Humanity is steadily moving along the road of progress. We have settled all over the earth, built a bunch of ingenious machines, visited the moon, sank to the ocean floor and established the Nobel Prize for achievements in science and literature. Nevertheless, right now, some scientists seriously believe that today's children are far behind in development from their peers 25-30 years ago. If so, who is to blame and what to do? And do you need to do anything at all?
BRIEFLY ABOUT THE MAIN
Our brain is a very, very flexible organ and can adapt to any circumstance. Probably, everyone can remember moments from his life when in difficult situations he quickly found the right solutions. And vice versa - it is worth relaxing in front of the TV or computer and it seems that our brain almost stops conscious activity, mindlessly absorbing the offered pictures, news that are essentially the same or ready-made answers to simple questions. Science confirms the same. Back in the 1940s, Canadian psychologist, philosopher and physiologist Donald Hub released several laboratory mice at his home, giving them complete freedom. A few weeks later, he brought them back to the laboratory and placed them in a labyrinth for traditional tests. And what? The rats that walked "in the wild" turned out to be much smarter than their companions,and solved problems more inventively and faster. Needless to say, countless similar experiments have been carried out since then? And all of them over and over again confirmed the same truth: the more diverse the external environment in which the animal is, the smarter and smarter it is. This is reflected not only in behavior, but also at the physiological level. It has been proven that in such animals the size of the brain and its cortex increases, the synapses of neurons are strengthened, new detrital processes appear, which are responsible for communication with other neurons. Even a scientific term has emerged that illustrates a similar effect on the brain of the environment - "environmental enrichment".the more diverse the external environment in which the animal is, the smarter and smarter it is. This is reflected not only in behavior, but also at the physiological level. It has been proven that in such animals the size of the brain and its cortex increases, the synapses of neurons are strengthened, new detrital processes appear, which are responsible for communication with other neurons. Even a scientific term has emerged that illustrates a similar effect on the brain of the environment - "environmental enrichment".the more diverse the external environment in which the animal is, the smarter and smarter it is. This is reflected not only in behavior, but also at the physiological level. It has been proven that in such animals the size of the brain and its cortex increases, the synapses of neurons are strengthened, new detrital processes appear, which are responsible for communication with other neurons. Even a scientific term has emerged that illustrates a similar effect on the brain of the environment - "environmental enrichment".which illustrates a similar effect on the brain of the environment - "environmental enrichment".which illustrates a similar effect on the brain of the environment - "environmental enrichment".
GADGET INSTEAD OF BRAINS
Let's remember our childhood. We played outdoor games fraught with bruises and injuries. We climbed trees, roofs and basements. At their own peril and risk, unaccompanied by adults, they explored the surrounding area of a city or village, often moving very far from home. We were not afraid to go to the forest ourselves for mushrooms, swim in rivers and lakes, cross the city by public transport or on foot. We had dozens of friends and comrades with whom we talked face to face. We looked for answers to questions in books, for which we signed up to libraries and did not spare time for reading.
And our children play video games without looking up from the screens, make friends with the same people like them, remotely via the Internet, search engines give them ready-made answers to any questions. Not all children, of course. But most of them are. Scientists predict that next year 70% of Russia's population will have smartphones (80% in the USA, Germany and Japan, 84% in South Korea). And there is no doubt that children and adolescents will become the main owners. First, because they master new gadgets and digital technologies faster than adults. And secondly, adults themselves often prefer to stick their child with a new electronic "toy", following the old proverb: "Whatever the child is amusing himself with, as long as it does not cry." And the child begins to amuse himself with might and main. Result: developmental delay, atrophy of independent thinking skills, memory loss, attention disorder,low level of self-control. Again, not all. But, as studies show, very, very many children of the digital age, and the number of them is growing every year. At the same time, physical changes in their brains resemble those that occur in the early stages of senile dementia or even after traumatic brain injury.
Promotional video:
IS EVERYTHING SO BAD?
