Читать книгу Sort Your Brain Out - Джек Льюис, Адриан Вебстер - Страница 26

As far as brain health is concerned, making use of technology is not in itself a problem. What is currently causing alarm in some circles is the increasing number of people who are becoming permanently hooked into and addictively dependent upon, certain types of technology.

Even the less observant will have noticed the blind reliance that more and more people are placing in their devices. Taking a few moments to reflect upon the behaviours of people you see each day will surely convince you that an obsession with gadgetry is taking over people's lives. Walk down any busy street in any town and it won't be long before you see someone scurrying along the pavement, head down, squinting at some device or other – only to step out into the road without looking.

With minds elsewhere, these digital lemmings seem completely oblivious at times as to just how close they are to eradicating themselves from the human gene pool. Perhaps their need to be permanently technologically engaged drowns out their awareness of everything else around them or maybe an overestimation of their own ability to multitask is leading to more subtle cognitive drawbacks than being hit by a bus.

Whatever the reason, many people are becoming too dependent on their smartphones for their own good. One of the classic measures of overdependence is automated, unthinking behaviour. How often have you seen people in your midst failing to resist the temptation to pull out their phone the moment they hear it beep, buzz, ring or feel it vibrate? Have you noticed that this often happens regardless of whether or not the circumstances make it appropriate to do so? The most popular times seem to be during meetings, in restaurants or while attempting tricky driving manoeuvres.

Should such unsociable, at times rude and potentially dangerous tech habits be tolerated on the basis that “you can't stop progress?” There is no definitive answer to this; it is down to each and every one of us to decide for ourselves. One thing, however, is becoming apparent, whether it is you, family members, friends, colleagues or complete strangers that you've witnessed doing this – it's a fairly safe bet to make that you are now so familiar with these scenarios that you're beginning to accept them as the norm.

On a related topic, “cybermigration” describes a phenomenon where certain new behaviours slowly become acceptable online and then, before you know it, those same types of behaviour suddenly become tolerated in the real world too. When this kind of thing happens, people can unwittingly find themselves affected by cultural changes driven through technology, even if they don't use it themselves!