As Mercedes Sánchez, co-author of the book, points out, “Spanish on the internet”, the Internet and mobile phones have helped people write more than ever. This democratization of writing on the Internet is largely due to the emergence of social networks and instant messaging services, which are increasingly part of our daily lives.
Just to give an example, messages sent through the messaging services WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger reach, on average, 60,000 million a day. This amount is equivalent to 8 messages per day on average per inhabitant of the earth, although this average will vary between countries, taking into account the literacy rate and Internet penetration. This fact represents a giant change in our communication patterns and together with the use of social networks, are affecting how we use language, developing new neural connections and changing learning patterns.
One of these changes comes from the use of so-called emoticons, which attracts detractors and defenders in equal parts. On the one hand, it is feared that the use of these “graphic messages” will impoverish written language by using fewer words. However, its defenders rely on this and see it as an evolution of language, claiming that it is used as a mere support element to express more feelings in less space and time.
And the use of icons is due to the rise of written communication over the Internet. This new way of transmitting information has meant that we need elements that allow us to replace the gestures or tone of voice that are present in oral communication.
Positive or negativethe influence of emojis is a fact, since according to some studies they suggest they have the same effect as that of a real face, causing our brain to translate that non-verbal information into emotions. Thus, the impact of a negative message with “emojis” is less than one without them, which makes it more understandable.
On the other hand, the growing use of social networks, of which 1and1 gives us a summary one of the most used, also involves alterations in our brain. Scientific work has proven that greater use of these leads to a greater ability to perform several tasks at the same time and to search for information for specific issues. However, analytical capacity is lost to decide the quality of that information and to know if the sources are reliable. In addition, social networks also contribute to lower concentration and greater difficulty in reading and writing long texts.
Science detects changes in neurotransmitters
Transformations have also been detected in certain neurotransmitters (molecules that carry out the transmission of information from one neuron to another neuron, muscle cell or gland). This could lead to more individualistic and introverted behaviors, a greater need to buy and invest, and greater influence from family and partners.
Other aspects refer to one’s own health, as pointed out by different health experts, since Uncontrolled use of social networks can trigger psychiatric disorders such as different addictions, in addition to increasing the probability of suffering from inflammatory or hearing diseases.
Without a doubt, the great speed with which new technologies emerge in almost all fields of our lives is transforming our society and ourselves as a race by leaps and bounds. Whether we are going in the right direction or not, time will tell, but if something defines the human being it is his insatiable thirst to advance and evolve, if we reject progress we reject ourselves.
