As the gap between the Digital Native and Digital Immigrant closes, by means of assimilation where the Digital Native is the victor, internet users are cautioned to monitor screen time.
Author’s Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan hypotheses, and experimentation provide insight on how our ever expanding world of technology may be just as much a liability as an asset.

The article expands on the subject by explaining the neuroscience of the effects of screen time/ time spent online. From the cones in your eyes, to the comprehension of the image, the decision making processes that take you mere seconds, are altered, in some cases irreversibly as you trade interpersonal skills for “efficiency” and “relevancy”.

“Besides influencing how we think, digital technology is altering how we feel, how we behave, and the way in which our brains function. Although we are unaware of these changes in our neural circuitry or brain wiring, these alterations can become permanent with repetition.”

Small, G., & Vorgan, G. (2011). The digital divide: arguments for and against Facebook, Google, texting, and the age of social networking. (M. Bauerlein, Ed.). New York, NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

These reformations, and changes to our genetic code can result in detrimental effects such as social ineptitude. In certain cases an individual whom has spent too much time online may develop a sort of persona that allows them to take on the roll of someone they might not otherwise be. An example of this might be someone who makes bold political statements on Twitter, but who demonstrates little to no action supporting their boasted beliefs. It is in this way some people are able to generate attention, and success stories that seem to pop up seemingly overnight, or how your friend suddenly has 2.4K Instagram followers all because they took a picture of them using the newest headphones, or makeup kit.

“As the brain evolves and shifts its focus its focus toward new technological skills, it drifts away from fundamental social skills, such as reading facial expressions during conversation or grasping the emotional context of a subtle gesture.”

Small, G., & Vorgan, G. (2011). The digital divide: arguments for and against Facebook, Google, texting, and the age of social networking. (M. Bauerlein, Ed.). New York, NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

Where we are now…

This continued progression away from a traditional style of learning has resulted in a sort of fast pace, skimming behaviour that waters down personality, and intuition. Simple things like parties, going out for coffee, and in person meetings are substituted for Facetime calls, comments on each others Instagram posts, and Skype meetings, all in the name of “efficiency”.

“In today’s digital age, we keep our smartphones at our hip and their earpieces attached our ears. A laptop is always within reach, and there’s no need to fret if we can’t find a landline – theres always Wi-Fi (short for wireless fidelity, which signifies any place supplies a wireless connection to the internet) to keep us connected.”

Small, G., & Vorgan, G. (2011). The digital divide: arguments for and against Facebook, Google, texting, and the age of social networking. (M. Bauerlein, Ed.). New York, NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

My take:

As we embrace a world that culminates those who are ready to grasp the innovative future effectively, with those who feel they have no choice, I feel it is their hypotheses are imperatively true. In light of the fact that all around me, I see individuals, who miss expressive gestures, or can’t make certain associations that to me, would appear to be unimaginably self-evident. Furthermore, it isn’t any incident, that a large portion of my companions are individuals who’s lives request a social on-screen presence, actors, rappers, dancers, tailors, artists. While true these professions do request a specific social nearness, the pattern makes me wonder what expressive gestures or other relational encounters I pass up myself, as a result of my online presence.