"Stay back from the TV," my mother used to warn me, "You'll go blind and your brain will melt!" Seriously, she said that on many Saturday mornings as I stared endlessly at episodes of "Zoom," "Kaptain Kangaroo," "Romper Room," and "Spider-man". I'm sure many of you can easily relate.
Well, I didn't go blind and as far as I know, there's been no brain melt that I'm aware of. But when television was new, and the attention normally paid to noble pursuits morphed to ritualistic nights on the couch with a tin tray of heated Swansons, the concerns that we might be losing our minds to a box with pictures became a concern for many.
If you think about it long enough, you could identify a dozen modern trends that have led parents to warn that progress brings decline.
But recently, it seems there may be a case for concern when it comes to our devotion to our cell phone. For years, the popular consensus has been that smartphones are melting our brains, eroding our attention spans, and driving us into a state of social and intellectual decay.
Parents worry about their children’s screen time, psychologists warn about dopamine addiction, and cultural critics bemoan the decline of deep and/or critical thinking.
But what if we’ve been looking at this the wrong way? What if, instead of dumbing us down, our devices are revealing just how much capacity our minds truly have?
The Myth of Mental Overload
There’s a long-standing belief that humans can only effectively focus on one thing at a time. The idea of “cognitive overload” suggests that too much information can exhaust the brain, leading to diminished productivity and well-being. But throughout history, human beings have consistently expanded their cognitive capabilities in response to new challenges.
Take literacy, for example. Before the written word, storytelling and memory were the primary methods of knowledge retention. When writing became widespread, some feared it would weaken our ability to remember information. Instead, it freed us to engage with more complex ideas.
The printing press, radio, television, and the internet were each met with similar skepticism, yet each broadened our intellectual reach. Could it be that smartphones are simply the latest frontier in this ongoing expansion?
The Boredom Factor: Have We Always Been Understimulated?
Before the digital age, humans had a concept called "pastimes"—activities specifically designed to fill gaps in our day. Think about that term for a second: pastimes existed because people needed ways to pass the time. Boredom was an issue so significant that we created entire industries to combat it, from books and board games to radio and television.
Smartphones didn’t create our need for stimulation; they just made it obvious. They expose the fact that our brains crave constant engagement, that idle moments are opportunities for input, and that our mental capacities are far greater than we ever assumed. Maybe we weren’t overwhelmed before because we were never truly pushed to our limits.
While I am a strong advocate for introspection, meditation, and finding quiet moments to let peace calm a stressed mind, I also think that much stress originates from unfavorable circumstances and comparisons to what "isn't." This can create significant tension that needs to be alleviated. However, that's a discussion for another time.
The 10% Brain Myth and Unlocking Hidden Potential
It is frequently asserted that we utilize just 10% of our brains. Although contemporary neuroscience has disproven this idea, the metaphorical suggestion is still intriguing: we might not be harnessing our minds to their fullest capacity.
A landmark study led by neuroscientist Eleanor Maguire in 2000 and published in theguardian.com, as well as the New York Times, examined the brains of London taxi drivers, well known for their extensive aptitude for navigating the city known locally as "The Knowledge." The research revealed that these drivers had a larger posterior hippocampus—a region associated with navigation and memory—compared to non-taxi drivers. This finding provided compelling evidence of the brain's remarkable plasticity, demonstrating its ability to adapt structurally in response to environmental demands and learning experiences.
Consider what our brains are doing when we use a smartphone. We rapidly switch between apps, absorb information at an unprecedented pace, respond to messages in real time, and engage in multiple layers of communication. And often, it feels like we just can't get enough of it.
Some argue that this is detrimental, leading to fragmented thinking and poor concentration. But what if, instead, this is training our brains for a new kind of mental agility?
Think about polyglots who can seamlessly switch between languages, or chess grandmasters who can visualize complex strategies in their heads. These aren’t signs of overload; they’re examples of the brain adapting to increased cognitive demands.
If smartphones are pushing us to process more information simultaneously, is it possible that they’re actually training our brains to handle more than ever before?
