Digital Dementia: How It Is Affecting The Younger Generation

We are well aware of dementia and the effect that it has on the elderly. But we're now seeing more young people showing signs of short-term memory.   You may have noticed how young children are glued to their tablets or smartphone devices. A report in The Guardian shows one-third of pre-school children own either a smartphone or a tablet. The same report also mentions that 80% of these young children are using these devices unsupervised.  Smartphone addiction is on the rise with 59% of UK smartphone users admitting they are hooked to their device along with 34% of users even confessing they find it difficult to disconnect.   Studies conducted by a South Korean university and by UCLA provided some very concerning information regarding the development of the brain in young people who use their tablets and smartphones for prolonged periods. 

What Is Digital Dementia? 

Digital dementia is a termed coined by Manfred Spitzer who wrote a book in 2012 using the same name. In his research, Spitzer discovered how the overuse of digital technology is causing a break down in cognitive abilities in young people. Spitzer also noticed a stark correlation of how this cognitive breakdown is commonly seen in both head injuries and psychotic illnesses.  Even though we are concerned about the mental well-being of young people due to overuse of digital technologies, let's not forget our own usage of as well. Digital dementia also affects adults as much as young people.  There was a time when we could easily memorise telephone numbers, but now many of us struggle to remember a phone number since it is already stored on our mobile devices.  Same goes for trying to remember the name of an actor; our smartphones readily have access to this information so we don't need to try and remember.  Prolonged use of digital technology can lead to over-development in the left side of the brain, which is more rational, linear and more logical. This is at the expense of the right side of the brain, which is more imaginative, intuitive and emotional, causing an imbalance in the brain which leads to a number of deficits:
  • Difficulty in concentrating
  • Short attention span
  • Short-term memory loss
  • Emotional disturbances - leading to depression

How To Reverse Digital Dementia In Children? 

At this time of writing, current thinking believes the effects of digital dementia can be reversed. For children, Spitzer recommends all schools should ban all forms of digital technology. But this is highly unlikely.  Smartphones and tablets are here to stay. Schools from around the UK have invested heavily in digital technologies in helping children learn more effectively. But the key to preventing digital dementia occurring in both young people and adults is to be mindful of the time we spend on digital technologies. In addition, taking part in alternative activities can also help us break away from using digital devices.  It is important that we take an active role in trying to rebalance our brains. For children, we can introduce a number of activities that will help to keep them away from digital devices. Activities such as: 
  • Singing
  • Storytelling
  • Board games
  • Dancing
  • Drawing
Even though many schools already implement these activities, newer schemes are being introduced. More recently, The Daily Mile scheme encourages children at both primary school and nursery level to run/jog 15 minutes a day. an image of a child drawing

What About Reversing Digital Dementia in Adults?

Even as adults, we can lead children by setting an example and do a number of activities to exercise our brains to reverse the effects of digital dementia: 
  • Organically retrieve information: rather than using your phone to remember the name of an actor, actually make the effort to think of the actor's name. This makes your brain work harder and helps to improve your short-term memory. 
  • Read a book: Studies have shown that reading an actual physical book can improve memory retention. 
  • Learning a new language: This helps your brain to get out of its comfort zone by making your brain work harder, and hence making you smarter. 
  • Playing an Instrument: This strengthens both sides of the brain and also helps to rebalance the brain. 
  • Exercise: Exercise helps to increase the blood flow and accelerates the transportation of vital nutrients to the brain.
Digital dementia is something to be aware of. Not just in young children, but for us adults too. We should not abandon digital technology as it does serve a number of educational benefits. Instead, we need to learn how to use it responsibly so we are able to get the best out of the technology and look after the mental health of both ourselves and the younger generation.

Interested in Working With Children? 

Want to work in childcare or in a teaching environment? Then The Learning Station can help. We're a London-based training provider that provides a diverse range of courses including Level 2 Child Care and Level 3 Teaching Assistant. For more information, please do get in touch via our contact us page or call us directly on 020 8342 7210.  Thanks for reading. What are your thoughts on digital dementia? What other steps should we take to prevent over-reliance on digital technology happening to both adults and young children? Please let us know in the comments section below. 
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