So, how does reading on the internet differ from reading a book?
According to a video and some readings I have just done, it has two consequences.
Firstly, It has been argued that, searching on the internet activates a decision making part of our brain that is different than in reading. I found this odd, since I know reading is not a passive process. Nevertheless, in experiments it has been shown to be true, that we actively supress the flood of information on the internet to find exactly what we are looking for. In many ways, this uses the reading skills known as skimming and scanning which we have just discussed. However, in this case we are scanning for the first relevant site in our search query, skimming the contents of the opened article or link, and then repeating if the process if it turns up nothing. Theoretically, this should make us better readers on some level, but it may also encourage a constant questioning of whether the information we are looking at is relevant, rather than simply being open to it.
Secondly, we may forget the information that we have read because we expect to access it at a later time. This is called transactive memory. Here is how it is defined by Wikipedia:
“Transactive memory is a psychological hypothesis first proposed by Daniel Wegner in 1985 as a response to earlier theories of “group mind” such as groupthink.[1] A transactive memory system is a mechanism through which groups collectively encode, store, and retrieve knowledge. ”
Just to prove the point even further, here is the link to a video and some resources explaining this:
http://academicearth.org/electives/internet-changing-your-brain/
One thing I liked about this video, is that it explains the type of processes that are occurring, so that we can become more aware of them, including whether we want something to be in our transactive memory, or make a conscious effort to retain it permanently.
ESL Deverell 