I know I’m not alone in wondering how the internet is changing the way I think, write, respond and create in this world. But I choose to believe that it’s all for the good, that this is part of our evolution. I might be wrong.
More and more documentation is showing that advanced internet use does decrease our attention spans, although it may improve our analytic skills. I’m at the point where I can’t write as smoothly in longhand (and my penmanship is nearly an illegible code), whereas in front of the keyboard I feel lucid and quick. I used to think I was just a kinesthetic learner — but there’s more to it. I need to be able to sit at a keyboard to think about certain subjects with maximum focus. I am clearly conditioned to work with several web pages open at once, fact checking and spell checking as I go.
The research is mounting….pros and cons…this is a good overview of the issues in this recent clip from Scientific American (June 15, 2010).
The Lighter Side of Transformation 
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