The development of technology has been regarded as something really positive. However, many researchers claim that people often become technology addicts. The use of smartphones has become one of the most burning issues. Notably, researchers agree that smartphones have made people’s lives a bit easier as they enable people to stay in touch irrespective of distance. Some people praise smartphones for making their lives easier and more informative.
Many people think that such gadgets as smartphones fit the contemporary world which suggests enormous amount of information every minute. However, it is necessary to understand whether people need all that amount of information available. Thus, researchers argue that excessive use of smartphones can make people less productive, more stressed and even dumber.
For instance, Mithas (2012) claims that lots of people have become addicts as they cannot imagine their lives without these gadgets checking their messages and email all the time. This may seem quite a harmless addiction. However, it is far from being so. Hoppel (2012) notes that this addiction negatively affects health care professionals.
The author provides results of a survey which confirm that perfusionists used smartphones during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures: 49.2% sent messages, 21% checked their email, 15.1% surfed the Internet, 3.1% posted on social networking sites (Hoppel, 2012). Of course, this kind of distraction often leads to negative outcomes.
In the first place, the health care professionals may make mistakes as they miss details while using their smartphones. Secondly, these people do not develop their professional skills as they are distracted by gadgets instead of being focused on procedures and treating patients.
Apart from this, surveys held at the University of California (San Francisco) suggest that excessive use of smartphones negatively affects people’s cognitive abilities (Richtel, 2010, B1). On the one hand, the use of smartphones negatively affects development of short-term memory in people.
Admittedly, people do not try to memorize any information (dates, arrangements, names, etc.) as they can simply use their smartphones to develop their schedules. On the other hand, it is also found that the abundance of information negatively affects people. Thus, an individual perceives certain amount of information, and some time is needed to create “a persistent memory” (Richtel, 2010, B1).
However, now people do not have any breaks and the cognitive process is distorted. More so, Clifford Nass argues that people “are not built to do a multitude of tasks at one time” (Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2011, n.p.). However, smartphones overload people with various tasks like speaking, watching, texting, etc. All this leads to a great deal of fatigue. People get stressed. Fatigue, in its turn, results in low productivity.
Therefore, it is obvious that smartphones can be regarded as false friends. It is quite easy to become a smartphone addict and this can bring various problems to the fore. People should be aware of the dark side of the use of these ‘smart’ gadgets. Some people are still asking whether smartphones make people smarter.
However, the question is already answered and the answer is negative. Smartphones can make people’s life easier. Nonetheless, this simplification leads to reverse effects as people become unable to use their own brain to the fullest. Therefore, it is important to be careful with the gadget that promises to do any work for you.
Reference List
Hoppel, A.M. (2012). Smartphones and dumb behavior.
Mithas, S. (2012). Digital intelligence. North Potomac, MD: Finerplanet.
Richtel, M. (2010, August 25). Digital devices deprive brain of needed downtime. New York Times, B1.
Stanford Graduate School of Business. (2011). Why your smartphone makes you dumb.