CTA (Critical Thinking Ability) has been irrevocably altered by global addiction to smart technology and especially social media dependence (SMD).* Fragmented patterns of rapid information acquisition impairs critical assessment of resources, reading comprehension, attention span and focus. This is often to the exclusion or rejection of sustained critical analysis and reflection on a given topic. Obsessive scrolling and excessive touchscreen use can reorganize the somatosensory cortex. Excessive social media use negatively affects language and cognition, and may lead to visual acuity impairment. Significant psychological, emotional, spiritual, and physical health issues ranging from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, isolation, despair, and antipathy have been well documented,* even as mental health professionals, educators, physicians, and traditional healers try to assist clients who are intellectually, socially, physically, psychologically, or spiritually compromised by SMD.
Having experienced the deleterious effects of SMD in every professional, communal, and personal circuit in which I have been ensconced, I am daily walking with people for whom paying attention and going deeper is a lost art.
Critical thinking and focus, endemic to classical and liberal arts education that is the backbone of a functioning and healthy democracy and other representative forms of governance are sorely lacking. Voters who cannot read with comprehension and digest the complexity and nuance of socio-political global issues that affect them are only the tip of the iceberg. Verifiable, peer-reviewed source materials that are replaced by stream-of-consciousness social media posts born of ignorance and echo chambers signify systemic intellectual collapse.
Imagine any professional and skilled technician you rely on for critical services and niche competency, and understand that CTA may be functioning at a low or fully compromised level. Your health professional, educator, electrician, politician, realtor, or auto mechanic may be serving you today with impaired CTA. This includes those serving as parents, neighbors, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, friends, and trusted confidants. This includes distracted drivers. We are all susceptible, and while childhood and young adult development research is striving to keep abreast of the issues related to CTA loss and to protect vulnerable children, others with SMD are expected to cope as informed adults.
Some adults may not feel a loss if their critical thinking/reflection skills, logical coherence, sound rhetoric, and overall cognitive processes are compromised. They may assume that they're "fine just as they are, thank you," and that only the intellectual "snobs" need to practice critical thinking, hone their focus, attention, comprehension, language/communication skills, and the ability to delve deeper into the issues affecting all of us.
Going deeper is treasured by many not as intellectual elitism, but as intrinsic to healthy identity and relationship. Mindfulness practice, "presencing," meditation, retreats, centering, yoga, language immersion, and book clubs are some avenues available to encourage and promote CTA. Still, for some who are averse to anything that feels "too heady," or is labeled "TMW" (too many words), or is "TLDR" (too long; didn't read), there is another alternative: Nature.
Nature's benefits are too magnificent and broad in scope to detail here. For focus and paying attention, Nature provides an excellent opportunity to exercise involuntary (vs. voluntary) attention. A walk outside attunes our senses to welcome spontaneity - birdsong, chipmunk and squirrel chitter, the rustling of leaves, shade and sun shifts, color, natural fragrances, and stark or inviting textures that capture our attention. Involuntary attention means we are aware of our surroundings, with heightened sensory perception, without preparing to react. Because we can simply be present with our full sensorium, "attention restoration" occurs. Attention restoration is an opportunity to recharge our over-stimulated, hyperactive minds, and is found to be beneficial in those struggling with ADHD or recovering from SMD.
Simply going outside for Nature therapy may be an excellent resource for the techno-saturated overload of SMD. Full-sensorium Nature immersion increases focus and attention, lowers bp and heart rate, and regulates respiration. Negative self-talk abates. Self-preoccupation vanishes. Improved balance, focus, and energy return. Feelings of equanimity, peace, gratitude and contentment replace surges of anger, anxiety, restlessness, fear, and overwhelm. If you want a guide to help you learn the art and practice of full-sensory Nature immersion, please reach out to me. (LAW.EnvSoul@gmail.com) For a simple self-guide: https://www.environmentalsoulutions.com/post/soulscape-101-7-steps-to-full-sensorium-nature-therapy
If you value going deeper, retaining your ability to pay attention and focus, and honing your critical thinking skills, reach out, go outside, and learn Nature's lessons. Saturate yourself with wonder.
*For further investigation:
Li Cheng, etal., "Impact of social media use on critical thinking ability of university students" Library Hi Tech 42 (2) (August, 2022)
Rachel J. Hopman, etal., "Resting-State Posterior Alpha Power Changes with Prolonged Exposure in a Natural Environment," Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications (October, 2020) https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-020-00247-0
Martin Korte, "The impact of the digital revolution on human brain and behavior: where do we stand?" Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience (June, 2020): 101-111.
Mass General Brigham - McLean Hospital, "The Mental Health Benefits of Getting Outdoors" https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/nature
Kommentare