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the impact of digital technologies on human wellbeing evidence from the sciences of mind and brain a state of the art review written for nominet trust by dr paul howard-jones www.nominettrust.org.uk this document is designed to be read with adobe acrobat

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being foreword 2 foreword exploring what it means to use the internet safely is more than understanding online privacy and personal security it is important to understand the implications of our online life for our offline well-being that is to explore the implications of using interactive technologies on the ways in which we behave on our values and on our mental and physical health at nominet trust we are committed to supporting initiatives and organisations that work towards a safer more accessible internet used for social good in doing so we need to be aware of safe internet use in its broadest sense this publication aims to highlight what the field of neuroscience can tell us about the implications of using interactive technologies on young people s brains behaviours and attitudes it brings together the latest research from this emerging area not only to understand its implications but to recognize the limitations of the existing evidence by doing so we hope to highlight what is known about `safe uses of interactive technologies but also what is not known i.e what cannot be claimed or needs to be researched in more detail if we are to develop effective and safe practices that use digital technologies we need to be clear about the evidence that we build upon and ask more nuanced questions to determine where future research should be focused dan sutch head of development research nominet trust july 2011 www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being about the series 3 about the series nominet trust state of the art reviews are undertaken by leading academics to collate and analyse the latest research at the intersection of the internet and society drawing on national and international work these reviews aim to share the latest research to inform the work of the trust those applying to the trust for support and our wider partner organisations we value your comments and suggestions for how to act on the recommendations in these reviews and how we can build the series so that it is more useful to us all as we work towards a safer more accessible internet used for social good we look forward to your comments and suggestions at research@nominettrust.org.uk www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being contents 4 contents written by paul howard-jones for nominet trust introduction 5 executive summary 7 technology and the sciences of the mind and brain 9 final comments 63 recommendations 67 references 70 designed by ben carruthers illustrated by sam bevington about the brain 86 glossary 94 about nominet trust 96 www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being introduction 5 introduction notes our lives have become increasingly immersed in technology much of our communication is now online much of our leisure and entertainment is provided by the internet and video games and many of us find our mobile phones have become an essential part of our connectivity and everyday organisation with these changes in lifestyle questions are arising about what technology may be doing to us some of these questions revolve around potential detrimental effects which have been the frequent focus of alarming press articles some commentators have suggested that we are facing an `unprecedented crisis in which `the human brain is under threat from the modern world a that `our love of the latest technology could be turning into a 21stcentury addiction b that facebook is `infantilizing usc and google is degrading our intelligence d the vanguard of our advance into this new world is our children and especially our teenagers we know that the developing brain of a child is more plastic and responds more malleably to experience than an adult s brain this provides some justification for the especially strong concerns around the emerging 24/7 technology lifestyle of our children and we are wise to ask what this will mean for their development and education therefore although this review includes research on adults there is a particular emphasis on research with children and adolescents additionally amongst the types of technology considered video games will enjoy greater attention this reflects their accumulating status in the research literature as a special case of environmental influence on the mind and brain some commentators have suggested that we are facing an `unprecedented crisis in which `the human brain is under threat from the modern world that `our love of the latest technology could be turning into a 21st-century addiction a greenfield s in daily mail b roberts d in the telegraph c wintour p in guardian 2009 2010 london 2009 www.nominettrust.org.uk d carr n in the atlantic vol july/august 2008

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being introduction 6 notes the burgeoning literature in this area makes it impossible to reference in full all the research that might be considered relevant instead the understanding that is emerging on individual topics is illustrated by considering those studies that appear most relevant and valid the recency of the research has also been a factor in weighting its significance since the technology itself and the manner and extent to which it is used are rapidly changing year by year paul howard-jones july 2011 www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being executive summary 7 executive summary notes rather than label any type of technology as being good or bad for our brain it is how specific applications are created and used by who when and what for that determine their impact existing forms of online communication for supporting existing friendships are generally beneficial for their users with little basis for considering that social network sites and online communication in themselves are a source of special risk to children internet-related abuse eg inappropriate sexual solicitation cyberbullying appears related to issues beyond the use of the internet internet use including online gaming is problematic when it regularly interferes with normal daily living and is difficult to control although internet/gaming addictions have not been established as psychiatric disorders no particular threshold has been identified that can be defined as excessive use but research supports a guideline of maximum two hours total screen-based entertainment per day for children problematic internet usage is associated with a range of psychosocial difficulties