Let's remember. “Children have ceased to obey their parents. Apparently, the end of the world is not far. " This is an inscription on the wall of an ancient Egyptian temple, dated to the 15th century BC. And here is what Socrates wrote a thousand years later: “Today's youth are accustomed to luxury. She is distinguished by bad manners, despises authorities, does not respect elders. Children argue with their parents, greedily gulp down food and harass teachers. " Doesn't it sound like our moaning about youth today? Yes, they do not tear themselves away from smartphones and tablets, they stick around the Internet for days and, it seems to us, they read little. However, the same concerns were expressed by adults and parents of the developed countries in relation to children during the rapid expansion of television. It was believed that a child who spends more than two hours a day at the blue screen is at risk. Blighted visionretardation of mental development, impaired attention, lack of analytical thinking skills, inability and unwillingness to read - this is an incomplete set of dangers awaiting those who, since childhood, cannot imagine their life without a "zombie box". And what? Decades have passed, and children who supposedly grew up "on television" have become successful engineers, teachers, highly skilled workers, businessmen, writers and doctors. Nothing worse than their predecessors, who first saw the TV show as adults. Now we have ubiquitous Internet, continuous smartphones-tablets and all the same dangers. But aren't we exaggerating them, as we once exaggerated the negative influence of television?who since childhood cannot imagine their life without a "zombie box". And what? Decades have passed, and children who supposedly grew up "on television" have become successful engineers, teachers, highly skilled workers, businessmen, writers and doctors. Nothing worse than their predecessors, who first saw the TV show as adults. Now we have ubiquitous Internet, continuous smartphones-tablets and all the same dangers. But aren't we exaggerating them, as we once exaggerated the negative influence of television?who since childhood cannot imagine their life without a "zombie box". And what? Decades have passed, and children who supposedly grew up "on television" have become successful engineers, teachers, highly skilled workers, businessmen, writers and doctors. Nothing worse than their predecessors, who first saw the TV show as adults. Now we have ubiquitous Internet, continuous smartphones-tablets and all the same dangers. But aren't we exaggerating them, as we once exaggerated the negative influence of television?Now we have ubiquitous Internet, continuous smartphones-tablets and all the same dangers. But aren't we exaggerating them, as we once exaggerated the negative influence of television?Now we have ubiquitous Internet, continuous smartphones-tablets and all the same dangers. But aren't we exaggerating them, as we once exaggerated the negative influence of television?
LOSE MEASURE AND YOU WILL LOSE THE WORLD
And vice versa. And also each phenomenon has two sides, and "everything is allowed to me, but nothing owns me" (Apostle Paul). It is possible to cite such examples of human wisdom for a long time, the essence of which has not changed for millennia: as long as humanity develops, it will always face many dangerous things, which itself also brings to life. So it was, is and, we hope, will be. The invention of gunpowder and dynamite. Nuclear power. The television. Genetic engineering. Universal computerization and the Internet. And this is just the beginning. Ahead of us is the emergence of artificial intelligence, the mastery of thermonuclear fusion, antigravity, zero-transportation … The question is not whether all this is dangerous (of course, dangerous!). And in how to reduce the danger from new discoveries and technologies to a minimum, and the benefit to the maximum.
And the answer to this question, I think, lies in the subheading above. Knowing of limits. Only it is able to lead a person between the Scylla of permissiveness and the Charybdis of complete self-restraint. The wisest have long understood this and do not buy smartphones and tablets for their children until a certain age. And then they severely restrict their use. This is what Steve Jobs, the founder of the Apple computer empire, did with his children. The creator of Blogger and Twitter services, Evan Williams, does the same, his two sons are allowed to use their smartphones and tablets for no more than an hour a day. And it is right. A car and an airplane are designed to deliver us anywhere in the world as soon as possible and with the greatest comfort. But no one in their right mind puts a child behind the wheel or steering wheel.
In conclusion, we present an excerpt from the letter of the famous intellectual writer Umberto Eco to his grandson. “… Your brain can last you up to 90 years old, and at ninety years old, if you exercise it, you will remember more than you remember now. The day will come and you will grow old, but you will feel that you have lived a thousand lives, as if you participated in the Battle of Waterloo, attended the murder of Julius Caesar, visited the place where Berthold Schwartz, mixing various substances in a mortar in an attempt to obtain gold, accidentally invented gunpowder and flew into the air (and so he needs it!). And your other friends, who do not seek to enrich their memory, will live only one life of their own, monotonous and devoid of great emotions."
And that, perhaps, says it all.
Akim Bukhtatov