This is Your Brain on Smartphones
Let’s consider a different analogy: physical exercise. When you first start lifting weights, your muscles fatigue quickly. But over time, they adapt, growing stronger and more efficient. Cognitive processing can work the same way.
Maybe our initial struggles with digital multitasking weren’t proof that it’s unnatural, but rather that our brains needed time to adapt.
Now, with constant connectivity, our minds are exposed to a broader range of stimuli than any previous generation. We read, listen, watch, analyze, and react—all within minutes, sometimes seconds. Instead of seeing this as fragmentation, perhaps we should recognize it as cognitive training.
Anyone reading this who had children know for sure that their adoption of devices was much more swift and seamless than our own.
In my own case, being the father of four teenage daughters who've never remembered a time without cell phones, I know my dear departed mother would lose her collective sh*t seeing how these kids are so focused on their phones.
Did it make my wife and me reconsider? Absolutely. Did we need to establish phone rules? Certainly. However, observing them transition from taking a picture to posting, to calling, to "snapping," and then back to taking pictures and posting once more, all while being able to promptly pause and engage in conversation with remarkable speed, has been impressive.
In my view, they are certainly not experiencing any mental decline. Instead, they have advanced into the next stage of human awareness, which has always been intriguing for me to observe.
Our goal as parents has never been to hold them back, but just make sure they have the tools they need to navigate this very difficult world. I can promises you, they are more prepared than I ever was.
Are We Evolving Into a Hyperconnected Species?
Technology doesn’t just change what we do; it changes who we are. The human brain is remarkably plastic, meaning it physically reshapes itself in response to experience.
As we spend more time in digital environments, our neural pathways shift, optimizing themselves for new ways of thinking.
Consider how humans have evolved to be social creatures. We naturally seek connection, feedback, and shared experiences. Smartphones have amplified this drive, allowing us to interact across vast distances instantaneously.
Critics argue that digital communication is superficial compared to face-to-face interaction, but what if it’s actually preparing us for a new stage of social evolution—one where our ability to connect isn’t bound by geography or time zones?
This has been a focus of mine for the past few decades, and as we move closer to connecting machines and minds, I believe we won't need to rely on the slow process of evolution. Instead, we'll advance rapidly with the science behind Neuralink and other mind-connected technologies.
What is the Future of Human Cognition?
If we accept that smartphones are not inherently destructive but rather an extension of our cognitive capabilities, the next question might be: how far can we go, instead of should we?
Will we develop new forms of intelligence that integrate seamlessly with AI and digital tools? Could we become more adept at managing multiple streams of information, making split-second decisions with greater accuracy? If our brains are already adapting to constant digital input, is it possible that future generations will be naturally better at it, just as literacy eventually became second nature?
Yes, yes, I know... Ian Malcolm might disagree. But, he also said... "Life Finds a Way."
So, rather than lamenting the supposed decline of deep thought, perhaps we should be asking: what new forms of intelligence are emerging? Are we on the verge of unlocking new mental capabilities that we’ve never seen before?
In many of my posts, and indeed in my initial book series, I explore the concept of how a society with interconnected minds might gain advantages and also face challenges due to a unified collective depending on Crowd Wisdom for solutions.
This is a fascination I will explore the rest of my life.
Phoning It In
It’s easy to see technology as a threat to the way things have always been. But history tells us that every major cognitive leap—language, writing, printing, computing—has been met with resistance before it was accepted as progress.
I may be naive, but I don't believe smartphones are melting our minds; instead I wonder if they may be revealing their true potential. If we shift our perspective from fear to curiosity, we might discover that we’re not losing our ability to think, but we may well be we’re expanding it.
So, instead of asking whether our phones are ruining our brains, perhaps we should be asking: What more are we capable of?
That said, I still have a "No Phones" policy at dinner time, which my children feel is oppression at the highest level.
My god... the eye rolling.
What do you think... Are smartphones melting our brains?
YES! They're terrible! ... wait .. I just got a text ...
No, they're allowing our brains to expand and take on more.
I have no idea, I read books.
What's a smartphone?
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