Nowadays, most of us have the luxury of the internet to use to our advantage. However, have you ever noticed that whenever trying to do your work on technology you just can’t sit still. Well, in a study done in 2004 by Noyes, Garland and Robbins it found in their study that although overall reader comprehension was not significantly different between screen and paper conditions, screen readers endured higher cognitive workload to achieve that level of comprehension. Not only that, but it’s proven that smartphones can reduce your brainpower, even if you aren’t using your phone and it’s sitting right in-front of you. Brainpower means the mental ability to do something and if you’re looking to maximise your cognitive skills and boost your learning then you might want to start doing things the old-fashioned way.  

Technology has advanced and been made to adapt to our lifestyle so quickly that we forget there are other alternatives. For example, something just as simple as picking up a pen and paper. I'm not disputing the fact that technology doesn’t make our life easier or help us complete tasks quickly, it’s just that you’re not going to be able to augment your learning if you don’t go over what you have learnt regularly and use the most effective way to learn. It has also been shown that writing on paper or even just reading from it has high utility however, on the other hand, reading/typing on screens has low utility. And to strengthen your learning further it is paramount that you work in a quiet and relaxed environment where you can focus clearly and strengthen those cognitive bonds in your brain; which will only take place when you get a sufficient amount of sleep (typically, 8-9 hours for a teenager).  

Now bearing in mind what you have just read from this article, it would be best for you to take some time to reflect and think about how much time you spend on your devices and whether you need to change your habits ASAP.  

By Eisher Aujla