Mmzornes's List: Misinformation Debate

• These and other studies show that multi-tasking "prevents people from getting a deeper understanding of information," Greenfield said.
• As technology has played a bigger role in our lives, our skills in critical thinking and analysis have declined, while our visual skills have improved
• Reading for pleasure, which has declined among young people in recent decades, enhances thinking and engages the imagination in a way that visual media such as video games and television do not
• "By using more visual media, students will process information better," she said. "However, most visual media are real-time media that do not allow time for reflection, analysis or imagination — those do not get developed by real-time media such as television or video games. Technology is not a panacea in education, because of the skills that are being lost.
• "Studies show that reading develops imagination, induction, reflection and critical thinking, as well as vocabulary," Greenfield said. "Reading for pleasure is the key to developing these skills. Students today have more visual literacy and less print literacy. Many students do not read for pleasure and have not for decades."
• Among the studies Greenfield analyzed was a classroom study showing that students who were given access to the Internet during class and were encouraged to use it during lectures did not process what the speaker said as well as students who did not have Internet access. When students were tested after class lectures, those who did not have Internet access performed better than those who did.
• Another study Greenfield analyzed found that college students who watched "CNN Headline News" with just the news anchor on screen and without the "news crawl" across the bottom of the screen remembered significantly more facts from the televised broadcast than those who watched it with the distraction of the crawling text and with additional stock market and weather information on the screen.
• • This page has a lot of good information on it... I could highlight forever.

6 more annotations...

• The erosion of the language is another negative effect of the Internet. With spell check and grammar check available in word documents, students are allowing the Internet to write for them. This, coupled with the short form acceptability of texting and tweeting, has minimized the ability of students to think on their own and to write proper sentences and essays. The imagination and creativity of each individual is being replaced by the imagination and creativity of software producers.

• From online newspapers to eReaders to social media, the Internet has had a profound impact on the ways people read for information and pleasure. However, research also reveals that it has altered the depth and acquisition of reading abilities. The Internet has not just changed what people read, but the ways they process and apply the information, leading to both positive and negative consequences for American reading skills.
• Although the results of studies vary, the National Endowment for the Arts reports a relationship between the lack of time students spend reading for pleasure and decreased reading scores. Their report "To Read or Not to Read" revealed that more than half of people ages 18 to 24 don't read for fun and that the same age group is more likely to spend money on entertainment consoles, TVs, video games and other visual entertainment media than books. In possible consequence, overall reading test scores are down nationwide, with only 5 percent of students testing at proficient levels.