Changing children's brains

Portraits of Serafino & Francesco Falzacappa; Pier Leone Ghezzi [1674 - 1755]

Source: J. Paul Getty Museum

Our children are
being exposed to an experience that alters their brains in ways we do not fully
understand. There is now strong evidence that patterns of brain connectivity
are different in individuals who have been exposed compared to those who have
not¹.
Influential figures have expressed
concern that people’s memories will be restricted by this experience, which
removes the need for them to memorise material, and allows them to look things
up instead². And indeed, there is clear evidence of changes in cognitive
processing, as predicted³. Furthermore, instead of learning in a social context, our children are increasingly
being encouraged to engage in solitary activities that deprive them from the
benefits of interacting with other people. And, rather than embracing traditional influences, they are
exposed to alien ideas from other cultures^4,5 



Does this sound familiar? Are you thinking computer games, ipads, smart phones? If so, then consider: We are
changing children’s brains, altering their memories, and influencing their
ideas by exposing them to books.

References

1. Dehaene, Stanislas, Pegado, Felipe, Braga, Lucia W., Ventura, Paulo, Filho, Gilberto Nunes, Jobert, Antoinette, Dehaene-Lambertz, Ghislaine, Kolinsky, Régine, Morais, José, & Cohen, Laurent (2010). How learning to read changes the cortical networks for vision and language Science, 330, 1359-1364 DOI: 10.1126/science.1194140 

2.
http://outofthejungle.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/socrates-objections-to-writing.html

3. Ong, W. J.
(1982). Orality and Literacy. London and New York: Routledge.

4.
http://yalebooks.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/a-history-of-women-readers-belinda-jack-discusses-the-relationship-between-gender-and-literacy/

5. Nafisi, A.
(2003). Reading Lolita in Tehran. New York: Random House.