Smart technology is helping society in several different ways.
As a member of Generation Y, I have grown up with computers, the Internet and more recently smart technology. All three have significantly revolutionised the modern world; no one could have predicted their importance and the power they now hold over us. Fourteen years ago my family’s monthly allowance for the Internet was just four hours, an amount we didn’t even come close to exceeding. Similarly, just five years ago, my friends and I would note bus times on post-it notes and print thumbnails from Google Maps to get us from A to B. Now, I rarely check directions before leaving, preferring to track the progress of my journey through my phone, taking for granted that I will always be connected to the Internet.
Studies suggest that the tireless interaction with such technology, particularly operating different apps simultaneously, is rewiring our brains. It has been suggested that our brains are being overstimulated by the continuous bombardment of text messages, Instagram updates and Facebook notifications. As a result of these theories, a new phase has been coined: ‘popcorn brains’, meaning lower engagement, reduced productivity and a lesser ability to remember things. Baroness Susan Greenfield, an expert in neuroscience at Oxford University says, ‘The human brain is under threat from the modern world…Electronic devices have an impact on…our brains. And that, in turn, affects our personality, our behaviour and our characteristics’.
However, it is important to note how much smart technology is empowering us. Smartphones users are typically more confident exploring unknown places and Facetime and Skype are making the world feel that bit smaller. Smart technology enables us to communicate in a way that not only benefits our personal lives but can also benefit society.
Smart technology is helping society in several different ways. Firstly, smart technology is making connections when there previously weren’t any and more importantly with those who previously have not had a voice. Children with Autism tend to like structure and predictability and are largely visual learners. Apps address all three of these issues. A recent study from Canada showed that Autistic children are using smart technology to communicate, in an almost therapeutic way, when previously they wouldn’t have been able to. The study found that ‘such devices can go a considerable distance in terms of helping these kids significantly improve their ability to express themselves and engage with others’.
Secondly, smart technology is helping society connect in a world where our personal time is being stretched in all directions. Recently, one app, in particular, has become incredibly popular; Tinder. The nature of this dating app, aimed at twenty something’s, has meant that you don’t even have ‘waste time’ preparing yourself to approach someone in a bar, you can just see if they’re on Tinder and message them to see if they’re interested. Many people have sighted the app as ‘the only way’ they find time to ‘date’ in the modern world.
Finally, smart technology is helping society rekindle relationships that were once lost, and can offer solutions for complex social problems. Japanese social media website ‘Mixi’ has created what has been dubbed as ‘the new arranged marriage’. In a country where dating is only deemed as OK when it leads to marriage, Mixi is using it’s online presence arrange offline matchmaking events called ‘Machikon’. This directly tackles the country’s rapidly declining marriage and birth rates, which are now a nationwide problem and almost at crisis point. It’s astonishing to think that this social media website could not only change the way a country approaches dating but also contribute to a nation’s future blueprint.
With all of this in mind, I feel that any concerns that smart technology is negatively re-wiring our brain can be discredited in light of the positive improvements it is making to individuals’ lives. Humans can be overly sceptical and quick to jump to premature conclusions about things that radically transform the way we live. The Greeks first believed that writing by hand was bad for human memory whilst people in medieval times were against the print press. Even in the last century, there have been concerns that television is making us less intelligence, but there is still no concrete evidence supporting this. A pattern seems to be emerging; could it be that we are always waiting to conspire against the next big thing?
Jough McLeod. Designer, SomeOne.