Smartphones and Our Abilities to Solve Problems - Essay Example

Technology has come with many great things that millenniums ago would have been considered as sorcery or impossible. Revolution has been felt in every aspect of our existence from health to communication to shopping and even work, However it isnt all sunshine in this era. There have arisen new challenges we seek to combat now than in any previous of evolution. Problem started with a small (relative word here) gadget that we keep so close to us, The smart phone.

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Decades ago when Hewlett and Packard released a touch screen device that did not take off, they wouldnt have thought today a modification of that very gadget would change the age of communication and information as they knew it. Today every one owns of this gadgets and billions wouldnt know how to survive without them. Smartphones are almost synonymous with internet access.We check our mails, communicate, interact inform ourselves work online just as long as there is a viable network. This is without regard to geological position. It has been done even from space. But as the laws of nature dictate, there is always a flipside.

Research on technology has been in every field including health. The irony is that the same organ that made a smart phone possible, is feeling the brunt of its own creation. Our brains today are now paying for the being so intelligent. How? Well, there are quite a number of ways. Kids that have grown up with technology are shortcutting learning systems and circuits that were once found in older generations. (Gary, Ibrain). As this kids develop neurotransmitters, they will create neural path ways for those things he needs to learn in his growth process. As adults they will prune to enable higher brain efficiency.

We are now using Google as a long term memory platform and not our brains. In 2011 researchers showed that students remembered less information if they knew they could get the information on a computer, once they are used to getting information straight from the net or via their gadgets, they will prune the pathways established for the long way of getting information. Thus most teenagers once asked a question seek Google friend before even critically thinking as the brain has established a ready shortcut.

This is one of the reasons why cheating is quite rampant all over the globe. Why think for long periods of time that we really do not have for a simple answer as opposed to looking it up online? Our critical thinking and analytical skills have been muted. We have come to depend on set algorithms and other peoples long hard thoughtful hours other than our own brain power.

We are being wired today to think and dream in color as our smart phones are. Research has shown that adults that grew up with black and white television dream in black and white while todays teens dream in color. Everything has become visual. That unless we have a diagrammatic expression of information it becomes harder for us to retain it. That would explain where avid readers of books in libraries are quickly dwindling in favor of online pictorial files. This makes us feel like reading via other forms are not as understandable. This setting somewhat impairs our cognitive skills and by extension how we solve our problems. Neuroimaging of smart phone users show higher show higher stimulation in the areas of the brain used for short term memory. It has been established that we need long term memory for problem solving.

One aim of any individual engaged in meaningful work is to concentrate. When we are deeply engaged in an activity it consumes us and every bit of energy within us. Today with smart phones we find that our concentration spans are getting lower. How? It offers a ready distraction at almost all times. That call or mail you are anticipating could make it difficult to diligently attend to your work. Many at times people have burnt food or even missed out on moments with while their eyes were fixated on a screen. Without total engagement it may be hard for anyone to be presently active in their environment. What this translates into is non comprehension of their environments. One may miss out on important aspects that may impair your overall understanding of what is going on around in their environment.