And the Brain

By: Corbyn Campbell

Information overload?• Media shapes our ideas and thoughts, sometimes without us even

realizing it.• Media can refer to many different aspects of our daily life such as

television, movies, music, art, video games, magazines, and perhaps most importantly the news.

• The fact we are constantly bombarded with information on how to dress, what’s appropriate behavior, and what’s going on in the world around us makes it inevitable for media to have a large impact on our lives.

• Media is not always a bad thing by any means, because it also brings to life our creativity and in a way can make us feel unique.

• The average American child from eight to eighteen reports they are effected by media at least 8 hours a day, and I think we can all agree it’s probably even more then this.

Blame the media!• The media is a constant and relatively easy target for us to blame on

problems we face like obesity, school shootings, teen pregnancy, etc.• Unfortunately blaming the media isn’t going to stop the demand for

violent video games, fast food, and reality TV shows that promote sex and drinking.

• Television stimulates the brain in ways that are going to keep people watching regardless of how they’re effected by it because most of this stimulation has already occurred when we were very young.

• Television images not only stimulate our brain, but can cause hormonal changes depending on what we view. Studies show that after watching a romantic film, hormonal levels like a mans testosterone increase.

• The same types studies show music and art can also increase or decrease hormone levels in a person, so there is really no way of avoiding it!

TV and Video Game Addiction• When most people think of addiction they think cigarette smoking,

alcohol, drugs, or maybe even exercising and work.• TV and video game addiction are in fact very real, and the chemical

changes in the body are almost identical to someone who is addicted to something like smoking.

• Dopamine levels increase when we are positively stimulated while playing a video game, and like a drug addiction when we do not have these dopamine increases from playing withdrawals can occur.

Media and the Brain• Studies from the Indiana University School of Medicine show that

adolescents who view large amounts of media have significantly less cognitive thinking. Cognitive thinking effect’s not only how we problem solve, but our learning, emotions, and behaviors.

• Every parent’s question is ‘Do violent video games and TV really effect my child’s brain?’ The answer is, Yes! This is in fact not dependant on the person, and the brain is effected regardless of who you are. The variable here is a person’s personality, how they process this violence, and a person’s experiences in life.

• This does not mean that every person who watches violence will become violence, but does prove that people who are biologically more violent then others can be effected and are more likely to become violent.

• The average American is exposed to over 3,000 ad’s a day!

The good• The internet, newspapers, and magazines can increase our overall

awareness of our surroundings, and make learning new things easy in the comfort of our own home.

• Newspapers and articles can also increase our vocabulary, and can in fact help us develop positive reading habits.

• Technology has allowed us to hear about incidents that happen across the world in minutes, and the field of improving technology creates a lot of jobs and ambition for people to create the next big breakthrough, like the internet, iPods, cell phones, etc.

• It’s not all bad! People just have to adjust and have a positive balance of social activity and entertainment.

The bad.• Studies show that children who view several hours of television a day score

lower in schools, especially in reading because television substitutes reading habits.

• This is because the visual stimulation blocks the left hemisphere’s language circuitry. When children are constantly stimulated by visual information rather then language and reading, the brain becomes less active when reading is necessary. This also causes the brain to become impatient or bored easily by less stimulating activity, like homework.

• Development of certain disorders like attention deficit disorder, and problematic behavior in class can also be tied to the left hemisphere not developing correctly.

• Violent and sexual media is not the only problem we face, but the fast paced and quick movement of commercials hinder the brain from developing independently.

• It can decrease cognitive thinking and effects your prefrontal cortex.

Staying Healthy in a Crazy World• There are ways to stay healthy, both mind and body while enjoying our

favorite TV programs and the occasional video game.• Getting a good nights rest!• Stay in school, keep your cognitive thinking critical and don’t get

consumed by entertainment.• Limit how many TV’s you have in your household. Monitor TV, computer,

and other sources of media to a few hours a day. You can do it!

YOUTUBE!

• These are a couple video’s I thought were really cool and give you an idea of how media is effecting people.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFxktp4JDQk• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=FNtK8jNiyvY&feature=related (I know its fox news, just ignore that part)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYIooNAvJF8&feature=related