What effect is all this blogging having on the brains of bloggers?The good doctors provide much more detail for their conclusions above so go read them if you have any doubts.
[snip]
After surveying the general range of materials that the blogosphere has to offer, we believe the following basic largely supportive conclusions are warranted:
1. Blogs can promote critical and analytical thinking.
2. Blogging can be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking.
3. Blogs promote analogical thinking.
4. Blogging is a powerful medium for increasing access and exposure to quality information.
5. Blogging combines the best of solitary reflection and social interaction.
[snip]
In conclusion, it looks as if blogging will be very good for our brains. It holds enormous potential in education, and it could take societal communication and creative exchange onto a whole new level.
Thanks to Kevin Drum for the pointer.
1 comment:
The blog post was a good read. The post includes a laundrey list of possible research areas to be investigated.
If we read carefully we notice that general questions are asked, and general "answers" are given, but that no literature review is presented of completed studies in this pursuit of blogging's effect upon those who blog.
It's just a lot of speculation at this point without the actual research to verify.
Hopefully, as actual research on blogging's effect upon bloggers is conducted, and the actual impact of blogging becomes known it will show that blogging is a positive rather than a negative.
I agree with the article's author that blogging SHOULD be a postive as it is harder to do, involving more effort to read, and write, than simply watching television.
Research on video games has shown that playing them forces more brain activity than simply watching television - a no brainer, but the actual influence of video games goes beyond brain activity, and hand-eye coordination. As we see an increased level of hyper-real violence coming into the homes, and minds of america video games present yet another challenge to parents in protecting their children from the moral pollution which seems rife in our modern society.
I found out late about a month ago, when a neighbor's eleven year old son brought over a video which included a store which sold items which the main character would purchase in order to bludeon people - and kill them if desired.
I thought it was a car chase game, and allowed it to be played for two days before I took enough interest, and was floored by the realism and inherent immorality of the premise and disign of the game.
I felt the game was a breeding ground for insamity, and immorality.
Blogging can be used for anything. I'm sure we'll see it used for child porn rings, prostitution, nazi hate groups, the recruitment of terrorist, etc.
So like anything else it will be used for both good, and bad.
JP
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