Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome Of Our Era

In "Attention Deficit: the Brain Syndrome of Our Era" Richard Restak examines the brain 's ability to multitask and the consequences of multitasking. Restak states that our brains respond to all the technology around us such as television, movies, cell phones, e-mail, and the Internet. He claims that our brains are changing its organization and functions because of the modern world such as technology. The changes of the brain can be considered as both good and bad, but considering the future, I think the changes of the brain would not be for the better. The first reason is that Paul Wender, an ADD expert, quoted "The attention span of the average adult is greatly exaggerated."(415) Meaning the attention span of the adults is getting worst and worst. So as time goes by, the teens who becomes adults has even less attention span than the adults before them, due to the fact that their brains are more distracted and more fragmented. Our brains cannot focus on two activities at once instead it rapidly shifts attention from one to another. An example is …show more content…
Restak states "Technologies are forcing our brains to restructure themselves and accommodate to a world of multiple identity and presence."(419) meaning that technology is one of the biggest reason why our brain 's organization changes so much throughout the years. Even though Restak is not criticizing technology, he understands that technology is the reason why our brains are constantly changing. Technology re-wires the brain so that it can keep up in today 's society, since society requires people to focus on two or more things at the same time. Even though technology allows us to talk to someone from one place to another, people who talks on the phone is not focused on the person who is in front of them or on the phone with them. Our brain has to make adjustments so that we could focus on one or the other. Technology is one of the cause in our brain 's functioning in the modern