Saturday, 26 September 2015

www = brain

logical mind map for www (world wide web)

logical mind map for the brain

Essay

Theme: WWW = BRAIN

Topic: HOW THE INTERNET AFFECTS HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY.

In simple terms, the Internet can be defined as the network of computers using TCP/IP suites, that allows easy access to data and information stored on the server. Human psychology on the other hand, in very simple terms can be defined as what makes up an individuals character; his/her attitude, opinion, phobia and emotion. These frame work of an individuals character can either be in born or influenced by external factors like environment, culture and also the Internet.

Over the years there has been a tremendous advancement in Internet technology like the increase in social networking (twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Viber, Whatsapp) and there are several ways to have access to the Internet. All this technology is influencing our thought process and the way we act, that is our psychology. However, the bone of contention is whether internet technological advancement has positive influence or negative influence on our psychology/behavior and whether it should be encouraged or eliminated.

Some of the common disadvantages of internet on human psychology are: internet fatigue, thought process, loss of physical or emotional connection, unsatisfactory needs, mob mentality, addiction and low attention span, as well as advantages are ease of access, speed, multitasking, creativity, self development.

Internet fatigue can also be called information overload. The internet has billions of information stored, some personal and some public but because of piracy, it has become easier to hack into people's system and get access to their information. Some business organization may use this method in order to better their business strategy or to market their business without prior permission from the owner of the information. The thin line between public and private information is gradually disappearing. This means that in a short while no one will be safe anymore using the internet because your information can be easily hacked and accessible by the public. This can cause paranoia for internet users all around the world. However, just as piracy enables access to private information there are ways to protect your computer and your information from application software invented to take information away from you. In addition to that, the internet also enables easy access to quality information. With the invention of web browsers one can easily find information on a topic, idea or news within seconds.

Furthermore, accessibility of information can discourage thought process. It is necessary to look back to life without internet and how thinking was better utilized. A lecturer can ask for the meaning of a word and rather than a student thinking and understanding the word used in context, the student would rather go on the internet to search for the word. Well, we cannot ignore the fact that internet also saves time by giving us the information or definition we need in a shorter time span.

Moreover, the internet is reducing the rate of physical and emotional connection. Internet causes one to focus more on the ease of access, availability of information or things and far less on physical and emotional appearances and experiences. Take Facebook for example it is very easy to find long lost friends from high school, communicate with them but most times fail to create or recreate any physical bond. We are slowly loosing touch but deceiving our minds that internet helps us keep in touch. Rather than go out to see a friend, grab a cup of coffee and communicate while create a physical or emotional bond, this generation is more content sending a text message or an email. It would however seem unfair to point out the negatives and leave out the positives being that in times of emergency a text message or email can go a long way to save a life.

Online shopping sites have successfully, with the help of the internet and its various quirks, made us unsatisfied with what we have and yearn for more. One cannot blame online shopping sites for running their business well. With proper packaging, and deals they entice the human mind through visual simulation, the shopper believes what he/she sees and proceed to overspend or buy what they do not necessary need. However, it is important to note how life is made easier by online shopping sites, one can purchase anything from groceries to house appliances.
There are people addicted to the internet;
As Hills,A.J puts it the burst of information they get causes a primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement; a dopamine surge in the brain, that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored. The urges can inflict nicks and cuts on creativity and deep thoughts interrupting work and life.
Simply put, too much internet causes one to become addicted and when the internet is taken away, boredom sets in and causes one to yearn for the internet. As Hills, A.J clearly stated this addicted interrupts work flow and life, that is addiction can potentially harm your social life and your interactions with those around you. It could further lead to depression and loneliness from alienating yourself from the people you care about and who care about you. There are people addicted to even video games however, longer usage of the internet enables one to build computer literacy and video games helps develop visual acuity. One using the internet can have more than one web page open on the browser, doing different things at the same thing, this is called multitasking. Multitasking helps develop brain power.

Huge following and general opinion can influence the mind to believe something is right.The internet can influence our believes, opinions, personal growth, entertainment(trends, ratings, A-list, chart list). For example, a new blockbuster is released and rating and reviews on the movie is released, if the ratings are bad, the audience is bent towards believing that the movie is a total mistake. A new musician comes to the block and successfully stays on top of the music charts, the audience is compelled to believe that the artist is excellent. More so, it is good to note that the internet also forces and encourages us to have an opinion of different subject matters and opens our minds to different perspectives.

