Republic of the Philippines
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
MEXICO EXTENSION CAMPUS
San Juan, Mexico, Pampanga
Journal Critique
TITLE OF JOURNAL
THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND ADOLESCENT BRAIN EVOLUTION
In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Course
Understanding the Self
Last Name, First Name Middle Initial
Buan, Mark Jinro M.
June 06, 2023
Abstract
Remarkable advances in technologies that enable the distribution and use of information
encoded as digital sequences of 1s or 0s have dramatically changed our way of life.
Adolescents, old enough to master the technologies and young enough to welcome their
novelty, are at the forefront of this “digital revolution.” Underlying the adolescent's eager
embracement of these sweeping changes is a neurobiology forged by the fires of evolution to
be extremely adept at adaptation. The consequences of the brain's adaptation to the demands
and opportunities of the digital age have enormous implications for adolescent health
professionals.
Introduction
In the past 15 years, teenagers' learning, playing, and socializing habits have changed more
than they have in the 570 years since Gutenberg popularized the printing press. The connected
teen brain is subjected to a virtual onslaught of information thanks to the Internet, iPads, cell
phones, Google, Twitter, and Facebook, among other technological wonders.
Adolescents in the United States interacted with digital gadgets for an average of 8.5 hours
per day in 2010, up from just 6.5 hours in 2006. They use multiple devices simultaneously 30%
of the time, bringing their daily overall exposure to media to 11.5 hours. These figures are a
changing target and depend on the survey, socioeconomic position, ethnicity, and geographic
region, but all signs point to a sharp rise in screen time that is likely to continue as technology
advances and becomes more generally accessible. The rate of "penetration" the time it takes
for 50 million individuals to utilize a new technology is unprecedented. Technology didn't fully
take hold until 38 years after the invention of the radio, 20 years for the telephone, 13 years
for television, 4 years for the World Wide Web, 3.6 years for Facebook, 3 years for Twitter, 2
years for iPads, and 88 days for Google+. The speed and scope of these changes the digital
revolution raise various issues that are pertinent to adolescent health issues that also affect
kids, teens, parents, teachers, and society as a whole. What are the positive and negative
effects of the sudden changes in how teenagers spend their time? How can technology be
used to maximize good things and reduce bad ones? Could the extraordinary rate of change
itself be too much for adaptive systems to handle? The digital revolution has given us a unique
understanding of how experience molds the brain and how these changes in the brain might
alter our experiences. In order to investigate these issues, it may be helpful to take into
account the neurobiology and evolutionary background of the teenage brain.
Summary
Adolescents' pursuit of the ongoing tasks of adolescent development learning about the
world, establishing their independence and identities, and interacting with peers are being
changed by the digital revolution. A report titled "Millennials will benefit and suffer due to
their hyper connected lives" by the Pew Internet and American Life Project Foundation
summarized findings from their poll of over 1000 technology stakeholders and critics.
Attempting to categorize the phenomenon as either good or harmful on the whole is not
helpful. The digital genie has broken free and won't go back inside the bottle. The alarmist
rhetoric that was traditionally used to promote the telephone, dime novels, comic books, and
TV is evocative of the danger paradigm that dominates much of the present literature on social
media. Some people feared that all of these would weaken the moral foundation of our
country and eventually bring about the end of civilization. Risks associated with inefficient
time management, reduced depth of analytical thought when multitasking, or perhaps
impacts associated with increased exposure to violent or sexually explicit content are more
likely. Technologies have immense potential benefits, including fantastic educational
opportunities, excellent entertainment, and enhancing social connections.
Critique
This journal that I choose to make a critique to is really straight forward it simplifies every
details that the reader seeks. The fact that got my interest to is that; we human are so adaptive
in every generations and every innovation but at the same time we are being complacent
because of it. The quote “The things you own end up owning you” truly applies here. To my
perspective, the effect of the digital world on adolescent behavior will depends on the manner
of how you as an individual use it. For the reason of we've all been raised on television to
believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't.
And we're slowly learning that fact and we're very, very upset.
Conclusion
The brain of adolescent is not a damaged or flawed adult brain. The forces of evolution have
skillfully shaped it to have different features from those of children or adults, yet these
distinctions have benefited our species. Increased risk-taking, increased sensation-seeking,
and a shift away from parent toward higher peer affiliation are the three most significant
behavioral changes that occur during adolescence. The fact that these alterations affect not
just humans but all social mammals shows a deeply ingrained biology that encourages
independence and distance from the natal family.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3432415/
Giedd JN. The digital revolution and adolescent brain evolution. J Adolesc Health. 2012
Aug;51(2):101-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.06.002. PMID: 22824439; PMCID:
PMC3432415.