The Informed Brain in a Digital World Interdisciplinary Research Team Summaries (2013) / Chapter Skim
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IDR Team Summary 5: Develop a new approach to assess the differences in cognitive and brain function between the brains of digital natives and digital immigrants.
IDR Team Summary 5: Develop a new approach to assess the differences in cognitive and brain function between the brains of digital natives and digital immigrants.
Pages 51-68
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From page 51... ...
The information processing limitations of the human brain are well known; in particular, there appears to be a bottleneck in the decision making process that limits the ability to truly perform multiple cognitive tasks at once. Further, it is now clear that there are serious public health consequences (such as increased automotive accident rates)
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From page 52... ...
Key Questions • How does the brain process the constant barrage of information individuals are exposed to every day? Are the brains of "digital natives" and "digital immigrants" different in the way they process information/ expectations, or are these differences cultural?
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From page 53... ...
Simon, University of Maryland, College Park • Clara H Vaughn, University of Maryland IDR TEAM SUMMARY -- GROUP 5A Clara Vaughn, NAKFI Science Writing Scholar University of Maryland Introduction: Framing the Task IDR Team 5A was asked to develop a new approach to assess the differences in cognitive and brain function between the brains of digital natives (individuals born during or after the introduction of current digital technologies)
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From page 54... ...
Optimal management of an individual's cognitive and brain functions as it relates to technology, then, must be highly adaptive to maximize these functions. To begin developing a practicable management plan for optimizing brain function, the DITF framework considers three key factors: the person, technology, and environment.
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From page 55... ...
Optimal management: Adaptive strategies for digital fluency Developing means to measure environmental, individual, and technological factors and their interplay would be advantageous through providing baseline data that might allow researchers to design personalized strategies for maximizing brain and cognitive function. Team members proposed management options from digital literacy training starting in elementary school to computerized multitasking management devices as strategies for achieving this goal.
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From page 56... ...
Adaptive Strategies: A Model for Maximizing Efficiency Team members designed questions to approach discussions on digital technologies and brain and cognitive functions, then narrowed their focus to one key question: "Can we develop digital and/or behavioral adaptive strategies to enhance efficiency in World 2.0? " Such strategies could approach the task of maximizing efficiency in an information-dense digital world either from the human-side (e.g., "technology coaches" that guide individuals in best management practices for digital
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From page 57... ...
The team's goal of maximizing brain function in a transient, information-dense digital world can then be met through cultivating optimizing management strategies, both technology- and individual-driven. The team presented the several testable hypotheses described above and proposed practical management strategies in its two days of interdisciplinary discourse.
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From page 59... ...
Watson, University of Utah IDR TEAM SUMMARY -- GROUP 5B Jessica Luton, NAKFI Science Writing Scholar University of Georgia IDR Team 5B was asked to assess the differences in the cognitive and brain functions in the brains of digital natives and digital immigrants. While the initial goal was to address these differences, it became apparent throughout the course of the first group discussions that the illusive nature of defining digital natives and digital immigrants made it difficult to answer this question, as we are all destined to be digital immigrants at some point throughout our lives, when the next big technological advance comes along to which we are not yet accustomed.
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From page 60... ...
The group discussed the implications of what less imitation might mean for emotional development. If children are using text via cell phone and social media, does this mean that they're not developing the skills necessary to understand emotions in real rather than digital people and furthermore experience empathy for other human beings?
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From page 61... ...
Most important, the team wants to know whether there is a critical period of development in which high multimedia use might inhibit normal cognitive and brain development. The group's proposed study, therefore, focused on various factors including functional differences, shifts in intrinsic oscillation frequencies, early EEG markers and a task battery that would help assess this question from various perspectives.
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From page 62... ...
Normal To really provide a broad-based study to help answer some of these questions, the team proposed a hypothetical study that would not only provide a behavioral assessment of study participants, but also investigate physiological measures that might provide a base of knowledge for all disciplines to assess the potential positive and negative effects of high digital
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From page 63... ...
Remington, Arjuna Solutions • Rina Shaikh-Lesko, University of California, Santa Cruz IDR TEAM SUMMARY -- GROUP 5C Rina Shaikh-Lesko, NAKFI Science Writing Scholar University of California, Santa Cruz IDR Team 5C was asked to develop a new approach to assess the differences in cognitive brain function between the brains of "digital natives" who have been exposed to the Internet and other digital media since early child
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From page 64... ...
Heavy digital engagement is simply part of the milieu in which we find ourselves, regardless of whether we are digital natives or immigrants or whether we are heavy or light media users. The challenge, now that we are becoming aware of the potential costs of media overload, is how to manage the competing priorities in an effective way.
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From page 65... ...
Tapping into the mobile phone app user audience One of IDR Team 5C members had a recent relevant example of devel ping, with the aid of a game designer, a free iPhone game app called o BrainBaseline. It has more entertaining and engaging versions of cognitive assessment tests used in laboratory settings.
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From page 66... ...
The first is during the initial set-up -- a new user would be presented with a detailed questionnaire which would ask about priorities, tasks, what is enjoyable about those tasks, what are the most tempting distractions and any other relevant information the user wants to add that can all be plugged into an algorithm that would work with a user's calendar, music library, and file storage system to create a daily schedule that is uniquely optimized for that individual. An alternative approach is for the app to log what people do throughout the day.
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From page 67... ...
It is likely that the number of digital distraction will continue to grow. Understanding how humans manage multiple tasks is a relatively young field, but it also represents an opportunity to apply our knowledge of computer science, cognitive science, and neuroscience to understanding a problem that is unique to our digital age.
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