According to a leading investigative news organization, it's alarming how the brains of millenials could get affected by their extreme dependence on digital technology. Their being online and connected to the virtual world most of the times, as well as too much use of the Internet for whatever reasons can put their "interpersonal communication and social skills at high risks".
Millennials consist of young adults who belong to the generation born after 1980 and the first generation to come of age in the new millennium. Generation Y grew up alongside the birth and explosion of digital technology - displaying faster-decision making skills and an affinity for the workings of high-tech devices.
The Pew Research Center reported that the U.S. Census Bureau states that there are 83.1 million people aged 18 to 34, in the country. Consequently, similar and relevant studies show that "the average Millennial spends 18 hours per day using any type of digital media and 90 percent of young adults use social media, which is up from 12 percent in 2005".
Likewise, scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health say the human brain continues to mature until the age of 25 and if their brains are constantly exposed to and assaulted by backlit screens, mental development might have been compromised - rapidly changing the process due to their "almost constant interaction with the technologies".
Possible changes on their communication skills, interpersonal behavior, and even their personality have been observed including changes on their hand gestures, expressions, and language. Hence, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, on the other hand, unearthed the science behind this: There are changes in the ways the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum and parietal lobe mature.
The prefrontal cortex resides in the frontal lobe and controls personality, cognition and social behavior. The cerebellum coordinates and regulates muscular activity, including those linked to language as the parietal lobe deals with interpreting language and words.
Excessive tech usage, according to leading scientific publications, shrinks the outermost part of the brain, making it more difficult to process information and affecting the way people interact.
