I read an interesting article the other day. The headline was, “Is your smartphone ruining your memory?” The piece discussed a new phenomenon called “digital amnesia.”
What a bunch of nonsense. I use my smartphone all the time and there’s nothing wrong with my memory.
So, anyway, I read an interesting article the other day. The headline was, “Is your smartphone ruining your memory?”
Um, wait a minute. OK, maybe there is something to it after all.
What a bunch of nonsense. I use my smartphone all the time and there’s nothing wrong with my memory.
So, anyway, I read an interesting article the other day. The headline was, “Is your smartphone ruining your memory?”
Um, wait a minute. OK, maybe there is something to it after all.
Researchers are studying the impact digital media has on our brains. (I think we already know the impact Facebook and Twitter have on our souls, and it ain’t good.)
There are two main aspects of how the digital revolution is affecting our brains. First, we now are outsourcing a significant portion of our memories to smart devices. We no longer have to remember things such as appointments and phone numbers, since our devices keep track of that information and give us notifications when an event is due. Yes, in the prehistoric, pre-smartphone days (which were slightly more than a decade ago), we often wrote things down on calendars or notebooks. But the very act of writing something down with a pen or pencil would imprint that information in our brains much more effectively than hitting the “accept” button when you get an email invitation to a meeting and then trust that your digital devices will remind you.
Professor Oliver Hardt, who studies neurobiology at McGill University, is concerned about our reliance on GPS devices nowadays. “We can predict that prolonged use of GPS likely will reduce grey matter density in the hippocampus,” he explains. “Reduced grey matter density in this brain area goes along with a variety of symptoms, such as increased risk for depression…and certain forms of dementia.”
Apparently, when we follow GPS directions (“In a quarter mile, turn right onto Commerce Street”), we are not exercising our brains very much. “Map reading is hard,” Professor Hardt points out, “and that’s why we give it away to devices so easily. But hard things are good for you, because they engage cognitive processes and brain structures.”
There are two main aspects of how the digital revolution is affecting our brains. First, we now are outsourcing a significant portion of our memories to smart devices. We no longer have to remember things such as appointments and phone numbers, since our devices keep track of that information and give us notifications when an event is due. Yes, in the prehistoric, pre-smartphone days (which were slightly more than a decade ago), we often wrote things down on calendars or notebooks. But the very act of writing something down with a pen or pencil would imprint that information in our brains much more effectively than hitting the “accept” button when you get an email invitation to a meeting and then trust that your digital devices will remind you.
Professor Oliver Hardt, who studies neurobiology at McGill University, is concerned about our reliance on GPS devices nowadays. “We can predict that prolonged use of GPS likely will reduce grey matter density in the hippocampus,” he explains. “Reduced grey matter density in this brain area goes along with a variety of symptoms, such as increased risk for depression…and certain forms of dementia.”
Apparently, when we follow GPS directions (“In a quarter mile, turn right onto Commerce Street”), we are not exercising our brains very much. “Map reading is hard,” Professor Hardt points out, “and that’s why we give it away to devices so easily. But hard things are good for you, because they engage cognitive processes and brain structures.”
In other words, locating Commerce Street on a map, and envisioning in our heads where it is in relation to where we are at the moment, and then figuring out the best route to get there, is like a 60-minute aerobic workout for our brains. While following GPS instructions is like our brains sitting on the couch scarfing down Cheeze Doodles and a 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper.
The other aspect of digital media that affects our memories is the fact that we are constantly being interrupted, to the point that we rarely think about one thing for an extended period of time. (“Extended period of time” being defined as “more than four seconds.”)
Catherine Price is a science writer and the author of the book How to Break Up With Your Phone. She is worried that people are perpetually distracted by their phones, a term called “Continual partial attention.” She says, “One of the things that impedes our brain’s ability to transfer memories from short- to long-term storage is distraction.” In other words, if we’re juggling five different sources of information all at the same time (such as email, text messages, Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix), we’re not absorbing any of it.
The other aspect of digital media that affects our memories is the fact that we are constantly being interrupted, to the point that we rarely think about one thing for an extended period of time. (“Extended period of time” being defined as “more than four seconds.”)
Catherine Price is a science writer and the author of the book How to Break Up With Your Phone. She is worried that people are perpetually distracted by their phones, a term called “Continual partial attention.” She says, “One of the things that impedes our brain’s ability to transfer memories from short- to long-term storage is distraction.” In other words, if we’re juggling five different sources of information all at the same time (such as email, text messages, Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix), we’re not absorbing any of it.
Before I finish, I just want to mention that I read an interesting article the other day. The headline was, “Is your smartphone ruining your memory?”
However, I, uh, I can’t remember what the article said because I was checking email and listening to music with my earbuds while reading it. But I’m sure it was interesting. Or whatever.
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