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With the technological revolution in full swing, we’ve grown highly accustomed to accessing the Internet for information, using GPS devices or mobile map apps to find our way around, and downloading ebooks instantly. Much of this information is available for the taking, free of charge. Never before has humanity had such unfettered access to such a wealth of information.
In Chapter 6 of Brian X. Chen‘s book, Always On: How the iPhone Unlocked the Anything-Anytime-Anywhere Future–and Locked Us In, he discusses the effects of today’s mobile technology on our intelligence. Chen provides specific examples as well as studies supporting both increased and decreased intelligence resulting from exposure to technology. Reading this book got me to wonder whether we are indeed smarter because of our access to this information or if we are becoming too dependent on tech for our knowledge.
Writer Joshua Wilner also addressed this topic recently in his recent article, 69 Ways Technology Makes Your Dumberer, where he discusses how technology shortcuts are doing the thinking for us. From both the article and readers’ comments, it seems that quite a few people are blaming tech for a “dumbing down” of society.
We’ve Never Been Smarter
By having instant and nearly universal access to worldwide data, we can learn quickly and easily without traipsing to a library or even opening a book. We can navigate new geographic terrain without knowing how to use a compass or refold a road map. We can edit documents without having to retype reams of paper and fix corrections without using Wite-Out.
We can now more easily discover the views of political candidates so we can become more informed voters (and witness their downfall through social media gaffes or hidden cell phone videos). We can debate issues online and, if we keep our minds open, learn the basis for beliefs different from our own.
Students no longer need to memorize the periodic table of the elements, they can have that information handy on their cell phones. They no longer have to memorize a series of equations for physics, they can access that information readily on the Internet.
Curious about history? Ask Google, Siri, Bing, Wikipedia, the History Channel or any number of resources instantly available for free information. Always wondered what the highest known prime number is? You no longer have to figure that out for yourself. A Prime Page website is available to give you that information any time you want it.
Researchers no longer have to waste time digging through mountains of information to uncover what has already been discovered. They can more easily leverage the work of their predecessors to avoid previously made mistakes and new inventions and discoveries.
Educational apps are designed to engage children, making learning fun with cool graphics and teaching through games. Young children can learn math and reading skills as they play with apps. Children with learning issues can benefit from apps that present concepts in interesting ways so they can set their own pace as they play. Even PhD students at universities are learning through gaming.
Amazon’s Kindle and other ereaders give us instant access to nearly any book that has ever been published. Features such as Kindle’s Immersion Reading can help readers focus better on content, absorbing information through reading and listening.
We’ve Never Been Dumber
Tech has made it so easy to access information that we no longer have to retain as much information in our brains. We can reserve those precious cells not for knowledge about important information but for knowledge about stupid pet trick videos, celebrity gossip and what our college roommate’s ex-boyfriend’s cousin had for lunch. We now have time to waste on superfluous activities such as scrolling through Facebook, tweeting our thoughts and perusing through Pinterest. No need to waste time foraging for nuts and berries when a few clicks on a website can usually get groceries delivered by the end of the day.
This plethora of instantly available information also provides us with infinite potential for distractions. Who wants to spend time studying when your new favorite video game is beckoning? When you can access millions of videos on YouTube, Netflix or Hulu? When you can check social media to virtually visit with your friends?
Tech gives us the ability to multi-task more than ever before, often making the completion of each individual task more challenging and the results less than optimal. In the case of texting while driving, multi-tasking can have fatal consequences.
Your Thoughts
What do you think? Has tech made us smarter or dumber? Vote in today’s Wonder of Tech poll:
Bottom Line
Like any other tool, tech tools can be used for good or bad. When used wisely, tech can be an empowering resource that lifts us to higher levels of knowledge and insight. When abused, tech can be a black hole of distraction, luring us away from productive use of our time.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you think the next generation will be smarter or dumber? Do you fear for them or envy them becoming accustomed to infinite, readily accessible information? Let us know in the Comments section below!
* Tablet photo courtesy of jumpe at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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Update on MagLight Plus
If you read Friday’s article, MagLight Plus – Your Handiest App When You’re in the Dark, and wanted to buy the app, I have good news for you. The developer of MagLight Plus has kindly provided me with some promo codes so Wonder of Tech readers can get this app for free. Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested in getting a promo code for this app.
