Have you ever thought that the use of digital devices can seriously affect neural development? Know that this is not just an assumption. French neuroscientist Michel Demurget presents concrete and conclusive data on the subject.
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The researcher released a book entitled “A Fábrica de Cretinos Digitais”. In the work, he presents all the data collected to date. Demurget demonstrates how the use of technological devices has been affecting the intelligence of children and young people.
In an interview with BBC New Mundo, the station's Spanish news service, the neuroscientist says:
"There is simply no excuse for what we are doing to our children and how we are endangering their future and development."
Some of the most concrete evidence has been around for a long time. They show that the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of the new generations is lower than the previous ones. In other words, today's children would be less intelligent than their parents.
In this sense, intelligence is understood as the capacity for assimilation and reflection. The researcher has extensive experience in the area, having gone through several renowned institutes. Among them, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, in the United States, stand out.
The book “A Fábrica de Cretinos Digitais” has already become a bestseller that dominates the first positions in France.
Excerpts from the BBC New World interview
BBC News Mundo: Are today's young people the first generation in history with a lower IQ (Intelligence Quotient) than the last?
Michel Desmurget: Yes. IQ is measured by a standard test. However, it is not a “static” test and is frequently revised. My parents didn't take the same test as me, for example, but a group of people might be given an old version of the test.
And in doing so, researchers have observed in many parts of the world that IQ has increased from generation to generation. This has been called the 'Flynn effect', after the American psychologist who described this phenomenon. But recently, this trend has begun to reverse in several countries.
It is true that IQ is strongly affected by factors such as the health care system, the school system, nutrition, etc. But if we consider countries where socioeconomic factors have been fairly stable for decades, the 'Flynn effect' starts to wane.
In these countries, “digital natives” are the first children to have lower IQs than their parents. It is a trend that has been documented in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Holland, France, etc.
BBC News Mundo: And what is causing this decrease in IQ?
Desmurget: Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to determine the specific role of each factor, including for example pollution (especially early exposure to pesticides) or exposure to screens. What we do know for sure is that even if a child's screen time isn't the only culprit, it has a significant effect on their IQ. Several studies have shown that when television or video game use increases, IQ and cognitive development decline.
The main foundations of our intelligence are affected: language, concentration, memory, culture (defined as a body of knowledge that helps us organize and understand the world). Ultimately, these impacts lead to a significant drop in academic performance.
BBC News Mundo: And why does the use of digital devices cause all this?
Desmurget: The causes are also clearly identified: decrease in the quality and quantity of intrafamilial interactions, essential for language and emotional development; decrease in time dedicated to other more enriching activities (homework, music, art, reading, etc.); sleep disturbance, which is quantitatively reduced and qualitatively degraded; overstimulation of attention, leading to disorders of concentration, learning and impulsivity; intellectual understimulation, which prevents the brain from developing to its full potential; and excessive sedentary lifestyle which, in addition to body development, influences brain maturation.
BBC News Mundo: What damage exactly do screens cause to the neurological system?
Desmurget: The brain is not a "stable" organ. Its 'final' characteristics depend on our experience. The world we live in, the challenges we face, modify both its structure and its functioning, and some regions of the brain specialize, some networks are created and strengthened, others are lost, some become denser and others more thin.
Our parents didn't pass the same IQ test as us, notes neuroscientist
Time spent in front of a screen for recreational purposes has been observed to delay anatomical and functional brain maturation in various cognitive networks related to language and attention.
It should be noted that not all activities fuel the brain building equally efficiently.