As we learn more about how we use technology, we can ensure that it supports, rather than diminishes, us. But the evidence we have now is that it is hurting us in deep and lasting ways.
Many of us are disturbed by the gnawing feeling that technology's progression is costing us something fundamentally human.
Now, we have affirmation that speaking and reading — two things at the core of human connection — are in dangerous decline.
You've likely heard about the recent study that looked at nearly two decades of ambient recordings of people speaking in the United States, Europe, Australia and Mexico. The finding is troubling. Adults over the age of 25 are using 314 fewer words per day. Younger people are using 451 fewer words.
"When we speak less, we connect less," the study's authors, Valeria Pfeifer and Matthias R. Mehl, wrote in Perspectives on Psychological Science. "By bleeding words, we bleed everyday social connection, possibly daily well-being."
Technology like texting surely accounts for some of the loss, but the authors suggest that more is going on, such as "structural changes in how our society congregates and communicates."
We tend to think that technology is the precursor to those structural changes. Ask any young person who wants to date about the struggle of connecting offline, and you'll quickly get a sense of how machines have replaced person-to-person social connection.
Speaking to one another is integral to answering loneliness, depression and the sense of isolation that more and more often describes people's everyday lives. Whatever we are gaining in convenience appears to be coming at a cost that's hard to calculate.
Another piece of disturbing data emerged Tuesday. A study released by the OECD, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, showed a huge decline over 10 years in science, math and reading scores among 15-year-olds across 91 countries and economies.
This is a global collapse. And, here again, the misuse of technology appears to be a leading culprit.
"(W)hen artificial intelligence and digital tools are used, they should be used with care, for clearly defined purposes, and in moderation. Students tended to perform less well when use became excessive or when devices were used for leisure at school," the study notes.
We long advocated for limiting or eliminating personal cell phones in Texas schools. The Legislature's decision was initially met with some skepticism. Since it was implemented, we've heard almost universal cheers from teachers who couldn't play phone cop and get through to kids at the same time. We strongly urge legislators to keep pushing forward and get us out of the Chromebook era as soon as possible.
But schools aren't enough. We need to examine how we use technology in our daily lives, how it affects our ability and willingness to have human interactions, how it affects our ability to focus long enough to read and comprehend something with a little complexity.
We are grateful that social media companies may be held to account for intentionally designed, addictive platforms that amount to junk food for the brain.
Maybe, as we learn more about how we use technology, we can ensure that it supports, rather than diminishes, us. Because the evidence we have now is that it is hurting us in deep and lasting ways.
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