Note that MagLight Plus works on the iPhone 4/4S/5 and the iPod Touch 5th generation.
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Hi Carolyn,
I know people who own phones that are smarter than they are! 🙂 I’m struggling to get my freezer working today. I think it’s had it. The thought of spending more money just after buying a new camera doesn’t appeal to me. I have to come to terms with wasting food too I think! I hate wasting food. It was full of food too, I stocked up in preparation for a barbecue.
I went to photograph a large Victorian building yesterday and it was gone, demolished to be replaced by one that looked like Lego! I’ll have to find some new photos for tomorrow’s post!
Hi Mike, Lol, yes, in some cases smartphones make people less smart. The more things become automated, the fewer skill sets we have to have.
Sorry about your freezer, Mike. Perhaps you should have a big party and invited everyone over to eat the food that is thawing in your freezer.
What a shame that the Victorian was demolished for a Lego house. Perhaps the Lego house will be an interesting subject for your photography someday! 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
What a lovely topic for discussion and a tough one too 🙂
I think personally I would say it has made us dumber because we are just not as assertive as we were years back, nor are we really living healthier lives as compared to our elders, as they did ages back because we are slowly becoming couch potatoes or just TOO dependant on technology for everything. Whether it’s the latest phones, or how much our kids learn in school, every small thing has become too technical and easy. Kids no longer study as they used to because they seek short-cuts as there are many simpler ways for them to learn things nowadays, so why bother to learn the real stuff.
Gosh! The list can be never ending! But seeing to the brighter side, technology has also made us smarter than from what we were years back. And had it not been for technology, you and me would never have met 🙂
I agree totally with your views at the end that if we use tech wisely, it can be a great resource that only helps us become more of knowledgeable, but when mis-used, it can distract us and stop us from giving our best or being productive enough. I think anything in moderation is the key – isn’t it?
Thanks for sharing this with us. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena, Excellent point! We certainly wouldn’t have met without technology, tech has helped people meet and stay in touch with each others. Tech can create and sustain relationships which certainly enriches our lives.
Tech in education certainly seems to be a two-way streets. The use of iPads and apps has opened up new worlds for children with learning challenges, yet some kids expect learning to always be playing games instead of hard work.
It almost seems as if this next generation will be an experiment to see how far tech can take them in education. Will those kids with less access to tech be better or worse off than those who have the latest tech resources with which to learn?
You’re absolutely right, tech certainly has pros and cons and using tech wisely certainly may be the key to whether we are smarter in dumber for using tech.
Hi Carolyn !
We are the one’s (human beings) who are solely responsible for the development of technologies that helps us,to harm/destroy the mankind or that has been intended to replace our work…if we don’t consider the technologies that has been developed to harm mankind then there’s no doubt that human beings are smart !
Regards,
pramod
Hi Pramod, You’re so right, technology is a tool and it’s up to use how we use that tool. Any tool can be used wisely or poorly. And we have to be careful to use tech for good instead of evil. Hackers certainly can cause chaos when they use tech for evil. But good hackers can be helpful to show vulnerabilities in tech security.
Carolyn, great question! Most of the time I think dumber, because we rely on the technology too much and we don’t retain much information. It’s great to have all the info at our fingertips but what if the power went out for a longer period of time, could we survive it? Would we know how to get somewhere without our map apps or even write on paper with pen and ink? Don’t get me wrong I love the technology though!
Hi Lisa, You’re right, there is a show on TV called Revolution that shows how ugly society can get without electricity. I don’t think we would do very well without electricity for very long. Perhaps then we would retain more information though!
I think technology is a tool, our attitude that make us be smarter or dumber.
Hi Rian, Good point. The important thing is how we use technology. If we’re worse off for using tech, then whose fault is that?
Hi Carolyn,
The biggest impact for me is memory. I have always been good at remembering things, especially phone numbers but since my phone holds so many and is synced with my computer I have become less interested in memorizing numbers.
I might be wrong, but sometimes it feels like my memory isn’t quite as sharp as it used to be.
Hi Josh, I’m like you, I used to have a lot of phone numbers memorized but now not very many. My optimistic side tells me that those brain cells are now freed up for other things. I have my credit card number memorized so I don’t have to dig it out every time I want to buy something online.
