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I saw this article as well and I thought it was very interesting. It's definitely possible that reading about these effects is making me feel them, but I can really relate to the feeling that some fundamental changes to my mental life have occurred since I started using computers and phones and whatnot on a regular basis. I remember that as a child I was a great and insatiable reader, always seeking out new books and new information; ever since I began getting things fed to me through technology, reading has seemed more difficult and less compelling. Have to lead my eyes physically through an article -- and I know this sounds crazy -- is simply not the same thing as reading on a computer, or using the internet more generally.

But i also wonder whether the alarmist aspect of the article is realistic. For as long as there's been anything even remotely like the "technology" that we have today, there have been Luddites and doomsayers. But, like we're learning in this class, the brain is incredibly plastic: I don't think it's realistic to assume that just because we're seeing new patterns of brain activity, that those  are "bad" or deviate from some original norm. I'm not sure that there realistically is a norm to make reference to: hasn't the brain been evolving continuously, just as we have? Won't it continue to do so?