Friday 13 March 2009

Is the Internet Harming Children's Reading? Or not?

I know it's not my turn to post, but since we're making such an effort to use it, I thought you might like to share your ideas on the BBC News article, "clever.com", in which a number of experts share their contradictory opinions on whether or not the internet is harming people's reading skills. We're studying reading and writing, so it's a topic that everyone should be interested in. And if you're like me, you use the internet a lot. In fact, I wish I could use it more! I was thrilled when the OED went online. It's vastly more convenient than the 30 volume book version, and it's a lot more powerful than the CDrom version that I used for a few years. I wish all my other reference books were so conveniently available online. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to read a novel on my computer screen. But I don't think that puts me with the group who worry that the internet is making people stupid. 

How about you? Which side are you more inclined to agree with? Why? What sort of facts or statistics might be relevant here? 
The BBC News article is short and fairly easy to read. It also raises a number of significant questions, so you might like to read it in full before you comment: my summary above has left out a lot. 
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References
Clever.com . (2009, March 11). BBC News. Retrieved on March 13, 2009 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/analysis/7935725.stm 

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1 comment:

  1. Shinobu14 March 2009 at 18:59

    I found the article in which it's written that "Our most striking finding was that Internet searching appears to engage a greater extent of neural circuitry that is not activated during reading — but only in those with prior Internet experience." It also says "Compared with simple reading, the Internet's wealth of choices requires that people make decisions about what to click on in order to pursue more information, an activity that engages important cognitive circuits in the brain." It was examined by people who are in from their mid 50's to 70's, so I'm not sure if it can be said for young people though, but in my opinion, I don't think Internet is harming.

    UCLA study finds that searching the Internet increases brain function By Rachel Champeau| 10/14/2008 8:00:00 AM from http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-study-finds-that-searching-64348.aspx

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