That’s what a recent study would like you to believe: you’re getting dumb by using mobile technology. Some of the study results appear to support the claim with results like:
- 25% of Britons don’t remember their landline number
- Only 33% can recall three immediate family member birthdays
- 55% of men surveyed remembered their wedding anniversary while 90% of the women did. My hunch is this last result has long been an issue well before the emergence of mobile technology. ;)
There’s definitely something to be said for the study, but I don’t believe that "tech is making you dumb". Instead, we’re finding ways to leverage technology and free our minds [sorry to borrow a line, Morpheus] so that we can focus our brains on more complex issues. If I was getting paid to remember my phone number and recall that number a dozen times a day, I’d likely remember it. Fact is: I don’t give my phone number out all that much, so do I really need to spin brain cycles on it? No, I’d rather put it in speed dial so I can exercise my brain in more challenging ways. I think the study shows something valid, but not the fact that we’re getting dumb as a society because of technology. What do you think?
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2007\/07\/15\/is-technology-m\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_e8bbf617225e64d2feb0758a8896e601","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}