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San Francisco Chronicle, 2005-05-04 (Wed) E-mail addles the mind, Endless messaging rots brain worse than pot, study finds by Benjamin Pimentel
What's more harmful -- taking a hit or hitting the send button?
One study commissioned by Hewlett-Packard has found that excessive
day-to-day use of technology -- whether it's sending e-mails or using
mobile phones -- can be more distracting and harmful to the IQ than
smoking marijuana.
The research conducted for HP by scientists from the Institute of
Psychiatry at the University of London warns of the "abuse of
always-on technology" in which "workers are literally addicted to
checking e-mail and text messages during meetings, in the evening and
at weekends."
The study called this condition info-mania.
"This is a very real and widespread phenomenon," psychologist Glenn
Wilson said in a statement. "We have found info-mania, if unchecked,
will damage (workers') performance by reducing their mental
sharpness."
The study, conducted in Britain earlier this year, involved 80
volunteers who took part in clinical trials and interviews with 1,100
subjects.
But the study said "an average worker's functioning IQ falls 10
points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming e-mails ...
more than double the four-point drop seen following studies on the
impact of smoking marijuana."
The report cited a 2002 report on marijuana use by researchers from
Carleton University in Ottawa.
The research found that 62 percent of adults are addicted to checking
e-mail and text messages. Half of the workers would "respond to an
e-mail immediately or within 60 minutes."
One in 5 is "happy to interrupt a business or social meeting to
respond to an e-mail or telephone message."
The 10-point drop in IQ was even more significant in men than women
who took part in the tests, HP said.
The IQ decline was the equivalent of missing a whole night's sleep,
the company said.
The study also found that 89 percent of workers think colleagues who
respond to e-mails or messages during meetings are "extremely rude."
Paradoxically, 30 percent believe doing so is acceptable and even
diligent.
Debra Meyerson, professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford
Graduate School of Business, echoed the study's finding that "being
accessible all the time is a source of stress."
"The boundaries between work and nonwork are now constructed by
people turning technology on and off," said Myerson, who is involved
in an ongoing study on the impact of technology on everyday life.
Ryan Montana, a director at the Love Shack, a medicinal marijuana
dispensary in San Francisco, agreed. "It's kind of like a monkey on
your back," he said. "You can literally be spending hours a day
checking e-mail. A person who is using prescription marijuana is not
spending hours a day medicating."
But Jeff Jones, director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative,
stressed that, like medicinal marijuana, technology has its benefits.
"As the moral goes, everything in moderation," he said. "Sitting in
front of a computer all day and not getting up is going to cause you
problems. A few minutes here and there? I can't see the problem. I do
it every day."
HP said the study was part of the Palo Alto company's effort to help
businesses deal with improper use of technology.
The tech giant has put out some guidelines, such as discouraging the
use of handheld devices and laptops during meetings and cutting down
on one-word e-mail messages, such as those that just say, "Thanks."
Pubdate: Wed., May 4, 2005 © 2005 San Francisco Chronicle |
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