Richtel Response.

After I finished reading Matt Richtel's article on technology I felt nothing but sadness for the Campbell family. To be so addicted to various devices sounds like the absolute worst.  Not being able to disconnect and enjoy family and surroundings is not something that Mr. Campbell and his children should be proud off.  Although they may feel that nothing is being lost while they are all engulfed in devices, I feel that they are sadly mistaken.  As Mr. Nass, an employee at Stanford said, " The way we become more human is by paying attention to each other. It shows how much you care. A significant fraction of people's experiences are now fragmented."  I completely agree with this statement. How is this family supposed to function around others if they can't go more than an hour without using some type of technology.  The story about a vacation taken in California was almost tragic.  For family time to be pushed aside due to the inability to unplug should be a sign to them that something needs to change.

On the other hand, I understand that the Campbell's are an extreme case scenario and where chosen to prove a point.  One of the main topics throughout the article was whether or not the brain can continue to develop in adulthood.  Adapting to new ways of multitasking is a subject that many scientists are interested in studying.  Steven Yantis, a professor of brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University stated, "The bottom line is, the brain is wired to adapt."  It makes sense that as we grow and experience new things our brain should do the same.  But at times the growing distractions of multitasking can turn that adaption into something that is unuseful.  Richtel explains that scientists found that from sorting through e-mails, texts, various information found on the web and phone calls people are changing the way they think and act.  Which, inevitably changes their ability to fully foucs and comprehend single pieces of information.  Some even say that the excitement that comes from finding new information is what drives people the most, which is a very intresting concept.  These studies are going further to try and figure out whether these new technological advances are doing good or bad and I for one and looking forward to seeing what they find.