Smartphones could lead to “digital dementia”

Smartphones and other digital devices threaten to turn young heavy users into “digital zombies” incapable of basic tasks such as communicating face to face, US scientist Devra Davis warns.

The experience in South Korea may represent a warning of things to come, according to Davis, who is president of the US-based Environmental Health Trust.

Neuroscientists in the nation have reported a rise in “digital dementia” among smartphone obsessives. Symptoms include an inability to remember phone numbers, produce legible handwriting or look people in the eye.

“Perhaps our contemporary fascination with zombies, vampires and sci-fi creatures, from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein to The Vampire Diaries and World War Z, may be a quiet cry that we find ways to avoid becoming heartless sci-fi monsters ourselves,” Davis said.

It is estimated that 20% of South Korean 10- to 19-year-olds spend seven hours a day on smartphones and tablets, and the government has set up a network of 140 internet addiction camps to tackle the social problems that can arise.

Heavy use of technology during a child’s formative years can actually affect brain development, according to South Korean psychiatrist Dr Byun Gi-Won of the Balance Brain Centre in Seoul.

“Young people who are heavy technology users are likely to have a properly developed left hemisphere of the brain, while the right hemisphere will be unused and underdeveloped,” Dr Gi-Won said.

Davis added that another global concern for brain development is the explosion of Wi-Fi and cellular networks worldwide. Today’s babies are growing up with far more exposure to radiofrequency radiation than ever before in human history.

She recommends limiting children’s exposure to electronic devices in favour of interpersonal interaction.

“If digital devices must be used to distract a toddler on a long car trip, put them on airplane mode and make sure they remain disconnected from internet or Wi-Fi,” Davis added.