Brain Hacking
“Is Silicon Valley programing apps or programing people?” (Cooper) The answer to this question posed by Anderson Cooper appears to be the latter, as efforts to thwart high focus on engagement instead of necessity of app use alone is frowned upon by developers. Devices are designed to be addictive and keep us engaged regardless of the unknown impacts they might have on individuals and society. It was studied that people check their phones at least every 15 minutes, even if there was no notifications reminding you to do so. In a 60 Minutes interview, app developer Ramsay Brown introduced the idea of neuroscientists directly creating programs for engagement saying, “A computer programmer who now understands how the brain works, …show more content…
This constant urge to check our devices over and over throughout the day will certainly have influence on our habits. After conducting a report on his attendance at a mindfulness retreat where he disconnected himself from technology, Anderson Cooper began pondering about the impact that his phone had on his everyday life. It was mentioned that about 75% of people feel “phantom vibrations” from what they think is their phone in their pockets, when indeed there was absolutely no vibration at all (CBSNews.com). At another point in this video clip, Professor Larry Rosen mentioned, “When you put the phone down, you don’t shut off your brain, you just put the phone down” …show more content…
Of the 7 billion people on earth, currently about 6 billion own a cell phone, while only about 4 billion of them have a working toilet (AsapSCIENCE). An online video infographic titled “How Is Your Phone Changing You?” placed an emphasis on physical concerns from phone use by stating that along with an increase in near sightedness for about half of the U.S., looking down at your cellphone on average for 4.7 hours per day is the equivalent to the strain of having an 8 year old child sitting atop your shoulders and neck (AsapSCIENCE). It was also found that the blue light emitted from your phone can cause you to not get as good of sleep, which in the long-term can cause issues such as diabetes, cancer and obesity. The video concluded by advising that a ‘smartphone vacation’ would be a benefit and could help to increase productivity
“Is Silicon Valley programing apps or programing people?” (Cooper) The answer to this question posed by Anderson Cooper appears to be the latter, as efforts to thwart high focus on engagement instead of necessity of app use alone is frowned upon by developers. Devices are designed to be addictive and keep us engaged regardless of the unknown impacts they might have on individuals and society. It was studied that people check their phones at least every 15 minutes, even if there was no notifications reminding you to do so. In a 60 Minutes interview, app developer Ramsay Brown introduced the idea of neuroscientists directly creating programs for engagement saying, “A computer programmer who now understands how the brain works, …show more content…
This constant urge to check our devices over and over throughout the day will certainly have influence on our habits. After conducting a report on his attendance at a mindfulness retreat where he disconnected himself from technology, Anderson Cooper began pondering about the impact that his phone had on his everyday life. It was mentioned that about 75% of people feel “phantom vibrations” from what they think is their phone in their pockets, when indeed there was absolutely no vibration at all (CBSNews.com). At another point in this video clip, Professor Larry Rosen mentioned, “When you put the phone down, you don’t shut off your brain, you just put the phone down” …show more content…
Of the 7 billion people on earth, currently about 6 billion own a cell phone, while only about 4 billion of them have a working toilet (AsapSCIENCE). An online video infographic titled “How Is Your Phone Changing You?” placed an emphasis on physical concerns from phone use by stating that along with an increase in near sightedness for about half of the U.S., looking down at your cellphone on average for 4.7 hours per day is the equivalent to the strain of having an 8 year old child sitting atop your shoulders and neck (AsapSCIENCE). It was also found that the blue light emitted from your phone can cause you to not get as good of sleep, which in the long-term can cause issues such as diabetes, cancer and obesity. The video concluded by advising that a ‘smartphone vacation’ would be a benefit and could help to increase productivity