Waking Up Online
Lately, the net is the first thing I see
The first thing I do in the morning is check the Internet. Usually the Twitter, the New York Times and Facebook, because they have decent mobile pages. Then I open my netbook and only leave bed around 10 or 11. Now that I think about it, this is odd. Lately I find myself reaching for the phone at pointless times, like when I’m waiting for an elevator, or if someone takes a call during conversation. As if my head is going to explode if I don’t mediate it for 5 minutes. According to the Times, I’m not alone. More and more peoples first stop in the morning is online.
I should note that I also read from the phone or netbook before I go to sleep, whereas I used to read books. Mainly because electronics have their own light source and one can fall asleep without switching off the light. I used to read books on the toilet, but I’ve started taking the phone or netbook in there as well. It is a strange world, drenched with information, but I don’t necessarily feel any smarter.
you take your netbook to the toilet? :|
wow…
You are killing the prefrontal lobe of your brain. The part of brain that deals with complex concepts.
Lack of focus, inability to complete important tasks and the ability to complete lots of unimportant tasks are some of the symptoms.
er, I studied Cognitive Science and we did some Neuroscience. It takes a lot more than reading the news in the morning to kill your prefrontal lobe.
Working online is certainly a different type of attention, but it’s not like it’s going to fry your grey matter.
The brain is an adaptive device more than anything. The Twitter, RSS generation may be different than the books and lectures one, but it’s not necessarily worse. The environment is also different, so I think it’s OK. I personally get a lot of work done in the morning.
I think I’m lucky in this regard.
For me a phone, PDA or whatever it is cannot replace a good old book, so still I prefer reading books as opposed to moving to new technology. Plus I hate reading on small screens – any screen for that matter. Come to think of it, I hardly use my phone for anything else other than a call or an occasional text. Remind me to buy a cheaper one the next time.