There’s An App For That!
It seems that there is an app for every human endeavor, from budgeting and ordering food to travel planning and identifying constellations.
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There’s An App For That!
It seems that there is an app for every human endeavor, from budgeting and ordering food to travel planning and identifying constellations. There are even app to help seniors manage their medications and maintain their intellectual sharpness.
No one can argue the convenience they offer or the access to capabilities heretofore unimagined, such as the app that loads up all your reward cards so you no longer need to carry numerous reward cards and locate the right one at the check-out counter.
Some conveniences can be costly, especially when it comes to food delivery apps that add service fees, delivery fees and gratuities. But convenience isn’t the only benefit. Apps can sometimes simplify complex tasks, such as medication management, or create time to focus on more important priorities.
A recent trend is the gamification of apps that motivate users to reach goals. This motivation can come in the form of earning points or medals to creating competition among a community of users.
The psychology behind gamification can make goal achievement more likely and the learning process stickier, but it holds the potential to encourage cheating. Where leader boards exist, it seems to raise the temptation to cheat.
One popular way to cheat is on fitness apps. Why walk to reach a desired step count goal when it’s so much easier to attach the fitness app to your pet?
The more troubling issue, however, is that apps may be making people dumber.
Do Apps Make People Dumber?
Yes and no, depending on who you wish to believe.
According to researchers at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Toronto, the answer is that smart technology is not making us dumber. In fact, they argue that it makes us smarter because it supplements our thinking and allows us to excel.1
Professor Sparrow of Columbia University disagrees. In an article published in “Science” magazine, she argues that apps and other software tools may make us better at remembering how and where to find information, but worse at remembering the actual information. From reading maps to reading emotions, an entire new generation is being raised without basic skills.2
In an earlier time, it was feared that television was going make mush of a new generation’s minds. While the Baby Boomers did okay, there will always be concerns about evolving technologies and the impact to the current generations.
Sources:
- https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2021/07/article-by-uc-expert-explains-how-smart-tech-wont-lower-your-iq.html
- https://www.thehealthy.com/aging/mind-memory/technology-making-you-stupid/
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