While smartphones have indeed made communicating a lot more easier , various studies are revealing the perils that come with handheld mobile devices.
A study into smartphone usage by Waterloo University in Canada has revealed that excessive usage puts breaks on the cognition of the user. Times of India quotes excerpts from the study which reveals that the convenience of knowledge at their fingertips is making it easy for smartphone users to avoid thinking and therefore make use of the brain.
“They may look up information that they actually know or could easily learn, but are unwilling to make the effort to actually think about it”
- Gordon Pennycook, Dept of Psychology, Waterloo University
The research published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior says that in contrast analytical thinkers second-guess themselves and solve problems in a more logical way. Highly intelligent people are more analytical and less intuitive when solving problems.
In three studies involving 660 participants, the researchers examined various measures including cognitive style ranging from intuitive to analytical, plus verbal and numeracy skills. Then they looked at the participants’ smartphone habits.
In another report published in ITProPortal.com, the co-Author of the study Gordon Pennycook also stressed that it’s not the smartphones that are making us stupid – we already were. It’s just that we can notice the dumb ones by how much they use their smartphones!
“Whether smartphones actually decrease intelligence is still an open question that requires future research”
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