There are too many things to be seen on the internet, there is competition between shopping sites, business organization and general content, therefore, it is very hard for anything to hold one's attention on the internet for too long. According to the Daily Telegraph the average attention span of a human has dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds while a goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds, making goldfish have longer attention span than humans. The internet does encourage creativity. According to John Horrigan, Pew Internet Project's associate director of research: 
The most high tech group we labelled "digital collaborators". The digital collaborators are the ones with the most technology, doing the most with it  and loving it the most, and really are about not just using technology to communicate with others but to cultivate their creative lives.
Some creative platforms are blogs where one can share thoughts on different topics from travel to healthcare, to even life.This encourages self development and creativity.

In conclusion, it can be seen that the internet has disadvantages as well as advantages. It helps in our day to day activity as a student, employee or business man. These disadvantages are internet fatigue, thought process, loss of physical or emotional connection, unsatisfactory needs, mob mentality, addiction and low attention span, not forgetting the advantages, ease of access, speed, multitasking, creativity, self development, they should also be put to thought as they also play a role in our day to day lives.

Finally, it is left for the internet user to know the cost and disadvantages of using the internet and strive to rise above them. Understanding that as useful as the internet is, there should be a limit to using it and to always practice internet etiquette.

RANDOM WORDS ASSOCIATION

  • Retrieval
  • Conclusions
  • Understand
  • activity
  • default
  • strength
  • signal
  • choice
  • stimuli
  • source
  • interpretation
  • complexity
  • specification
  • durability
  • progress
  • search
  • store
  • avoid
  • block
  • rest
  • dimension
  • thoughts
  • feedback
  • content
  • flexibility
  • distance
  • development
  • adjust
  • choice

Random Words Association
Retrieval: Upon the retrieval of new evidence from the internet of a girl who was murdered, the judge re-opened her case making her parents very happy that justice will be served.

Conclusion: The conclusion I made based on how people use the internet is that it contributes to moral decay.

Understand: when you are going to use the internet, you have to understand that a person can hack into your account, this can cause you emotional trauma, be very careful and cautious with the kind of website you visit.

Activity: the internet has many activity such as games, movies etc which keeps the brain active and reduces depression.

Strength: The woman showed great strength and did not breakdown when her nude picture was leaked on the internet.

Signal: The woman using GPS had a bad signal on her cellphone, which led to an accident causing her to loose her legs, leading to emotional and physical trauma.

Choice: Fatima is depressed and sad due to how she failed the course because she made the choice of copying directly from the internet without referencing.

Stimuli: the girl responded to stimuli immediately and reported to the police when she saw the footage of a bank robbery online, making her scared and afraid the robbers will kill her when they find out.

Source:  A private company secret was published online and the source of the licked information in the company was found through the use of a lie detector and the person was humiliated and fired.

Interpretation: the interpretation of the data was found wrong, we often use "LOL" and "LMOA" to describe our laughter when using social network, but they're no real substitute for hearing people laugh, which has real power to lift our spirits when we're feeling low.

Progress: I find myself tempted to communicate using the internet via social network because that way it feels easier, I made the progress to limit my emails, social network and if I need to work something out with someone that feels difficult, uncomfortable, or unpleasant, I make myself communicate in person because electronic media transmits emotions so poorly.

Search:  It is better to search for assignments online because you get excellent information within seconds and it is easier.

Avoid:  It's much easier to injure friendships online than in person because of the ease of creating misunderstandings electronically and non-verbal communication, I try to avoid using hurtful words and not replying on time.

Block: I had a massive fight with my boyfriend in which he blocked me on all the social media causing me intense emotional pain.

Distance: It was not easy going through a distance relationship because there is no human comfort and support, you only have the internet to communicate with, making you feel lonely.

Development: the development of the internet has made life easier based on communication, education and interaction.

Adjust: The internet is developing fast, we use it for almost everything and it keeps us isolated from people. A person should adjust the time he spends on the internet and the time he spends with his family and friends.

Feedback: The negative feedback of people on a business that is advertising online could lead to business failure.

Rest: The doctor advised the girl to have enough rest and avoid straining her eyes while searching the internet because it can lead to poor eye sight.

Thoughts: The thoughts of a lecturer when he saw his student watching pornography and reading celebrity gossip on the internet in class was that the student is not ready to learn.



JUXTAPOSITION

The brain and the world wide web (WWW) are very similar as they are both are complex structures. The image on the left is the brain  while that on the right is a modular representation of the world wide web.
They both receive data in its raw form and process it into information. The information is later stored for future use.
They both help with understanding of different or broader concepts. The brain in collaboration  with nerves and body system help to understand and decipher difficult situation, while the WWW, with search engines and key words help to understand concepts.
The brain and the WWW are therefore very similar.

REFERENCES

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