"Workers distracted by email and phone calls suffer a fall in IQ more than twice that found in marijuana smokers, new research has claimed, reports the BBC. The study for computing firm Hewlett Packard warned of a rise in "infomania", with people becoming addicted to email and text messages. The study, carried out at the Institute of Psychiatry, found excessive use of technology reduced workers' intelligence. Those distracted by incoming email and phone calls saw a 10-point fall in their IQ - more than twice that found in studies of the impact of smoking marijuana, said researchers.
I searched for an hour for this study, it apparently is either hidden, unpublished or something.
When I first heard of this from a colleague, I asked the following questions about the Infomania' more distracting than marijuana study:
1. Did they correct for personality type, or innateness of any kind.
2. Different strokes for different folks.
3. Over the past several years, I've found myself developing at a rapid rate as a result of having access to information and a constant supply of emails, more than 200 a day on low days.
4. I find my productivity and my income have improved over the same period versus periods where what some would call "infomania" didn't exist.
5. Did they correct for IQ, since they say it went down. I'm surprised they didn't report that in some cases it went up? Mine seems to have, I checked it several years ago and again last year, I experienced a rise according to a somewhat simple, yet standard approach to IQ measures.
6. Certain people don't do well with interruptions and the same goes for that multi-tasking survey they did a year or so ago, which showed problems.
7. The key I'm wondering about is are they trying to apply a single standard, which I can't help but think they are to the population--a typically blank slate type of thing where we're all measured based on the same standards...ugh!
8. If they looked for volunteers for the marijuana thing, or did they use the same people, those who worked and those who smoked as a group, comparing them to a control, who neither smoked, but infoed, or infoed, didn't smoke and did they correct for again, baselines?
9. How did they measure productivity, if at all, and why would they measure IQ and not pre-establish a link between IQ and productivity, because frankly, who cares if your IQ drops, if you can be productive, or if not answering your email is making other people less productive?
10. What does the use of marijuana have to do with anything...why has all of a sudden it became a benchmark for anything?
Ok, those are some quick ideas, but here's my take.
The world is changing, MUCH more rapidly than we can even comprehend, therefore new measurements of productivity are required that involve connectivity--in other words, group measures, i.e. if a person is connected to 10 other people through email and by answering their email, those other 9 are more productive singly or as a group (smoking marijuana or not)...then collective productivity has gone up, while an individual's productivity has gone down. However, this is good, not bad.
We have an new evolving base of intellect occurring that is going to look like it is a lot different in structure than an intellect we've seen in the past. We need new thinking, new leadership, new measures to be able to deal with it.
Here are some of the ideas that one needs to consider:
-smart mobs and what they produce
-connectivity based networks, social or otherwise, doing email
-virtual production, and I don't mean being virtual I mean producing virtual products that are basically energy forms.
More on that later, got to run for now!
Mike, you have nailed on the head the problems with journalistic reporting of studies. But most people don't stop to think about these things. The study may have been controlled for all the factors you mention, but then again, it may not. Consider the source. The Institute of Psychiatry probably did a worthy study, but it was summarized and reported by journalists, who haven't been trained in the issues you mention. The BBC is in the business of getting people to tune into their stations. This makes for a great story, but is the journalist's summary accurate? We don't know.
I was just in Singapore with young Chinese business people who are addicted to their Blackberries. They are wired up to emails while dining, and while shopping, and while having conversations. One entrepreneur even told me when he takes a date to the movies, he grows anxious because he is thinking about his email. But these young people are successful and productive, and manage to laugh and have a good time while doing business. They were brought up on computers and multi-tasking. They don't seem to suffer, but thrive. Of course, they are clearly "P"s on the MBTI, and little ol' "J" me found the pace a little disturbing! But knowing about these human styles makes it completely enjoyable.
Posted by: Patsi Krakoff | April 28, 2005 at 07:34 PM