Some people believe that the more they use smartphones and other tech gadgets, the more technology dependent they become. But are the Internet and the tech toys making us dumber or smarter? Experts have different opinions on the subject, but it seems that modern people’s brains are working faster and more effectively than the brains of people fifty years ago.
The ongoing debate about technology and its influence on human intelligence and social skills will be still relevant in 50 years from now. The reason for this is that the term intelligent doesn’t have to be equal to terms like skillful, competent or experienced. As we strive to make everything faster, cheaper and easier by inventing new tech gadgets, we are slowly becoming less skillful, according to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, psychologist at University College London. For example, we all have lots of Facebook friends, but it doesn’t mean we actually communicate with each one of them. As a result, young people today develop fewer social skills like body language, basic etiquette and so on.
On the other hand, we have all the information we need stored in our smartphones. Why should we learn tons of things when we have Google Search? Today, information is widely available and just too easy to find on the Internet, so our brains don’t have to store all the facts from the History or Biology Classes at school for instance. However, according Chamorro-Premuzic, the average score on all of the older IQ tests was 100, while today a score of 115 is considered average. So, it seems that no matter how dependent we are on the Internet, the mobile technology and the computer games, our brains are just working faster. Scientists say that today’s knowledge aspects of IQ haven’t really improved, but for some reason, abstract reasoning has become faster. It’s like with processors, says Chamorro-Premuzic, in 10 years they and our brains will be faster.
Another issue discussed by scientists is the excessive use of technologies. We are used to our smartphones, computers, GPS navigators, tablets, music players, Xbox consoles and so on, but what happens when we find ourselves without all of them? We just take for granted our ability to find all the information we need and to connect with people at any moment. But our tools for making our life easier can be quite damaging to our mental and overall health. Immediate information means a lot of stress. That’s why technology-free vacations at distant places are becoming so popular.
So, is technology good or bad for us? And what happened to the value of information! Certainly, it depends on how we use the both– we may become smarter, but still some turn into video or game addicts. There is also the Internet addiction which is observed nowadays even in younger children. The most important thing is to realize what damage technology can do and to try to avoid it as much as possible.
