Too much internet can ruin your attention span
CONSTANTLY checking your mobile phone or iPad weakens your ability to concentrate, a study has found.
Researchers discovered that the most frequent mobile phone and internet users are more likely to be distracted – even when not engaged with their devices.
Examples include being prone to missing important appointments, daydreaming while having a conversation and forgetting why they have gone into a room.
The study by De Montfort University in Leicester found that the more times a person uses the internet or their mobile phone, the more likely they are to experience ‘cognitive failures’.
Study author Dr Lee Hadlington said those already suffering from short attention spans may be drawn to the distractions of modern technology, which makes it even harder for them to pay attention to their surroundings.
He said: ‘ This is a very under- examined area and a very important one. We are using technology on a daily basis but we don’t understand its effect on us.
‘We don’t know what’s actually happening to our cognition when we are using this technology and that’s the important thing. What we do know from this research is that there are some statistically significant numbers of people who say they use the internet or their phone a lot and who experience cognitive failures.’
The study draws the same conclusions among users of mobile phones without internet access as with it, suggesting that mobile phone conversations and surfing the web are similarly associated with distraction. The research, published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour, asked people a series of questions to determine whether they experienced certain types of ‘blunders’.
These are defined as factors relating to their ability to focus, physical blunders such as bumping into things, and memory.
It was conducted among 107 men and 103 women between the ages of 18 and 65, who spent an average of 23 hours a week online.
It comes after research by the National Literacy Trust found that a quarter of secondary pupils described themselves as internet ‘addicts’. About two-thirds took a computer device or smartphone to bed with them, to use on social media or for watching videos.
Findings last year from Ofcom showed that about 70 per cent of five to 15-year-olds had access to a tablet at home.
Last month, clinical psychologist Linda Blair warned that children should not be allowed to use phones and iPads before school because it can damage their concentration in class.