Wherever we go there is the omnipresent media/digital connection: restaurants, shopping malls, sporting events, workout areas... I once asked my students about their family's TV exposure. "How many have their TV on if someone is home?" Almost everyone put up their hands. Of course, multiply this with computers, iPods, cellphones, video games and the stimulation is exponential.
However, a NYT article refers to several studies which suggest that it's best to unplug during downtime.
"Digital technology makes the tiniest windows of time entertaining, and potentially productive. But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.
“Almost certainly, downtime lets the brain go over experiences it’s had, solidify them and turn them into permanent long-term memories,” said Loren Frank, assistant professor in the department of physiology at the University of California, where he specializes in learning and memory. He said he believed that when the brain was constantly stimulated, “you prevent this learning process.”
Another study found that "people learned significantly better after a walk in nature than after a walk in a dense urban environment, suggesting that processing a barrage of information leaves people fatigued.
Even though people feel entertained, even relaxed, when they multitask while exercising, or pass a moment at the bus stop by catching a quick video clip, they might be taxing their brains, scientists say.
“People think they’re refreshing themselves, but they’re fatiguing themselves,” said a neuroscientist.
The article encourages one to think about the effects of his/her digital habits. I, too, would be very sensitive as a parent about a child, teen's lifestyle and how it may be affecting their cognitive development.