Memory
WITH PHONE NUMBERS, routes and facts just a touch
away, we’re becoming less reliant on our memory – and
German neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer warns this
‘cognitive offloading’ could be leading to a kind of
‘digital dementia’.
Studies on internet and gaming addicts has uncovered
atrophy (shrinking) in the brain’s grey matter, says
the University of Bedfordshire’s Prof James Barnes.
Overdosing on tech seems to cause the frontal lobe –
a brain area that governs functions such as planning
and organising – to suffer in particular. However,
he adds that more research is needed on ‘real’ as
opposed to ‘addicted’ internet users.
Digital offloading may also make memories less vivid.
A US study asked museum visitors to photograph some
exhibits and just look at others. The next day their
memory was tested. Visitors were worse at recognising
objects they had photographed, and worse at recalling
details about the objects they’d photographed.
But Dr Sam Gilbert, of University College London, says
there are also positives. “Research shows that when you
save information to an external store like a computer,
this can help you to store new memories. Your mind is
no longer cluttered with information that you don’t need.”
Verdict: Short-term changes are likely, but more research
is needed on long-term impact.
Mood
SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN reporting strong links between
heavy internet use and depression, with a particular
focus on social media. This came as no surprise to health
education expert Dr Aric Sigman, who says high exposure
to social media can leave people feeling inadequate.
“There is a relationship between the amount of time
you spend on social media and increased body
dissatisfaction. High consumption of idealised images
seems to activate neural networks in the brain like the
amygdala, associated with fear and anxiety.”
Sigman cites a study in which girls who instant
messaged their mothers released the stress hormone
cortisol, rather than the feel-good hormone oxytocin
associated with face-to-face interaction. “We may be
hard-wired to need a certain amount of contact with
people we care about. A deficit in human contact may
result in health problems.”
Facebook, it seems, might not be giving us
enough facetime.Verdict: Technology can affect mood, but it depends
how we use it.