SYDNEY: Digital technology has radically altered our life in the twenty-first era. Chatbots and another AI tools are the most recent additions to the field, and they have had a significant impact on how we learn and pose significant philosophical and legal issues regarding what it means to “outsource thinking.”
However, the development of technologies that alters how we live is not a recent problem. Around the 1960s, the transition from analog to digital technologies started, and this “digital trend” is what brought us the computer. A whole generation of people who lived and worked through this development are now in their first 80s.
What can we infer about the effects of systems on the aging head from them? Significant answers are provided by a complete new research from researchers at the University of Texas and Baylor University in the United States.
No supporting evidence was found for the “digital memory” thesis, according to a paper published today in Nature Human Behavior. In reality, it found that older people over 50 may have lower levels of cognitive decline as a result of using computers, phones, and the web.
What exactly is “digital dementia”?
There has been much discussion about how tech might affect people’s brains.
European researcher and psychiatrist Manfred Spitzer proposed the “digital dementia” hypothesis in 2012, which states that increased use of electronic devices has led to an excessive reliance on technology. This has weakened our ability to think critically nevertheless.
Three areas of concern regarding the use of technologies have already been identified:
a rise in the amount of time spent watching TV. This includes using engineering without much thought or effort, such as using social media or watching TV.
transferring mental skills to systems, such as keeping phone numbers in our contact lists and not remembering them.
Increased diversion sensitivity.
What makes this novel research significant?
We are aware of how technology affects mental development. However, the impact of technology on how our brains age is less well understood.
Important is the significance of this new study, which was conducted by neuropsychologists Maybe Benge and Michael Scullin, because it examines how technology has affected older people’s daily use.
The fresh study combined the findings of numerous prior research in what is known as a meta-analysis. The authors looked for studies that examined the link between mental collapse or dementia and technology use in older people over 50. They discovered 57 reports that included information from more than 411, 000 people. The included studies evaluated cognitive decline based on a diagnosis of dementia or a lower effectiveness on mental tests.
a lower chance of mental collapse
Overall, the study found that a higher level of technology usage was related to a lower risk of mental decline. Statistical analyses were used to identify the “odds” of cognitive decline based on technological contact. A danger from coverage is lessened by an odds ratios under 1 and the combined odds amount in this research was 0.42. This implies that a 58 % decrease in mental decline was related to increased use of technology.
Even when the effects of different factors known to cause cognitive drop, such as social standing and other health factors, were taken into account, this advantage was discovered.
Interestingly, the impact of technology use on brain function was comparable or greater than that of other known protective factors, such as maintaining a healthy blood pressure ( approximately a 13 % risk reduction ), or physical activity ( approximately a 35 % risk reduction ).
However, it is important to know that there are far more studies being conducted over the years looking at the advantages of managing blood pressure and increasing physical activity, and that the methods by which they aid in brain protection are much more well understood.
Additionally, it is much simpler to measure blood pressure than to use systems. A benefit of this review is that it took these issues into account by focusing on specific aspects of engineering use but omitted others like brain-training games.
These observations are encouraging. However, it is still impossible to conclude that using tech improves mental function. To know why this relationship does exist, more research is required to see if these results are replicated in different groups of people (especially those from lower and middle income countries ) who were underrepresented in this review.
A problem of “how” we use tech
In fact, without some form of technology, it is just impossible to live in the world now. Everything is now almost entirely completed online, from paying payments to reserving our next trip. Perhaps we should be thinking about how we use technologies rather.
Learning new languages, playing music, and studying, especially in early adulthood, may help us protect our brains as we get older.
As we adapt to new technology upgrades or become familiar with new smartphones, increasing our relationship with technologies may help us retain and think more throughout our lives. This “technological supply” may be beneficial for our neurons, it has been suggested.
Technology may also aid in maintaining social cohesion and extending our independence for more.
A modern world that is quickly evolving
Although findings from this study indicate that it’s unlikely that all modern technology is harmful to humans, how we interact with and rely on it is rapidly evolving.
The effects of AI on the aging mind will only become clear in the coming years. Nevertheless, our ability to adapt to historic technological advancements and the possibility that this will help cognitive function point out that the prospect may not be so bad.
For instance, recent developments in brain-computer interfaces offer new hope for those who are affected by neural disease or illness.
However, there are still possible drawbacks to technology, especially for younger people, such as poor mental health. Future studies will help us figure out how to maximize the advantages of systems while limiting the risk of damage.
