If you are looking for a life less plugged in than you've come to right place. Each week we will roll out a new chapter in the Folk rebellion's maintenance manual. Consider this a handy guidebook for continued living "IRL" in a digital society (or repair and overhaul for those of you that need it).

We will present to you the eye opening findings from the top scientists, scholars, & surveys in an easy to read digestible “micro-content” digital sort of way to insure that you get the info in a way you've become accustomed to reading. This is how the breakdown will roll each week:

1. The super scary sciency fact/stat
2. Human speak in layman’s terms
3. What it means for you & your life
4. Tips on how to combat or moderate it

We might as well start from top down. This is your brain on screens...

THE FACT: 

The Google Effect is a real thing. The access to data anytime, anywhere, through search engines like Google, is taking an effect on human memory, according to this study, ultimately altering the way the brain functions. Transactive memory is the ability to remember where the information is (think birthday on iCal, phone numbers in iPhones, etc) but not the actual information itself. Our brains are no longer "bothering to remember" things when we have a partner like Google that can house that info for us.

LAYMAN’S TERMS:

Our human brain’s have changed. Call it reprogramed or rewired.  Science has proven that your brain on screens and the internet is significanlty different than when it was not. And not for the better.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU:

Your mind is not meant to operate like a high speed data processing machine. The results are scattered thoughts, diffused attention spans, lost memory & distractions.

THE GRAY MATTER’S

Tips on how to stop the rewiring of your brain

• Read long form articles and newspapers and read them away from screens. PaperBecause states that Jakob Nielsen, a web usability expert noted that: “The online medium lends itself to a more superficial processing of information, you’re just surfing the information; it’s not deep learning.” 
• Don’t fall into Google’s trap.  Their business model is based on their economic interest to distract us....ADS dished up to you through links, videos, and content. The more you click, the more they learn about you, and the more they can sell your demographic to the advertisers looking to buy your eyeballs. 
• Allow for quiet “at rest” time. Commuting? Look out the window instead of the endless passive scrolling through “friends” social media feeds. Do you really care all that much anyway? Consider trying meditation (mindfulness if meditation is too new-agey of a term for you) for 5 minutes. Just close your eyes, pay attention to your breaths as they deepen, focus on the space behind your eyes, and bring your attention back to all when your mind wanders off. Don't get mad, just politely nudge it back to attention. We bet you end up doing more than 5 minutes without even realizing it.
• Start a hobby that requires hours of focus. Write your memoir (on paper), take up tinkering, or get the double benefit of the solitude of fishing in nature. No pond? A nightly walk should do the trick.

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