GIS@SU

Summary of Tweet Me Your Talk by Nadine Shuurman 

In the rapidly-changing, ever-evolving technological world we live in, it's no wonder our minds try to play catch-up almost every second we are awake.  The human brain was made to be malleable, meaning it can change and adapt to nearly every situation it is put in.  With the fast paced manner in which we conduct our every-day affairs on the Web, our brains are adjusting to intake as much information as quickly as possible, thus changing the fundamental way in which humans learn.  The accessibility of information lessens the need for humans to completely learn information, and the quick pace at which we "read" articles diminishes reading skills.  Because we've become so accustomed to getting information quickly and effectively, humans have become almost expert scanners.  This implies that instead of taking the time to actually read full works, we simply scan for key terms and ideas.  How academic journals and scholarly articles are being accessed is changing because of this.  Abstracts and short blurbs are more readily available, so as not to lose the reader's interest by having them search for it.  There seems too much importance placed on aesthetics, rather than on the content itself.  This distraction that is happening, almost at a world-wide level, is also changing how we make our decisions.  When given too much information, all at once, it becomes difficult to remember the previous options presented, forcing us to choose one of most recent options, and not necessarily the best.

The implications of this phenomenon suggests that it is becoming more difficult to get people to delve deeper into issues, because they quickly become distracted by the next headline.  While this is something that is occurring primarily in more developed countries such as the United States and Western Europe, the Internet is something that is now available all over the world, making it easier for everyone to access.