Experience shapes our minds, sometimes in ways we don't realize. Science is just beginning to understand how neural pathways are developed and lost. I believe the human mind is rapidly evolving in today's society. Today we find teens and young adults who don't want to drive, fear speaking to a person (in the flesh or on the phone), and generally avoid human interaction. I wonder what mental pathways we are developing and losing.
The human mind is a mysterious thing. It is constantly influenced and shaped, whether we realize it or not. Sometimes the shaping is intentional and malicious. In the old days we talked about brainwashing. Now we talk about gaslighting and grooming. Sometimes the shaping is neutral or benign, just a part of being alive.
We are shaped by activities like exercise, reading, screen time, conversation, meditation. But technology has moved screen time to default mode for experiencing life. Attention spans have become shortened to mere seconds. I heard that Netflix is producing shows based on the assumption that viewers are constantly distracted by their phones. The scripts explicitly spell out plot points that used to be subtle: "If we go into that scary place, we might find the monster..."
So what is the new human mind going to be like? I have some guesses.
Rapidly changing: As generations adapt to every new technology, each generation perceives the world differently. I hate kiosks in fast food joints, but my kids perceive them as frictionless ways to order. Our minds are different.
Divided: We are constantly on the alert for interruptions (i.e. notifications). Full attention is a rare commodity.
Disembodied: The virtual world, captured in pixels and bytes, feels like the real world.
Brand-minded: Our minds will consider life as a presentation, something to be curated for our followers. "How will this look on social media?" instead of, "Will this be fun?"
Neurotic: Quick access to psychological diagnoses will lead to constant self evaluation and labeling of all our little quirks. We will consider ourselves and others as psych case studies.
Is there anything positive about smart phones? No doubt there is. But I wonder if there is anything positive about what they are doing to our brains.
