Smartphones are making us dumb

SCHOOL PROGRAM

SMARTPHONES ARE MAKING US DUMB

by
DR. MARK WILLIAMS

Looking for ways to help your students cope better with smartphone dependence?

This program can help students address the many problems that smartphones are creating. Learning outcomes, resilience, curiosity, tolerance and emotional intelligence are all declining whilst stress, anxiety, depression and suicide are rising. Students will learn about the evolution of the modern smartphone and the applications that influence so much of our lives. They will also learn how our brains learn and adapt, and why modern technology can be addictive and potentially harmful. They will hear about why it is important to disconnect from their devices to improve their wellbeing. Students will learn simple strategies to get back the time and motivation to connect, socialise, innovate, contribute and live in the real world.

The iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone on the market, but it was the first to attract our imaginations. After it was released in 2007, by 2008 there were 11.6 million sold. It is estimated that over 5 billion people in the world are unique mobile subscribers. There has never been such a rise in technology in our history. Smartphones are now considered essential in our modern lives. They are touted as giving us unlimited access to information and greater choice, while increasing our knowledge and analytical skills. However, the evidence demonstrates that none of this is true! Not only do the underlying algorithms restrict our choices and the information we have access to they are impacting on our cognitive functions and our brains. Both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are reported to have kept this technology away from their kids. New scientific research is regularly published that links smartphone use to anxiety, stress, depression, addiction and suicide. It is time we rethink our use of Smartphones before it is too late.

What will be covered?

In an informative and challenging presentation, Dr Mark covers:

• The rise of the smart phone.
• The neuroscience of learning and memory, and why smartphones are damaging.
• The neuroscience of addiction, why smartphones are addictive and how to avoid it.
• The neuroscience of empathy and why smartphones are having an impact.
• The relationship between screen use, depression and suicide.
• Ways to minimise the potential effects.

He will end with a series of helpful tips and strategies that we can all easily implement to get smartphone use under control for both adults and teenagers.

This talk is an adaptation of a keynote presentation that I have given in a variety of environments.
There are versions appropriate for primary school students (30 min), high school students (50 min), or adults (90 min).