Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds For The Better

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Digital Technology and its Effects on Intellectual Development. In the article “Smarter than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better”, the author Clive Thompson wrote “One of the greatest challenges of today’s digital thinking tools is knowing when not to use them, when to rely on the powers of the older and slower technologies, like paper and books.” Thompson believes that digital technologies are bringing about a new era of life and are overall a great advancement for society; however, people also need to understand when technology should not be used (355). For example, young children should not spend their developmental years on electronic devices, but should be outdoors exploring and using their imaginations to …show more content…

Using the internet as an easy shortcut for things lacks the experiences that children need to develop correctly. There must be a balance of internet and the real life, hard copy form of things for people to really form independent ideas and feelings based on the vast experiences of going to a concert or reading a heavy, worn out, and loved book under a tree that the online version cannot provide. It is experiences like these that help develop motor and sensory skills that are crucial to child development. According to Cris Rowan, the author of “The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child,” the “four critical factors necessary to achieve healthy child development are movement, touch, human connection, and exposure to nature. These types of sensory inputs ensure normal development of posture, bilateral coordination, optimal arousal states and self-regulation necessary for achieving foundation skills” (Rowan). In other words, too much time spent on digital devices instead of playing outside and interacting face-to-face with people can cause some detrimental developmental issues that would affect someone's quality of life. Although technology advancements have created the biggest storage database ever and a world wide web of information and resources, like digital books, that overall improve how society functions, it is still essential for young children to have the experiences that do not involve a screen so that they can develop into healthy young adults who have a understanding of the world, empathy, and their self. Thompson believes that, “We need a new way to talk clearly about the rewards and pleasures of our digital experiences- one that’s rooted in our lived experiences and also detangled from the hype of Silicon Valley.” (353) Individuals cannot appreciate the benefits of technology without the real life

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