[wpaudio url=”https://media.shellypalmer.com/wp-content/images/usrn/120716_SHELLYPALMER_GEN_BED.mp3″ text=”Click to play … ” dl=”0″]
Is the Internet making us crazy? A recent article in Newsweek Magazine asks that very question and finds that increasingly, experts think it might be. Internet Addiction is at term you may have heard before, and next year for the first time, it will be included in the DSM, the guide that psychiatrists used to classify mental disorders. Though extreme, life-threatening cases are rare, studies have shown that the brains of heavy internet uses often resemble the brains of drug and alcohol addicts. Here’s the kicker: as little as 38 hours a week online can be considered heavy use. By that standard, almost everyone has something to worry about. In the past few years, we’ve begun to outsource our brains more than ever before and that behavior will only grow as devices get more affordable and more efficient. The way we approach everything from shopping to education will continue to change, so we’d better find a way to make it work.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.