Study finds lowered IQ performance among info-maniacs. :)

[Guest uteng]

An interesting article about frequent users of email having temporarily lowered mental performance.

 

Apr. 23, 2005. 08:20 AM - Toronto Star

 

Text messaging, emails not so GR8, study finds

Researchers say it destroys mind faster than pot

But one manager feels he's sharper in `info-mania' era

 

SHARDA PRASHAD

BUSINESS REPORTER

 

Brad Simms sends and receives more than 50 text messages and 100 emails every day. He thinks his BlackBerry has sharpened his mental performance. He now has more free time to go to the gym.

 

And Simms laughs off a study that suggests people like him are losing their smarts — indeed, more so than if they smoked pot — because of the amount of time they spend sending electronic messages.

 

The University of London study found constant emailing and text messaging reduces mentality capability by an average of 10 points on an I.Q. test — five points for women and 15 for men.

 

"We tested office workers under `quiet' conditions, and then under `loud' conditions, which allowed them to access their email and text messages," said Glenn Wilson, a psychology professor at the University of London and author of the Hewlett-Packard-sponsored study. "The performance on I.Q. tests dropped by 10 points."

 

That's the same effect as missing a night's sleep, Wilson said. Smoking cannabis, by comparison, decreases mental capability by four points.

 

"This is a very real and widespread phenomenon," he said. "We have found that info-mania, if unchecked, will damage a worker's performance by reducing their mental sharpness."

 

Info-mania, a term used to describe workers who constantly check text and email messages, is something to be taken seriously, Wilson said. It's a trend that, he predicts, is on the rise.

 

The negative effects reported in the study are temporary, Wilson explained, and performance will return when the technology is removed. However, Wilson said, if the culture of always needing to be "on" persists, info-mania could lead to permanent impairment in performance.

 

Simms, despite the evidence, disagrees with the survey's findings. Since acquiring his BlackBerry six months ago, he said he is more mentally astute than before. It's true, his CrackBerry — the name given to the addictive nature of the tool — is something he can't live without, but it's not ruining his ability to produce results at work.

 

"I think I'm a lot sharper," said the 31-year-old senior manager at Sapient, a business consulting firm. He keeps his BlackBerry on 11 hours every day. Being "on" for nearly half the day leaves Simms with an extra three hours of time every day to refocus. "It's a productivity saver. I don't have to sit in front of the computer. I can go to the gym and talk to my friends."

 

The study found British respondents weren't as disciplined as Simms. They didn't turn off their email or text messages when they left work — 62 per cent of survey respondents checked their messages when they were out of the office and on holiday.

 

Despite 89 per cent of respondents finding it "extremely rude" to answer emails and phone calls during face-to-face meetings, one in five respondents were "happy" to interrupt a business or social meeting to respond to an email or telephone call.

 

"The problem with this technology is that it disrupts our train of thought if you let it," said Beverly Beuermann-King, a stress and wellness expert. "A beep on the email, or a buzzing in the pocket, takes you away from what you're working on. It takes focus away from the long term."

 

Technology and email are consistently named as sources of stress for clients, Beuermann-King said.

 

"The problem is the volume (of messages) and the expectation that you need to respond within 24 hours," Beuermann-King said. "People need to set realistic expectation for themselves and others."

 

Wilson agrees, adding that employers should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working.

 

The Scotsman newspaper reported yesterday that the CEO of the Caudwell Group, the United Kingdom's largest independent distributor of cellphones, banned his staff from emailing last year, calling it "the cancer of modern business," and the Phones 4U chain told its 2,500 employees to abstain from cyberspace and opt for telephone or in-person communication — a practice reported to have had an "instant, dramatic effect."

 

www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs...alogin=yes

[Guest grandmellon]

Doh!

I was wondering what was happening to me... good things medical schools don't test IQ :rollin

GM

ROFL