectations.

 

[rockfox]

John B. Calhoun's Mouse Utopia experiments offer some relevant answers here, to both the main point and our side discussion on mass killings by young men. Males who failed socially would withdraw (page 84) physically and socially and were prone to violent outbursts. The conditions which caused this was a situation of abundant food and water which had become crowded.
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But the crowding wasn't physical, they tended to clump up in groups leaving large empty spaces, it was social. He could track the changes in behavior based on the number of social interactions in a day. It was disruptive social interactions that led to adverse behavior.

The limiting factor in maintaining healthy populations of social creatures isn't food, water, or physical space; it is social space.

And guess what social media does? It artificially inflates and maximizes social interactions!

Many other forms of behavior observed will sound familiar to us today. Nursing females responded to the crowding by avoiding single females (suburbia), taking on the role of aggressive territory protection as aggressive males were overwelmed in their ability to do so (masculine women, helicopter parents), and eventually started attacking and kicking out their own offspring too young or abandoning them (public schooling, anti-social behavior, ignoring children to play games on facebook, working moms, single motherhood, etc).

In the mouse utopia, crowding resulted in fragmenting of social bonding and social interactions becoming shallow (decrease in intensity and duration). Social behaviors of courting and maternity failed (tv parenting and latchkey kids). Eventually there developed populations of mice (beautiful ones) that were of impeccable health and vigor, unlike the earlier social recluses, and spent a lot of time in eating, sleeping and grooming, but refused to engage in social interaction and breed (MGTOW).

The end result of these experiments is unrecoverable population collapse. Even pulling some of the individuals into a new uncrowded environment, even when paired with mice from normal environments, would not result in restarting reproduction. They were described as Autistic like. Population collapse would kick in before physical space limitations were hit. There would always be empty spaces and they tended to clump up (cities).

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