MODERN BUSINESS LIFE creativity and flexible thinking to solve problems and make decisions quickly . This is where our capacity for imagination and creating insight sets us apart . The human brain remains ( for the moment at least ) the captain of our conscious and deliberate thought and far outstrips what technology can deliver . There are three areas where technology can trip us up .
1Your shrinking attention span . Yes , our technology is brilliantly designed to distract us and being the curious creatures we are , we want to ensure we ’ re not missing out on something important . Unfortunately as our level of distractibility increases , we become less adept at focusing well on a given task . To learn anything we must first give our full and undivided attention , which we are becoming increasingly less generous . The result ? We surface skim , we grab the headlines but fail to dig a little deeper to get the full gist of a story . The remedy is to unplug regularly from technology , ( even for just 30 minutes at a time ) to rebuild focus , reduce stress and perform at a higher level .
2Your increasing sleep debt .
Spending many hours in front of a screen hyper-stimulates the brain making it harder to switch off . Sleep deprivation is not just a cognitive menace , it ’ s potentially deadly . Mental fatigue not only leads to more errors , it reduces memory , recall and emotional regulation . It ’ s not just tired 2 years olds that are grumpy and less focused ! In addition , the blue light emitted by our computers , tablets and smartphones has been shown to interfere with the brains ’ ability to secrete melatonin and prepare us for sleep . The good news is there are apps such as F . lux and Twilight available to convert those screen emissions to a non sleep disturbing yellow , and the latest IOS systems in recognising this problem have released Nightshift to help us get some much needed shut eye .
3Your invisibility cloak .
It ’ s easy to hide behind the safety of a screen to send a message that we feel socially awkward to convey in person . It saves us the emotional pain of
having to deal with the recipient of the message who may now know that the relationship is over , that your Facebook status is now single or that you are really extremely angry .
The problem here is we acquire our social intelligence from having to deal with difficult situations face-toface . It ’ s easier to deny wrongdoing or lie using social media . While acknowledging fault and taking responsibility can feel horrible it is an essential component to developing coping strategies for when things go wrong . Real human connection develops in “ real ” time and can ’ t be substituted using technology alone .
Technology may not be dumbing us down , but is changing the way we think . As we hurtle into the 21st century , the better question to be asking is , how can switch our thinking from what we “ know ” to asking , “ How can this be done better using our brains and technology ?”
Dr . Jenny Brockis is the Brain Fitness Doctor specialising in brain and organisational health . Her latest book Future Brain : The 12 Keys to Create Your High-Performance Brain ( Wiley ) is available online and at all good bookstores . www . drjennybrockis . com
September 2016 ModernBusiness 11