"Experts believe the internet encourages users to dart from page to page, rather than concentrating on one source such as a book.
Described as 'associative' thinking, researchers believe it is reducing youngsters' capacity to read and write at length because their minds are being remoulded to function differently."
Described as 'associative' thinking, researchers believe it is reducing youngsters' capacity to read and write at length because their minds are being remoulded to function differently."
A survey designed to examine the internet's impact on the brain examined how 100 12 to 18-year-olds responded to a series of questions requiring some form of research.
They discovered that most of the respondents gave their answers after looking at just half the number of web pages older people examined.
They also found that younger people took far less time to research their answers and were therefore less thorough.
Professor David Nicholas of the University College London, who conducted the research, said it supported the growing theory that the web's hyperlinked network of information was helping to rewire youngsters' minds.
He revealed that 40 per cent of those taking part in the study viewed no more than three pages from the thousands available online, when researching a topic.
In contrast, people who grew up before the age of the internet repeatedly returned to the same source instead of flitting between