Capsule Proposal Form

Working Title:
THE EFFECT OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN CREATIVITY AND POTENTIAL OF

MILLENNIALS

Rationale:
There is no denying that we live in the age of technology. It is an essential part of

everyday life and is constantly improving to do more and more impressive things. Along with the

shift if technology, a shift in society and the way that we think and operate is also coming along

as a consequence to the technological advances. There has been much debate on whether the

effects of technology on society as a whole have been beneficial or not. Arguments are heated

on both sides, but in order to truly develop your own opinion, you have to hear them both out.

According to Thomas Merton, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at

the same time.” We have all stood in front of that special image that sang to our soul. It has

been said that the art we choose to hang on our walls is a visual representation of who we

are and what we believe in. The resonance of art is deeply personal and what works for one

person might do the opposite for another. And so, how does modern technology affects the

development of ones’ creativity?

Brief Literature Review

The importance of educating students to think critically and creatively was recognized over

2,000 years ago by Socrates, reworked in the 1950s by Benjamin Bloom, and reinforced by

many modern-day educators. With changes in lifestyle brought on by innovations in digital

technology, teachers, administrators, and parents alike are questioning the effect that these

habits could be having on a student’s ability to focus. Teachers, especially, are faced with

challenges and unknowns in working with students who have grown up in a digital

environment that some researchers warn could be disabling important systems of brain

development that relate to lack of exposure with traditional reading. Faced with balancing

use of traditional texts and an increase in technological resources, teachers are questioning

whether today’s students have the innate capability of negotiating higher-order thinking and

generating creative ideas, as the nature of study habits undergoes transformation. This

article explores how ability to use creative and higher-order thinking processes relates to

exposure to modern technology.

Have the digital habits of youth robbed them of the mental facilities necessary for the deep

thinking that formed the basis of creative problem solving, and might this affect their potential

to be creative? Have technically savvy youth dulled their ability to use higher-order thinking,

distracted by the digital world, with increased tendencies to multi-task? Or is it the case that

technological advances can ignite synapses in areas of the brain that have never been

tapped, with consequences for an expanded evolution of creative and higher-order thinking?

The impact of technology on many areas is being debated. Although the Nations Report

Card (2009) reported no gains in reading scores over the past several decades, the National

Endowment for the Arts Reading Study (2009) showed that declining trends in reading over

the past several decades reversed, and the rise in e-book interest (and sales) started to

make significant gains. Shaughnessey and And (1994) warned of negative consequences

for the effects of TV watching on cognitive development, yet Johnson (2006) portrayed a

new evolution in TV programming complexity that may be enhancing reasoning skills.

Rosser et al. (2007) found surgeons who play video games committed fewer surgical errors

compared to those who do not, but Anderson and Bushman (2001) inferred causality

between the violent nature of some video games and tendencies to act out that behavior in

real life. A thorough review of the research showed results that supported the doomsayers.

DeStafano and LeFevre (2007) reviewed 38 studies that involved reading with digital

technology. Findings indicated that the increased potential of enriched information offered by

the Internet was more than brains could handle. The evolution of the information delivery

system was running ahead of the brain’s ability to take advantage of assimilating the

material. It should be noted that most of the research reviewed in the aforementioned meta-

analysis focused on the effects of short-term memory as opposed to creativity and higher-

order thinking, which may be much harder to analyze and operationalize. Is it possible there

is a generational-cultural conflict involved in the analysis and judgment concerning the

habitual effects of digital technology on youth? After all, other instances of generational

conflict characterize previous periods of major creative breakthroughs.

Research Questions/ Objectives:

The research aims to unveil the effects of modern technology in the development of creative

potentials of millennials.Millennials interact with technology like no other generation before

them and this is affecting how they want to be taught in higher education and how they want

to lead and expect to be led in organizations, after graduating. Though stating that they want

to be enlightened in academia, some qualitative comments from millennials indicate the

opposite, namely that they want to be prepared but also to be kept naïve as to

what business really entails. This is expected to help keep motivation levels high, as

motivation is seen to be the key element to success in life. Millennials expect also to be led

authentically and to be treated as valued human beings. This is in contrast to the current

autocratic leadership profile found predominantly in Portuguese organizations, at the time of

writing. This study had a sample of one hundred and eleven millennial students who

answered a survey on attitudes towards leadership and their desired approach to higher

education. Three interviews with seasoned executives were also performed, to establish a

contrast and see other perspectives.

With this research, we conclude that we may be in the presence of a hard working millennial

generation, contrary to previous research findings which has indicated that they are lazy.

Finally, information technology (IT) is a precious partner in class, in particular Padlet.com,

Moodle, and online News Forums, as well as the challenge to create original videos about

course content. Future research should focus on how technology has made society more

transparent with employees wanting more democratic leaders in times when hierarchies are

seen to hinder rather than aid productivity levels.

Methodology:

Two factors stand out in the analysis of judging the effects of technology on the potential to

use higher-order creative thinking.

1) Was there a significant change to the motivations that drive creativity in these times, and

2) could the changes in synaptic brain function from using digital technology cripple the

physical ability to innovate? The underlying drive to create seemed to be a function of life

itself, which had overlap with a basic human drive to solve problems, construct unique

interpretations of experience, and overcome obstacles. With ancient man, that drive was

stoked by a physical hunger to survive, and at the time mankind evolved into using written

forms of communication; the impetus to extend the power of ideas and communicate proved

to be a strong motivating force that expanded possibilities of creative thought. The current
digital generation has its own unique characteristics, spawned by a need to create that has

overlap with basic tenets that drove mankind from the outset. Power, curiosity, intellectual

evolution, and hunger for new experiences, which relate to Franken’s (2006) and Magyari-

Beck’s (1996) motivating factors, still form the foundations upon which creativity is acted on

today. Although the digital landscape has dramatically changed how people are spending

their time, those underlying motivations are still prevalent. Although reading certainly helped

develop overall intellect and establish functions of the brain that relate to following complex

thought forms, it seems to have an indirect relationship on the act of innovation. Johnson

(2006, p. 22) spoke about the mental work involved in processing and storing information

with reading, invoking powers of imagination, ideas that were cobbled together from different

disciplines, networking in a new configuration of synapses that evolved over time. Increasing

synaptic activity in areas of the brain with digital exposure has an intuitive relationship with

the sparks, epiphanies, and potential to come up with innovative ways to connect old ideas,

and may contribute to expanding possibilities for creative activity. If, over time, the ability to

read devolved to a significant degree, the aha moments of synaptic convergence may not be

able to relate to substantive schema that was founded in sound precepts, somewhat like

creating without the guidance of the master. This might not have an effect on the ability to

create, but may have a drastic effect on the quality of the creations. Although reading did not

have a direct relationship with creativity, it did supply the foundation on which creative

thoughts flourished. Let’s hope enhanced brain functions that result from using digital

sources will compensate for traits that may be lost as traditional reading skills slowly elapse.

Research Matrix

Activity/Objective Method Output Timeframe

Proposal Writing Literature review & Comprehensive March 2018
brainstorming with proposal
students of grade V
Data Collection Executing a formal Quantitative analysis July-August 2018
assessment through
questionnaires
Analysis Generalization of the Supported data November 2018-
quantitative analysis analysis March 2019

Budgetary Requirement/s, needed for funding

Activity Estimated Required Expenses Source of Funds

None None None