Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning

Name: Professor’s name: Course: Date: Annotated Bibliography Wilmer, H. Henry., Lauren, E. Sherman, and Jason, M. Chein. “Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning.” Frontier’s in Psychology Vol. 8: 605. 2017. /pmc/articles/PMC5403814/ Accessed March 20, 2019. The article provides a comprehensive overview of the effects of smartphones and other devices with internet connectivity on the human being’s cognitive abilities. The authors reiterate on the advantages or merits that come with the use of advanced communication devices through their wide range of applications. However, prudent use of internet platforms and smartphone devices can have adverse repercussions on a person’s cognitive abilities. The authors purport that chronic use of these devices with internet connectivity can negatively impact an individual’s ability to remember important aspects of their daily activities or have difficulties in remembering. The article further suggests that individuals who are constantly glued on the screens of their devices find it challenging to pay attention or have short concentration spans. Habitual use of smartphones, the internet, and other devices may lead to emotional dysfunction in an individual as they find it challenging to regulate or control their emotions. The authors review existing research studies on the impact of routine use of smartphones on the cognitive ability of human beings. The authors seek to highlight the intricate details of human functions in the brain affected by the extensive use of smartphones witnessed today around the world. The article thus serves as an excellent research platform for analyzing the effects of internet and smartphone use on people’s memories. Heffron, Claire. “Smartphone use may affect teenagers’ memory, new study reveals.” Euronews 2018. /2018/07/23/new-study-reveals-smartphone-use-may-affect-teenagers-memory. Accessed March 20, 2019. Claire Heffron reports on a study carried out in Sweden on the use of smartphone devices among the teenagers in this article published on the Euronews website. According to the study conducted by the Swiss Institute of Tropical Health and Public Health, teenagers with a tendency of receiving calls on the right ear are at a higher risk of getting memory complications. The study conducted on 700 Swiss teenagers reveal that the electromagnetic fields of the phones’ radio frequencies may have negative impacts on various aspects of their memories. The electromagnetic fields may affect the teenagers’ development of memory functions owing to the harmful exposure of the brain to the radio frequencies. According to the study, writes Claire, the electromagnetic fields, radiations, and radio frequencies of the phones have diverse effects on the brain’s function which in return affects the memory of the teenagers. The article goes ahead to give a slight detail of how the impact of the three elements manifests in the brain of a smartphone user. The study puts forward that the brain waves a human being are usually at high risk of being affected by the phones’ radiations. The use of smartphones by individuals before going to bed, for instance, showcased a different brain wave pattern which the Swiss scientists linked to memory complications in the long run. The right ear is the most vulnerable and easily accessed by the radio frequency waves of smartphones. The study further reveals that the use of headphones and loudspeaker can serve as effective remedies for potential negative impacts on a person’s memory. Burnett, Dean. “Is the internet killing our brains?” The Guardian 2016. /education/2016/oct/08/is-the-internet-killing-our-brains. Accessed March 20, 2019. Dean Burnett’s article on October 8th publication on The Guardian’s website provides a different perspective on the issue of whether the internet or smartphone use adversely affects the memory. The author gives a chronological account of past inventions in the communications’ sector, and the existing reservations against their use due to the anticipated adverse effects on human beings. The printing press, for instance, is put forth as one of the early developments in the information and communication industry and which faced opposition from those claiming the human brain to be incapable of absorbing the content. The author claims that the same reservations and fears face the rising use of the internet and other emerging devices in the era of advanced technology in the communication and information industry. The author breaks down fears and anticipations of potential damages to the brain from internet use by providing supporting arguments to the brain’s capability that are perceivably overlooked by proponents of its vulnerability. On the issue of information overload, for instance, the author purports that the brain usually collects only the useful information through a calculated filtering process thus protecting human memory. The author further claims that the use of the internet for information helps in brain development and not necessarily leading to memory loss. The article offers a different perspective on the issue of whether the use of the internet and smartphones affects people’s memory. Fisher, Anne. “Is your smartphone wrecking your memory?” Fortune, 2015. http://fortune.com/2015/07/21/smartphone-memory/. Accessed March 20, 2019. Anne Fisher’s article provides a different argument from a study carried out by a cybersecurity firm in the United Kingdom claiming that failure to remember off-head a relative’s or a close relation’s phone number is an indication of overdependency on the internet for memory. The study conducted by Kaspersky Lab in the United Kingdom suggests that the simple task of remembering such details reflects the harmful effects of smartphone and internet use on a person’s memory. According to the study, 44% of the 1000 participants aged between 16 to 55 years use their smartphones as their memory devices. In essence, almost half of the participants admitted to using their smartphones as reminders for their major daily activities. The same percentage of the American participants in the survey could not call their brothers or sisters without looking at their phonebooks as they could not remember the numbers. The research also found that 51.4% of those surveyed could not remember the phone numbers of their friends, which is not as alarming as the mere 34% who managed to call their children without confirming the numbers on their smartphones. The article reveals one of the effects of using the internet and smartphones, which the researchers refer to as digital amnesia. Digital amnesia is prevalent across the age divides depending on the extent of use of the devices. However, it is the youth or teenagers who are at the highest risk of getting the digital amnesia owing to their overdependence on the internet and smartphone devices. The article also serves to provide insight into the effects of the use of the internet, smartphones, and other advanced communication devices on the memory of a person. Peeples, Lynne. “Can't put down the phone? How smartphones are changing our brains — and lives: One study showed Americans touch their mobile devices...