Perhaps that’s not a good thing? 😉
I do agree that technology has made us lazier but dumber, well I don’t think so….I heard somewhere that anything excess in life becomes a poison eventually….That is the same case here….Technology is boon to us, and we should treat it like that only….otherwise it may snatch our basic creativity factors….
Hi Aditya, That’s a great way of putting it, “anything excess in life becomes poison.” My father told me when I was a child, “too much of anything can kill you.” Same idea with different words.
You’re right, all things in moderation. We shouldn’t become totally dependent on technology. Tech can make us lazy and the brain is a muscle we should exercise!
That is exactly my point…..we choose our way….so we should not blame technology for that…..it is indeed a blessing for us…..
You’re exactly right, Aditya. We have to take responsibility for our actions and not blame tech.
Because of the easy access to all this information and all the brain cells I’m saving, it has allowed me to drink more now not worrying about what it might be doing to my brain…
I’m old school enough that I hope whatever I learned in the stone age might come in handy should I be stranded on an island like Tom Hanks and had to use my wits to make it on my own.
I think it works both ways however; I’m sure in some areas we are becoming totally dependent on ‘electronic’ assistance which is ok as long as you have access to it; but then again look how much more we are learning.
It’s just different, but better I think. Knowledge is a wonderful thing…
Hi Bill, Good point, if we rely on tech too much then we’re lost without it, particularly if we rely on GPS devices to get where we’re going. I toured the bridge of a cruise ship in March and the officers still use sextants to navigate. They use them because they have to know how to navigate the ships if the electronics fail. Talk about old school!
That did give me comfort somehow, that with all the bells and whistles of the dashboard on the ship, the traditional navigation was still used.
I’m glad your iPhone gives you an excuse to have more beers. I hadn’t thought of that advantage! :-bd
Of course we perceive people are becoming dumber as things are so easy to do, find, achieve with technology. But I think that ultimately, intelligence is not about that, but about learning to learn and also learning techniques – not just facts or memorization or the grind of exams (I had 5 years of that and it taught me to pass exams – that’s it). These days I am working in tech, use it all the time, and it has accelerated the human race in so many areas. You could argue that people being glued to their phones has degraded our culture somewhat, but I think that is a different discussion (one I agree with). A complex topic indeed. Glad you posted on it.
Hi Ashley, Excellent response! You’re right, that is a different question, perhaps for another article, but this one is about societal and individual intelligence, not social skills.
I agree with you, I believe tech has, and has the potential to, accelerate human intelligence with so much information at our disposal. What we do with that information will determine whether we will become smarter.
I like your point about memorization versus true learning. I do think there is value to some memorization. For example, memorizing vocabulary in a foreign language is essential to learning a language. You’re right, learning to learn is important. If we had to look up every word in Google Translate in a foreign language novel, we probably wouldn’t get very far, nor would we truly understand what we were reading.
Thanks so much for visiting The Wonder of Tech and joining in the conversation, Ashley!
Well, I don’t know about me (does that answer your question?), but I’m convinced that it’s making the Tech Lady smarter.
Hi Gramps, Yes, I have learned a lot through tech, but I used to have many, many phone numbers memorized. Now I know just a few. I’m thinking that frees up my brain for other important information, but I’m not sure I’m smart enough to know whether that’s true or not. 😉
I think we are getting smarter and smarter with this new technology. There for sure is some things that we do worse (like who even remembers any phone numbers nowadays) but in total we get more information and in a quicker way which would make us smarter.
You’re right, Johan. We may not be able to remember phone numbers, but is that capability important to our intellect? Perhaps not.
Personally, I think it goes both ways.
Dumber: In the past, I used to memorize all the phone numbers of my friends. These days, practically the only numbers I know are my home number and my mobile phone number. The availability of information at your fingertips makes you memorize less and less.
Smarter: The availability of more accurate information has enabled us to be smarter. In the past, what seemed to be hearsay information was acceptable. How so? Take for instance colostrum. Some of the older people say that this yellowish milk expressed should not be given to babies as it is actually spoiled milk, a belief that they have carried for decades. Having better source of information tells us that colostrum is actually very nutritious and should be given to the newborn as it helps improve their immune system.
