Most of us probably agree that we use our smartphones too much during the day. However, most of us don’t know how it is affecting our brain.
Your heart rate goes up, you start breathing heavier, you feel more alert and your sweat glands open up – this is your fight and flight system, a normal response for a potentially life-threatening situation.
However, this response is not intended to occur multiple times a day, all day. Research suggests that there is an association between smartphone use and increased stress response and anxiety.
According to Dr Robert Rosenberger, assistant professor at Georgia institute of technology; It is reported that over 89% of college students report feeling “phantom phone vibration”, meaning they imagine they’re phones are alerting them to respond when it hasn’t really buzzed.
While media has done its best to convince us that the smartphone is completely and conclusively evil for our brain. Research suggests that not all apps are created equally, and that some apps might be beneficial, and some apps may affect us negatively.
How does it affect our memory and knowledge? Some research suggests that our smartphone use is having a negative impact on our memory as we don’t need to regularly store and recall information due to it being present at a touch of a button.
Research conducted up until this date is somewhat inconclusive and too sparse to support firm conclusions. However, we’ve all felt the effects of how too much technology makes us feel, hence, be reasonable and wise when it comes to your own smartphone use. We will have to wait until research catches up with the ever-growing use of smartphones.
