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Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age

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Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age

Coping with Digital Distraction and Sensory Overload

MIT Press,

15 min read
8 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

People are trading years of their life for screen time, and it’s changing the human brain — neurologist Richard E. Cytowic tells readers why.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Scientific
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

If you’re like many people, you probably struggle to keep your screen time in check. Neurologist Richard E. Cytowic explains why your brain is evolutionarily hardwired to seek your phone every time you see a blinking alert, why doing so may be harming you, or your children, and what you can start doing to develop a healthier relationship with digital technology. Gain insights into the ways heavy screen time use is changing children’s brains, and what humanity stands to lose if people don’t start reclaiming their attention and engaging more with their off-screen world.

Summary

Excessive screen time is changing children’s brain development, resulting in reduced impulse control.

The word “addiction” is derived from the Latin word addictum, the root of which means “bound to.” In ancient Rome, people used the word addictum to describe the time duration that a slave or indentured worker had to serve a master. This context can help people reflect on the degree to which those with smartphone addictions surrender power to digital devices. Many people don’t see excessive screen time as a problem and even celebrate the fact that there’s so much “free” content online. However, as retired Harvard Business School professor Shoshana Zuboff explains, people’s blindness to digital addiction’s harms is by design: Tech giants garner as much data as they can about you, then leverage human psychology to exploit your vulnerabilities, keeping you glued to your screen. The fact that people willingly cede their autonomy to Big Tech makes it all the more dangerous to human society.

Screen addiction, which often begins in infancy, is actually changing human brain development: Researchers...

About the Author

Dr. Richard E. Cytowic is a neurologist, a public speaker, and the author of books such as The Man Who Tasted Shapes.

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