Researchers at the University of London Institute of Psychiatry recently released a report showing that workers bombarded with phone calls, e-mails and text messages suffer a greater loss in IQ than marijuana users.
Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King College London University, and his team of researchers monitored the IQ of 80 volunteers while they performed problem-solving tasks, first in a quiet environment and then while being distracted with e-mails and phone calls. The study found that people balancing a steady inflow of messages while attempting to work experienced a 10-point decrease in IQ , more than double the four-point drop caused by smoking marijuana.
The most damage was done, according to the survey, by the almost complete lack of discipline in handling emails. Dr Wilson and his colleagues found a compulsion to reply to each new message, leading to constant changes of direction which inevitably tired and slowed down the brain.
Christopher Kimble, from the University of York, UK, adds that the quality of information contained in communications can also be a major problem for workers. His own research, carried out within a large multinational company, shows that key employees, such as secretaries and IT support staff, can be particularly affected by misleading or incomplete emails. These increase the time required to complete the task, when a short phone conversation would have been much more efficient.
Wilson's research is no flash in the pan. Computer technology in its modern, interconnected form is dumbing down the population more rapidly than television. A study of 100,000 school children in over 30 countries around the world testified that non-computer using kids performed better in literacy and numeracy schools than PC-using children. Education experts have dubbed it the "problem solving deficit disorder".