When it comes to the next generation, I believe that it is how they are reared that will determine whether they become dumber and overly reliant with technology, or smarter in ways that they take advantage of technology to help them learn and understand more.
Hi Emily, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Excellent points. We can either become lazy, and let tech do the thinking for us, or inspired by having infinite information available at our fingertips.
Good point about the quality of the information too. Just because some thing is on the Internet doesn’t make it true. We still have to analyze the source of the information and its accuracy before we believe its truthfulness.
Thanks for your visit and insightful comment, Emily!
Carolyn, I think it has made us smarter for sure. Yes, too much of anything is not a good thing, but overall our intelligence has benefitted greatly from tech advancements.
On another topic, I really like the site you got that pic from at the top. I’ve actually been looking for a site(besides flickr), to get some free images for my blog and I will definitely try out freedigitalphotos.net as they seem to have a good selection.
Hi Frank, you’ve got an interesting point. While some people may get dumber, it’s our overall intelligence as a society that matters. We can see if tech makes us smarter in the long run. If it makes us dumber, then we’ll be too dumb to invent new tech anyway! 😉
Yes, that’s a very helpful source for free photos. I spend a lot of time trying to find just the right photo for my articles!
Computing and communications technology innovations have transformed how we work, how we interact with one another and how we live. Recent research has shown, however, that technology can also change the way we think.
Hi Aisha, very interesting. Sometimes I feel as if we’re part of an experiment with tech. We are the first generation ever to be so heavily influenced by tech. Only in the long run can we see if this is for the better or for the worse.
Both. Kidding. I use technology to make things easier like sending messages, communicating with friends, research, etc. But I still make sure that I don’t forget to use my brain. lol
Hi James, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Actually, I think “both” is a fair answer. Tech could make you smarter in some ways and dumber in others. It’s great you’re keeping your brain sharp. Always a good idea, no matter how much tech you use!
“Tech has made it so easy to access information that we no longer have to retain as much information in our brains.”
This reminds me of an equally silly assertion I read about years ago from a paleontologist who suggested that the invention of the printing press reduced the effectiveness of of our brain’s memory because now we no longer had to rely on it so much as we could always simply look up information in books.
Besides, one’s Intelligence is not really affected one where the other by technology, but rather by one’s ability to adapt. At least that’s the way one expert on intelligence described what it is.
Hi Ken, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You make some good points. There are different types of learning, rote memorization and conceptual understanding, among others. Tech may reduce our need to memorize things such as friends’ phone numbers, but other things such as multiplication tables will always require memorization. Basic tech, such as calculators, can help students advance to higher math, but the fundamentals must be learned first.
Adaptation is important, but the point of this poll is to determine how we are adapting. Are we becoming mental couch potatoes or are we using our brain cells for higher level me tal stimulation? From the results of the poll and the comments, opinions on this semi to be very mixed.
It depend on the people who use technology, wether they use it in good way or bad way.
Hi Shahalam, So true. As with any tool, it’s the way that it’s used that determines whether it’s for the good or bad.
I strongly believe that technology made us smarter not dumber.
Hi Hariot, Thank you for voting. From the results of the poll, you are not alone in your opinion. I appreciate you sharing that with us.
Hi Carolyn,
This is a delicate question. I think the answer is: smarter in some ways, dumber in others.
1. The effort to decipher a new tool or technology and to understand and integrate into the online environment forced many people to exercise their brains and become smarter as a result.
2. Information overload and distractions weakened the mind of many and made them too dependent on technology.
3. Technological creativity is improved. No other period in our known history cannot match this one. Technology seems to do a great part of the thinking.
However, technology forces the mind to think in a particular way and if you want to use that technology, you need to tame your mind, to make it behave in a particular way. This may lead to a loss in creativity (different types of creativity) as other functions of the brain who do not deal with technology remain unused.
4. Mobiles are extremely good for communicating. However, I noticed that when I speak to a mobile more than 3-4 minutes my ear starts to burn, and I get a headache.
As you can see there is no definite answer. There is good and there is bad. I think a few decades need to pass in order for humanity to see more clearly the role of technology in the human life.
Have a nice day
Hi Siliu, excellent analysis. The answer to this question can really depend on the person and the situation. You’re right, it may take decades to determine the true answer but by then will it be too late?
