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 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.