but the internet can also support mental health through online therapeutic treatment for a range of mental health disorders the internet is a valuable learning resource and all learning involves changes in the brain some technology-based types of training can improve working memory and others can provide mental stimulation that helps slow cognitive decline some types of gaming whether on-line or off line can improve visual processing and motor response skills prompting suggestions that games may represent a particularly effective way to enhance brain plasticity across the lifespan the mechanisms involved are still not understood but may help explain the effectiveness of such games to also influence affective response playing violent and prosocial video games generally shifts behavioural tendencies towards aggressiveness and empathy respectively gaming can strongly engage the brain s reward system and this may also help explain their attractiveness www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being executive summary 8 notes although technology can helpfully support learning some applications can be a distraction suggesting parental monitoring of younger students use of technology may benefit learning outcomes for example adult students who make substantial use of instant messaging consider they are distracted by it and such heavy multitasking does not appear to improve the ability to switch attention between applications evidence linking technology-based activity to a reduction in physical exercise is mixed but how and when technology is used does appear to influence sleep in particular late night technology use is linked to reduction in sleep and sleep quality and teenagers who use their mobile phones after lights out are considerably more likely to suffer daytime sleepiness again games may be different from most other types of technology in their influence on neurobiological processes with some evidence that they can disrupt children s sleep and learning even when played early in the evening parents and their children would benefit from clearer independent information about where a significant body of research indicates potential risks from a particular technology application they would also benefit from support in assessing and acting upon these risks academic achievement and student wellbeing would benefit from schools having access to curriculum and teaching resources aimed at delivering skills to students that enable their `hygienic use of internet and digital technology these resources would help schools equip students with the knowledge and understanding required to guide their own use of technology more research is needed in a number of areas to help evaluate the risks and potential benefits for healthy development presented by the new technologies and their applications some types of games have been identified as having a particularly strong influence upon brain function suggesting the need for further research aimed at understanding more about the processes involved and the issues and opportunities that such games may provide www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being technology and the sciences of mind and brain 9 technology and the sciences of mind and brain notes introduction to this section 10 social networking 13 excessive internet use 18 information gathering 22 multitasking 26 brain training 29 the attraction of video games 32 visuomotor skill learning 37 affective response 45 attention problems 49 displacement of exercise and homework 53 sleep 57 www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being technology and the sciences of mind and brain introduction to this section 10 introduction to technology and the sciences of mind and brain notes what can and can t evidence from neuroscience tell us what do i need to know about neuroscience to read this report www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being technology and the sciences of mind and brain introduction to this section 11 notes neuroscience is now providing a new source of insight into understanding human behaviour with its novel methods of generating images of how our brains are functioning these methods and images are invaluable tools with which to understand ourselves including how we interact with technology but they can also be a source of popular misunderstanding for example headlines that the internet is `rewiring our brains might appear alarming1 ­ as if the internet is changing the connectivity of our otherwise `hard-wired brains from neuroscience however we know even the adult brain retains a level of plasticity such that a vast array of `everyday experiences can change its connectivity function and even structure2,3 any experience that leaves a memory since that memory must have a biological substrate must have modified our brain observable changes at the level of the brain therefore do not imply irreversible outcomes instead they provide a source of evidence that should be considered alongside psychological and behavioural data to address specific questions when all these sources of evidence `match up we can be more sure about the findings and recommendations that they individually and collectively help generate to help constrain interpretation of the existing evidence each section of this review will be summarised in terms of `what we know and `what we do not know unless otherwise stated `what we know will be restricted to findings supported by converging studies published in high-quality peer-reviewed journals when it comes to concluding that technology has been the cause of a particular outcome we need to be particularly careful there is very rarely a single cause of anything in human behaviour and development4 we can however be most sure we have determined that technology is a significant contributory factor when research of three different types points in the same direction5 these three types are a well-designed experimental research eg testing for a difference in the behaviour after a short period of technology use compared with another activity b correlational research testing for an association between a use of technology and the extent of the behaviour and c longitudinal studies testing whether the amount of technology use between two or more times can be used to predict changes in the behaviour when it comes to concluding that technology has been the cause of a particular outcome we need to be particularly careful we can however be most sure we have determined that technology is a significant contributory factor when research of three different types points in the same direction www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being technology and the sciences of mind and brain introduction to this section 12 notes