Assignment:
Respond to Angela and Shayla post while being respectful of and sensitive to their viewpoints. Consider advancing the discussion in the following ways:
Post an article, video, or visual to reinforce a peer's idea or challenge them to see their point from a different perspective. Need Assignment Help?
Engage in conversation with your peers around cognition and the taxes on attention presented by the world today. Consider asking a question or sharing your personal experience.
Angela Post
Google and social media have very good qualities, such as quick access to information and knowledge of new abilities one may want to learn. Social media can create a sense of community for people with similar interests, such as cooking, music, sports, etc. However, many negative qualities of social media can impact our mental health. Bailey Parnell discusses that the top three diagnoses on University campuses are anxiety, depression, and stress (Parnell, B. (2017, June 22). Many studies in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., etc have linked the high social media use among people to these diagnoses. The distractions can absolutely overtax our attention as people who are addicted to social media are constantly scrolling, checking notifications, checking our likes and comments, etc., it can take us out of what is going on in our real life. Personally, I always think about deleting social media, but never actually do because I enjoy seeing what is going on in my friend's lives and I enjoy the entertainment that comes with social media. Providing yourself with boundaries and time limits on social media can possibly help with bettering your mental health if you can commit.
Deep fakes can be especially dangerous when it comes to perception of memory and decision making because it can show figures we look up to reporting false information. Being able to talk over the voices of political figures running our country is a very scary concept if it falls into the wrong hands. It can also damage one's reputation like we saw in the video "Deepfake Videos Are Getting Real and That's a Problem". Things such as deep fakes, AI, etc. can cause a scarcity mindset among society and can also cause harm to people who find altered images and videos of themselves.
When people come together to share their thoughts and ideas, especially when it comes to important issues such as social issues and politics, there can be new things learned from one another and different perspectives offered. This can also be another way where misinformation is spread, especially with people these days sharing their thoughts and opinions as if they are fact.
The concept of cognition in the modern world applies to ethics. Because we have things now, such as AI and deep fakes, it is easy to believe those tings we see to be fact. Anyone participating in AI and deep fakes to broadcast false information is participating in extremely unethical behavior. It is important for us as a society to always use our discernment when we see things that don't seem like they could be true before we spread the information ourselves.
Shayla Post
In today's world, technology has both improved and challenged our cognitive abilities. Tools like Google and social media act as an extension of our cognition by giving us quick access to information, which can be helpful for learning and problem-solving. However, these same tools can also overtax our attention. Constant notifications, short-form content, and endless scrolling make it harder to focus for long periods of time. From my own experience, I've noticed that when I consume a lot of short videos, my attention span decreases and I struggle to engage with longer or more meaningful content. This shows that while technology is helpful, it can also train our brains to expect constant stimulation.
Another concern in the modern world is the rise of deep fakes, which can distort perception and memory. If people cannot trust what they see or hear, it becomes harder to make informed decisions. This is especially significant in areas like politics and media, where false information can influence opinions and behaviors. Deep fakes challenge our ability to rely on our own cognitive processes, which can have serious consequences for society.
Overall, I do not think we have fully built a world that supports cognition. While technology provides many benefits, it also creates an environment that constantly competes for our attention. This connects to the theme of self-care, as individuals now have to be more intentional about how they manage their attention. Limiting distractions and being mindful of technology use has become necessary in order to protect focus and maintain cognitive well-being.