Is the digital generation going to be smarter or dumber?

Excess of anything is bad and always backfires. Surely we have all heard this phrase by now. This is exactly how we can describe the effects of technology in our lives today. No doubt the use of technology has redefined and reshaped our lives to a very large extent and still continues to do so, but this progress has come at a very large cost. We have become so over-dependent on technology today that it has started making us less creative. With kids as young as 3 years old who can now swipe on phones to put their favorite songs or cartoons, are we heading towards a future where we become slaves of our gadgets (if not already?)

Here’s how the digital generation is falling behind because of relying on technology for almost everything:

Tech Is Turning Us Into Modern Day Insomniacs: Young kids today have access to smartphones and tabs. So from a very young age, they are addicted to their devices to an extent where it has started eating into their night time. Just the sight of their cell phones is enough to wreck their brains. The constant blinking of the light on the phones when a new notification comes in easily gets translated into more screen time way past bedtime. Studies also show that blue-enriched light that is emitted by such devices suppresses the release of melatonin at night which disrupts the normal sleep cycle. As a result of not much sleep, you end up with a decreased focus, foul mood, and information retention issues because your mind is not sharp.
We Are Easily Distracted: According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey of more than 2,400 teachers, most of them were of the opinion that students of the current generation are more distracted than their previous generations. While 87% agreed to the fact that today’s digital technologies are resulting in shorter attention spans of students, 64% agreed that such technologies did more to distract the students than help them in academics. And why just the students, even the adults are guilty of the same charge. Checking your phone while in an important meeting, or keeping multiple tabs open but really unable to focus on any, we are always distracted and never truly present in the moment.
Google Remembers What Your Brain Should: We rely on Google way more than we should. Since every information can be obtained so easily now, we only know where and how to find it, but we hardly remember the actual information itself. Whatever you need is at your fingertips, you can go back to search it again and again without having to remember it. The Internet has truly changed the way our mind works. Today, we even use Google to sync our contacts so we don’t have to remember them in case the data from our phone gets lost.
We Need GPS To Drive Us Around: There are plenty of horrific yet hilarious stories of people who followed the instructions of their GPS device only to end up getting lost in an unknown land. According to the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, such mapping devices and apps make it easy for our brain to become lazy and inattentive. The researchers found out that our brain has a limited capacity and it can only process so much at a time. Following the instructions as well as keeping eyes on the road makes it really challenging and too much for the brain to process at the same time.
We Don’t Know How To Spell Anymore: Let’s be honest, without autocorrect by our side we wouldn’t be able to spell half the words we use today. Is it manuovre or maneuver? Yikes! A world without autocorrect would be a world full of ‘typos’. Our spellings and grammar skills have gone for a toss and we often end up embarrassed without technology to our rescue. Spell-check and autocorrect are making us dumb, incompetent, and lazy and we don’t seem to think much of it.
Virtual World Is Replacing Real World: Once upon a time kids would go out for walks in the garden or play on the swings. Now playing or hanging out has been reduced to sitting in front of a screen and playing video games. Being social today means being connected to people on Facebook and liking their posts or following them on Twitter. Because of lack of real social interactions, we are losing touch with our emotional side and becoming more mechanical. We lack the problem-solving and other co-operative skills that human interactions bring along, not machines.