Wondering how that's possible? Well, our capacity to think is determined by two factors: our working memory and our fluid intelligence. The first, our working memory, allows us to proactively select, maintain and process information that we need for a specified reason. The second, our fluid intelligence, allows us to think through problems and find solutions. Both working memory and fluid intelligence require us to be able to choose information, store it and then manipulate it with the objective of accomplishing something. Both also require our attention in order to function—but our attention is a limited resource.
If we are paying attention to one thing, we have less resources available to pay attention to another. Now more than ever, we have a lot going on around us, constantly demanding our attention, especially in the form of technology. Over the past 10 plus years, our phones have become increasingly and intrinsically woven into all aspects of our lives. Now most people can't imagine life without their smartphones—they have become indispensable extensions of ourselves. And these extensions commandeer a significant portion of our finite attention, whether we are actively using them or not.
Why does this happen? Because our phones distract us, even if notifications are turned off and we don't interact with them. Also, it takes a lot of effort for us to ignore the lure and attraction of our smartphones, since they are such an integral part of our lives. The result of all this is that our phones negatively impact our thinking capacity and functioning, and it's happening whether we realize it or not. If asked, most people don't think their phone has any impact on their cognitive performance. But the data shows that it does.
So, what can we do about this? How can we mitigate the negative effects of our phones and avoid the 'brain drain' they can cause? The study indicates that it isn't enough to place your phone face down. Surprisingly, it also isn't enough to turn it off. The solution is to physically separate yourself from your smartphone. For this to be effective, your phone should be in a different room than you, not just 'put away' in the same room. You also need to ensure it doesn't make any sounds that you might hear, so put it on silent or airplane mode, or just turn it off.
If you are very involved with your phone and interact with it a lot, you should also try spending more time offline. Intentionally choosing to disconnect from your phone and other digital devices will help increase your thinking ability. If you need some help cutting back on your screen time, here are some tips for doing so.
To some, all this may sound like paranoia or overkill. But for me, the data speaks for itself. And when I think about how some people act when they have their phones—distracted and unfocussed—it's not hard to see how their ability to think isn't what it should be. Although they're called smartphones, it turns out they can make us dumber, if we let them.