Zat0pek
05-04-2005, 01:35 PM
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/04/BUGOSCJGA41.DTL
From the article:
A 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."
From the article:
A 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."