The problem isn't smartphones, it's culture. We've just not adapted to this new reality yet.
The same was true during every major human revolution. We no longer have the attention span of our ancestors, but that's because it doesn't make sense to have so much of it. Nature goes for the lowest energy state, so if you introduce something that takes over for you then your brain is going to put that previous work to some other use.
There is no better or worse when it comes to this stuff, it's all just conditions of our present situation.
Is reduced attention span bad?
Only if the world loses all the progress it's made. Which is a possibility, but a reduced attention span is the least of our worries if society collapses.
This is just fear mongering as usual. Humans are defined by our incredible ability to adapt. We're going to just keep on doing that, like the previous 100,000 years.
The same was true during every major human revolution. We no longer have the attention span of our ancestors, but that's because it doesn't make sense to have so much of it. Nature goes for the lowest energy state, so if you introduce something that takes over for you then your brain is going to put that previous work to some other use.
There is no better or worse when it comes to this stuff, it's all just conditions of our present situation.
Is reduced attention span bad? Only if the world loses all the progress it's made. Which is a possibility, but a reduced attention span is the least of our worries if society collapses.
This is just fear mongering as usual. Humans are defined by our incredible ability to adapt. We're going to just keep on doing that, like the previous 100,000 years.