Hi Carolyn,
What do you mean by “too late”? If you refer to 1984 or Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” where technology is used to enslave people in a totalitarian society, I am not afraid. It’s a long way to Tipperary. It is possible but not probable, at least not in the span of our lives.
Normally a few decades will not affect humanity so much and it is enough time to understand the real role of technology in our lives.
As for individuals, they need to inform themselves in order to benefit from technology and be protected from its negative aspects.
Btw, you write a lot about technology. Maybe it would be useful to expand a little bit and explore the medical realm and the correlation between technology and health. For example you can explore the relationship between mobiles and health or applications for mobiles that are really beneficial for our health.
Have a nice day
I believe DUMBER. Yes you said that it makes us save our brain cells for future-more-important-use and it makes our life easier. However what bothers me the most are those people who are already not that gifted with understanding/intelligence/knowledge would rely on these gadgets. Worst they would just keep on posting photos and updating their social media accounts while forgetting to study. I am so sorry because I have this co-worker who always drag our team’s quality down because of her crappy work and she had the gall to keep on checking her FB. Sad.
Hi Peta, You’re right, that can be frustrating. When someone is messing around on social media instead of focusing on the task at hand, that’s a problem. My daughters see that in school sometimes where students sneak their phones into class and go on Facebook instead of paying attention to the teacher. That definitely makes people dumber!
Carolyn, well said. Today’s technology has made more complex tasks quite simple, making us seem more smart. They have also brought newer pleasures to mankind. As you point out, at the same time, it has also made simple things far more complex, and we are at risk of losing valuable “common sense” skills, being far dumber than ever before. I wrote a piece on my blog about a similar challenge: When smart can be really dumb!
Hi Leon, Thanks for sharing your article here! You’re right, technology has transformed lives but the question really is whether that transformation is for the better. I hope that it’s for the better but we should examine what the impact of technology on our lives is, whether it’s for the good for the bad.
Hi Carolyn,
I just love this topic and I can see numerous views being contributed to the discussion too 🙂
I don’t think Technology made us either smarter or dumber Carolyn. I believe it’s solely depend on how we make use of it. But hey, we need to be more practical about that statement and look at ourselves now. We have embraced tech in most parts of our lives as we have been exposed long enough and tend to be rely on ’em too much. We can agree that as human beings, we had the tendency of seeking easy ways, no? 🙂
Over time, our general practices become habits which will be hard enough change. Gotta break the system if we need to make a change. AND that seems something impossible until someone does it.
Few years ago I met a student who migrated and used to live New Zealand but back to Sri Lanka with their family, and we wanted to solve a mathematical problem. It took no more than 2 minutes for me as I knew relevant formulas and some shortcuts in calculation. But he didn’t proceed until he gets a calculator and offer relevant formulas. I was stumped. But that’s how it works there and he used to it. Our country is yet behind in tech. But I’m kinda glad 😉
Sometimes I find that people are too much rely on tech, including myself. As a kid, I have processed too much information in my brain but recalled most of ’em by heart. As you mentioned, periodic table is one thing too 😉 But now it’s true that to I tend to visit Wikipedia to check out something that I used to know by heart. Even I don’t find any point in memorizing it as I just need few seconds to look up and know about it. Yeah, may be I’m smarter with tech. But dumber for those who knows ’em by heart yet. Yet my father knows ’em by heart 😀
The funny thing is, when I watch movies like Cast Away, I ask myself what if we have to live with no tech? Tech savvy , but doesn’t know anything much by heart unless for stuff that no point of memorizing without tech 😀 lol… It will be critical when Google Glass or something does the counting for us and we tend to forget even how to count. Will it happen? Then we will be heading to Ice Age, at least with artificial dinosaurs.
You have a wonderful week dear! 🙂
Cheers…
Hi Mayura, Very interesting illustration of ways that tech can help us learn or replace our need for learning. Good point about the value of technology being dependent on how we use it. If we were stranded on a desert island, as Tom Hanks was in that movie, we couldn’t search for how to survive. Best to plan ahead, I guess!
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your valuable comment here, Mayura!
Hi,
Technology made us smart but taken out peace, happiness, love from personal life which we used to share with our lovedones instead of using gadget before.
Nice explanation
Regards,
Well said, Mic. It’s important to look at the “big picture” to see what impact technology has on our lives.