FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Monday, April 25, 2005

Doez Multitasking Mak Yoo Stoopid?

A study performed by the UK Institute of Psychiatry in conjunction with Hewlett-Packard has found that people are addicted to information -- a condition they dub "infomania" -- and that those distracted by multitasking suffer an IQ drop worse than those who smoke marijuana.

Not surprisingly, the study found that 62% of those studied checked e-mail and text messages after work hours (in the US, those numbers would most likely be higher). As for the IQ drop, the study concluded that the constant distractions from answering messages had mentally corrosive effects similar to losing sleep or smoking dope.

Sources: BBC, Smart Mobs