psychology
3 subtle signs you have digital dementia
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The fact that our memory deteriorates does not only have to have something to do with aging. According to brain experts, so-called digital dementia also plays a role.
As a child, did you know the phone numbers of all your friends by heart? And the ones from your mother’s and father’s office? And the one from your favorite radio station where you wished for songs? And honestly, how many phone numbers do you know by heart today? Probably not a single one, because today we no longer have to type in a sequence of numbers when we want to call someone, we simply click on the name in the phone book of our smartphone.
On the one hand, this is of course incredibly practical because it is easier and faster. On the other hand, this also means that we no longer challenge our brains as we did in the pre-digital era. Not only do we no longer have to remember telephone numbers – we probably wouldn’t be able to do it as easily as we used to. And according to experts, this is related to a phenomenon called digital dementia together.
What is digital dementia?
Author and “brain coach” Jim Kwik explains it in the “mindbodygreen” podcast as follows: “Digital dementia describes the idea that our smart devices make us less smart. They are a kind of external memory for us, so we don’t use our memory have to work harder.” And because we don’t have to anymore, according to Kwik, memory gradually becomes less efficient.
According to study Too much screen time also has a negative effect on our brain performance and thus increases the risk of “real” dementia and Alzheimer’s in old age.
Do you also suffer from digital dementia? Here are the warning signs:
These subtle signs point to digital dementia
1. Your short-term memory suffers
What did she just say? Do you regularly catch yourself forgetting things again, even though the other person has just told you about them? This can be names, dates or other important facts. Poor short-term memory is typical of digital dementia.
2. Poor brain performance
You used to find it easy to do mental arithmetic, but today you can hardly do the simplest addition tasks when shopping? This too can be due to digital dementia. Because your cognitive performance suffers from too much screen time, while the calculator in our smartphone often does the simplest tasks for us – a dangerous combination.
3. Short attention span
A typical side effect of our constant online presence is the reduction of our attention span. Having a hard time concentrating on a 2 hour feature film, prefer watching a few 20 minute episodes of a series? Short videos on TikTok, Instagram and Co. have made many of us used to seeing a new highlight after just a few minutes. Waiting more than an hour for the climax of a movie to come into view? Our attention is often no longer sufficient for this today.
What helps against digital dementia?
The best therapy is practice, practice, practice. You might start with the simple example of phone numbers. Learn a few important numbers by heart, for example those of a friend or your partner. It doesn’t hurt to know these on demand – and this is how you train your brain and counteract digital dementia. Even simple arithmetic tasks or puzzles such as Sudoku or Wordle activate your brain and counteract the negative consequences of too much screen time and the like.
Another option is digital detox: Make sure you have enough time during the day when you are not looking at a screen and rely on the digital literacy of your devices. This is important for your brain. Instead of watching a few YouTube videos, you could pick up a book again – or meditate for a few minutes. Your brain power also benefits from this!
Sources used: psychologytoday.com, mindbodygreen.com