Digital Dementia

[teheviltwin]

I'm sure everyone has heard about this but I was interested in people's thoughts on the matter.

For those that don't know: Digital Dementia is a term from South Korea to describe the deterioration of brain function caused by excessive use of technology such as smart phones and games consoles. South Korea is pretty much the most tech-happy country on Earth with nearly 20% of teenagers using their smartphones for 7 or more hours per day.

Basically, the brain is getting no downtime during the day to process information. Every lull during the day is being filled with more information from smrtfones etc. The end result is a loss of concentration, memory and creativity at levels you would normally associated with a severe head injury or serious psychiatric disorder. There are other implications but I haven't been able to get hold of a copy of the study itself yet.

News report.

I know most people have more of a balance in how they use technology, unlike OPL and his iDea Book Case.

 

[Bgheff]

Pop science. My favorite line was this

Doctors in South Korea are reporting a surge in "digital dementia" among young people who have become so reliant on electronic devices that they can no longer remember everyday details like their phone numbers.

Since phone numbers are save automatically on contact lists, there is no reason to memorize them like 10+ years ago. The only reason I know my number is because stores require your number for discounts and such. I couldn't offhand list anyone's phone number in my contact list because i'll never need to manually enter it. It's not an "everyday detail" anymore.

Any decay would and should be attributed to lack or variability in behavior and not the action themselves. I am pretty sure you'd get the same result if they researched people doing any kind of low engagement activity for hours on end. It would likely be temporary and pick up once you engaged the brain with various different tasks.

 

[Surtur]

Peoples brain function is actually increasing. Funny how evolution works.

 

[teheviltwin]

Any decay would and should be attributed to lack or variability in behavior and not the action themselves. I am pretty sure you'd get the same result if they researched people doing any kind of low engagement activity for hours on end. It would likely be temporary and pick up once you engaged the brain with various different tasks.

This was my thought. It's the levels of use I found shocking, if it's accurate. Most people I know, even the ones who love their tech have activities that allow the mind to unwind. But then I'm old so most of my friends only got mobiles etc in their late teens.

Peoples brain function is actually increasing. Funny how evolution works.

Indeed. This is just referring to obsessive levels of use. I find it interesting because I do see people using smartphones to the point of it being dangerous i.e. crossing a busy road with headphones in and texting.