"Doctors have reported a surge in cases of ‘digital dementia’ among 
      young people.
    
    
      "They say that teenagers have become so reliant on digital technology 
      they are no longer able to remember everyday details such as their phone 
      numbers. South Korean experts have found that those who rely more on 
      technology suffer a deterioration in cognitive abilities more commonly 
      seen in patients who have suffered a head injury or psychiatric illness."
    
    
      Digital dementia?
    
    
      Oh, please.
    
    
      My daughter had problems reading analog clocks because she grew up 
      surrounded with digital displays. I don't remember the phone numbers of 
      the friends and business associates I've acquired since the advent of 
      smartphones.
    
    
      But- I remember the phone number of my mother, my kids, my family 
      doctor, the local drug store. I remember my Pennsylvania drivers' 
      license number.
    
    
      We remember what we need to remember: what's important.
    
    
      Brains are pretty smart. They learn things. They organically know there 
      are limits to memory and, therefore, store and discard data based upon 
      its importance and accessibility.
    
    
      While I'm not as fanatical as some who have adopted his system, I agree 
      with David Allen's Getting 
      Things Done approach, which pretty much boils down to the rule: get 
      stuff out of your brain and written down somewhere.
    
    
      I have a daily to-do list in Microsoft Outlook that contains 30 tasks 
      that need to be completed every day by 10 am. Some make fun of me for 
      doing this, or say I need to simplify my life- but simplifying my life 
      in a way that somehow still addresses their needs.
    
    
      In any event, I've found that on days when I've neglected the list, I've 
      forgotten at least three or four items on it- taking medication, making 
      certain my cellphone is charged, reminding someone else of something they 
      need to do that will affect me down the line.
    
    
      A long time ago I realized that I didn't have to know everything, I just 
      needed to know where to look. With the advent of Google and online 
      search engines, the statement needs some modification: I don't need to 
      know everything, I just need to know how to look. I learned how 
      to phrase questions and build inquiries, so that my online searches 
      return the precise information for which I'm looking, not pages and 
      pages of irrelevant references.
    
    
      Albert Einstein said, "A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is 
      to survive and move toward higher levels." Should I develop the part of 
      my brain that stores telephone numbers, or the part that stores 
      knowledge about using systems that store far more information than I 
      could ever possibly stuff into that fat-based, hormone-soaked chunk of 
      wetwear between my ears?
    
    
      And where did I leave my cellphone?
    
    
      (Original 
      article.)
    
Categories: 
KGB Opinion
 Home
   
 KGB on Bluesky
   
 KGB on Substack
 KGB Stuff
 
 Commentwear
 
 E-Mail KGB
Donate via PayPal 
Older entries, Archives and Categories
     
Top of page