a further difficulty in considering the evidence is the specialist language and terms that are sometimes used to express it no expert knowledge of neuroscience or psychology is required to understand the findings of this review but some basic facts about neuroanatomy might be helpful for two reasons they will help you visualize some of the brain regions you may encounter in the text later and help you understand and remember the principles discussed they are a good first defence against neuromyth in this and other areas therefore some readers might like to read the brief notes in the about the brain section page 86 and the related glossary page 98 www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being technology and the sciences of mind and brain social networking 13 social networking notes are social network sites helping or hindering our children s social skills what are the risks www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being technology and the sciences of mind and brain social networking 14 notes teenagers are by far the most avid users of the new social media in the uk just over one fifth 22 of adult internet users aged 16 and almost half 49 of children aged 8-17 who use the internet have profiled themselves on a social networking site6 this may be due to the opportunities offered by online communication for selectively presenting and revealing oneself to others self-presentation and self-disclosure7 however the very features of online communication that make it controllable and attractive to teenagers can also expose them to risks for example its potential accessibility and anonymity can expose them to cyberbullying or sexual solicitation or simply deter the development of offline friendships and face-to-face social skills valkenburg and peter identified three key aspects of psycho-social development that online communication can influence identity intimacy and sexuality7 following valkenburg and peter the potential positive and negative effects of social communication across the internet in terms of each of these aspects will be briefly considered here with respect to identity recent research suggests a beneficial effect of online communication on self-esteem associated with positive responses to profiles and a sense of mastery and control over blogs and homepages8,9 however there is also clear and well-documented evidence of problematic over-use of the internet which impacts negatively on wellbeing see section on excessive internet use with respect to developing intimacy and friendships the second half of the 1990s generated several studies that showed greater internet use amongst teenagers was associated with reduced social connectedness and wellbeing10-12 however at this stage in the adoption of the internet less teenagers had internet access making it more difficult to maintain existing social networks online additionally more recent technologies facebook instant messaging etc have since been developed to encourage communication with existing friends over the last decade the effects reported in the research literature have been positive rather than negative13 with most recent studies showing that online communication stimulates teenagers social connectedness and wellbeing14,15 an important caveat however is that these results only hold for using the internet to maintain existing relationships using the internet to make new friends has been linked to lower levels of wellbeing16 furthermore cyberbullying remains an under over the last decade the effects reported in the research literature have been positive rather than negative with most recent studies showing that online communication stimulates teenagers social connectedness and wellbeing www.nominettrust.org.uk

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the impact of digital technologies on human well-being technology and the sciences of mind and brain social networking 15 notes researched and apparently prevalent problem17 with most surveys reporting that 1035%18 of children have received a cyberbullying experience in a recent study in belgium it was noted that children whose parents are less involved with their internet use have a higher chance of becoming perpetrators and children who take more online risks are more likely to become victims19 however the research also found that both the victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying tend to experience these roles offline as well with another study also suggesting victims may be experiencing broader problems than simply internet naivety20 the authors of the latter study conclude that interventions which have often lacked effectiveness18 may benefit from broadening their focus beyond how the internet is used with respect to sexual development teenagers frequently turn to the internet for information and discussion about emotional moral and social issues regarding sex in particular many gay and lesbian adolescents find online communication a safer way in terms of maintaining privacy to discuss problems surrounding their sexual orientation and its public acknowledgement on the downside unwanted sexual solicitation continues to be a risk given the paucity of uk statistics in this area data from the us will be used to provide some perspective on the potential size and nature of the problem21 this shows the numbers of young internet users reporting such experiences had dropped between 2000 19 and 2005 13 and compared to other sex crimes internet-related sex crimes against children are rare for example in the us in 2006 about 2 of sex crimes against teenagers were internet-related and a recent survey of us law enforcement agencies concluded that young people are not at particular risk when interacting on social network sites22 furthermore perpetrators of those sex crimes involving the internet do not fit the popular notion of `predators who use trickery and violence to engage in forcible sexual assault or paedophilic child molesting instead crimes involving adults and juveniles more often fit a model of statutory rape ie adult offenders who meet develop relationships with and openly seduce underage teenagers this has brought calls for younger adolescents to be armed with greater awareness and avoidance skills rather than targeting the social network sites themselves22 posting personal profiles has been indicated as a potential risk of social networking sites23 but a study of bloggers aged 10-17 revealed no increased risk for the victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying tend to experience these roles offline as well with another study also suggesting victims may be experiencing broader problems than simply internet naivety www.nominettrust.org.uk

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