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These days, its a common assumption that societys collective reliance on technological crutches (e.g.
the iPhone) is making humans less intelligent than we were pre-smartphonesbut are smartphones actually making us dumber?
Not so, say experts.
Experts in This Article
Anthony Chemero is a social and behavioral expert at the University of Cincinnati.
Instead, its showing that people are just thinking differentlytheyre being intelligent in different ways.
Anthony Chemero is a social and behavioral expert at the University of Cincinnati.
Prior research connecting smart technology to diminished cognition is flawed, explains Dr. Chemero.
Anthony Chemero, PhD
If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense.
Its a motivational issue more than an intelligence issue, says Dr. Chemero.
Sure, some skills once possessed by most people, e.g.
map reading, may now be lost.
And [smart technology] can enable us to do other things with that mental energy.
So if you feel badly about needing your calculator to properly split a restaurant checkdont!
Your brain isnt atrophying as a result; its just learning different, more relevant skills.
(Theres also substantial evidence connecting blue light from phone and TV use toskin damageanddisrupted sleep patterns.)
Plus, he says, there are ethical issues at play with respect to artificial intelligence.
The one thing that our phones are not doing is making us dumber, he says.
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