Recently reading this amazing article in Slate magazine, about how the internet, and its various means of "search" are merely the devils tools. Google, Twitter, Facebook, etc. are nothing more than just feeders to boost our dopamine levels. The "crack" of the digital world. Endless streams of information to seek, and explore, and satisfy, and seek some more. All those blogs, wikipedia articles, web pages, with hyperlinked words which "jump" you to more information, simply feed that need to "search" This stimulates our hypothalamus, boosting dopamine levels, creating a euphoric feeling... until we need more. They summarize:
For humans, this desire to search is not just about fulfilling our physical needs. Panksepp says that humans can get just as excited about abstract rewards as tangible ones. He says that when we get thrilled about the world of ideas, about making intellectual connections, about divining meaning, it is the seeking circuits that are firing.
The juice that fuels the seeking system is the neurotransmitter dopamine. The dopamine circuits "promote states of eagerness and directed purpose," Panksepp writes. It's a state humans love to be in. So good does it feel that we seek out activities, or substances, that keep this system aroused—cocaine and amphetamines, drugs of stimulation, are particularly effective at stirring it.
The question then arises.. is this for the better? Are we evolving the way we think for the better? Or is this "crack" doing what real crack really does.. making us more and more and more and more STUPID. The point of this post and question I am asking is, are we more advanced and adept at surviving in an increasingly digital world because of the way these technologies make us think. I think not. I personally think that this resembles the rats in the Slate article too closely. This information is useless without an actual overarching plan which ties this quest for knowledge with a larger purpose. The senseless bursts of searching and quick finds may help in short-term needs, but for a longer term, evolutionary need, we have to focus this desire to search to a plan. In this vein of increasing desire to find, we find the the law of diminishing marginal returns applies. The "satisfactory" part of our brain is not tied directly to the seeking part, creating a disconnect between the two and then an inability to STOP. "So we find ourselves letting one Google search lead to another, while often feeling the information is not vital and knowing we should stop. 'As long as you sit there, the consumption renews the appetite,' he explains." Think "crackberry"
Our abilities to intelligently form a strategic plan of "searching" and executing it over a longer term for an increased return is destroyed by our want for senseless short-term spurts of searching and consummation. And repeat.