Search Find Learn

Well yes. Of course it is. Working in a repetitive factory job or driving a taxi around London will change your brain. But it's still interesting to read this news story on how the the Internet is not just changing the way people live - it's also changing the way our brains work. If you search the Internet or text message, you're making your brain better at filtering information and making snap decisions.

Gary Small, a neuroscientist at UCLA in California, argues that this is an evolutionary change. As with all evolutionary changes, there are winners and losers - the winners in the digital evolution will be those who are tech-savvy at the top of the new social order.

So the Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth? It's not as simple as that. Technology can accelerate learning and boost creativity. But it also allows people to isolate themselves and 'live' online. But succeeding in the new 'digital' era will require a mix of traditional and technological social skills.

I know many people who can communicate and connect effectively through blogs, twitter, linkedin, facebook, myspace, podcasting etc etc etc. But not all these people can connect effectively in real life. Then there are those who are brilliant at traditional social skills. But can barely type an email or reply to a text.

I learned my traditional social skills in a variety of sometimes challenging situations - by having to attend funerals and weddings, by participating in cultural gatherings such as birthday parties, or through institutions like school and college. Mostly I was guided (or coerced) through these situations by an adult who taught me how to socialise. But I've been learning my technological social skills by trial and error.

Gary Small's conclusion that tomorrow's winners need to be comfortable in two worlds is hardly mind bending. But I like to think that those of us who straddle two worlds, who know how to sit on a bus with a complete stranger and talk about the weather for an hour as well as twitter our way through the US election, maybe we've got a headstart in this race :)