Comments on: Surfing the Web is Good For Your Brain

By: j33ry

j33ry — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:06:11 +0000

lol'd HARD at capella

By: capella

capella — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:27:15 +0000

This is your brain.
This is your brian on lolcats.

By: CountryCritter

CountryCritter — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:52:46 +0000

Huh, so it's just the surfing and not that reading that makes it better? I agree with gtron about the internet is making communication, verbal anyway, less and less desirable. Isn't it sad that people prefer to use their cell phones to text than talk?

By: gtron

gtron — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:48:54 +0000

nice one terry! also, just because it increases neural activity doesn't equate with good for you - the increased stress, over prolonged periods, repeated daily, could ultimately lead to anxiety, undue concern with irrelevant issues and objects, and ultimately enhance ADD symptoms by creating a 'need' for more info... just because the brain is more 'calm' during a read doesn't mean that a reader is worse off for it - in fact, more relaxed, more thoroughly engaged... it's apples and oranges, and drawing conclusions from these findings is pseudoscience. I truly beleive that I have gotten less intellectually sharp in the last few years, and not more, as a result of web habits. It's funny that the web increases the opportunity for communication, but the form of communication is far less efficient - any time I have tried to discuss anything online (like the ideas behind something abstract that lead to me having a different opinion than you) I end up NOT finding common ground. when you are face to face, it's easier to accept a different opinion. Online, you just hit send and set of on your continued ego trip thru the cybersphere - I ain't no luddite, but this isn't a better way. just watch to see who blasts me for these comments as proof!

By: just a guy

just a guy — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:35:27 +0000

Actually "the deluge of information" is healthy for the brain. Although information overload (in any context - school, work, reading, problem solving, etc) may make us mentally exhausted, it does improve thinking ability over time, similar to normal exercise. This is why people can use puzzle games and such to keep mentally spry.

By: renderanything

renderanything — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:29:42 +0000

I had no idea I have been doing right by my brain this whole time. Perhaps the gray matter is taking extra nourishment at the expense of the wrists, eyes, and muscle atrophy brought on by hours spent on the net.

By: Terry

Terry — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:15:16 +0000

The University of California Internet Research Laboratory is funded by Microsoft, Google & Sun Microsystems.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:39:50 +0000

The extra neural activity is probably devoted to the eternal internal debate of "should I get to work now? Well five more minutes, can't hurt. I need to get started but i guess I can check Neatorama first. I'll just go another 1/2 hour."

By: Ali S.

Ali S. — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:24:25 +0000

Huh. I would've thought that the deluge of information wouldn't be too healthy for the brain.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:27:02 +0000

Wasn't there a post about e-mail making people stupider?

By: Reechard

Reechard — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:26:57 +0000

I don't buy the "good for you" part. The increased activity was only shown for those "experienced" internet users. Looking at people with photographic memories, they most often use far less brain activity for similar memory recall exercises than normal people. So more activity isn't always better, it may just mean lazy and inefficient. Which seems far more likely but hey, I'm no neuroscientist.

By: Byrd Brain

Byrd Brain — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:11:20 +0000

I feel so much better now.