As Marshall McLuhan taught, communication technologies are prostheses: extensions of our physical and cognitive abilities.
However, smartphones and digital media go further: they are not mere prostheses but vital organs, without which we sink into anxiety and bewilderment.
By now, we are addicted.
Delegating our thinking to technology is convenient, but it comes with a heavy price.
The risk of cognitive atrophy
Ioan Roxin, professor emeritus at Marie et Louis Pasteur University, puts it bluntly: even before the widespread rise of AI, our relationship with knowledge had already been compromised by digital media.
Internet and social media, contrary to what they claim, are less about democratising knowledge than creating a generalised illusion of knowledge.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that they are driving intellectual, emotional and moral mediocrity on a global scale.
Intellectual because they encourage overconsumption of content without any real critical analysis; emotional because they create an ever-deepening dependence on stimulation and entertainment; and moral because we have fallen into passive acceptance of algorithmic decisions.
If we know that information is available online, we aren't motivated to memorise it.
If we are besieged by notifications, alerts, and suggestions, our ability to concentrate decays.
If we believe AI has all the answers, we don't look for them within ourselves.
All of this leads fatally to cognitive atrophy, the loss of brain plasticity, and the deterioration of our cognitive processes.
1. We remain confined within a narrow horizon
Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and others recommend things similar to what we have already watched, listened to, or bought.
Consequently, our interests move within the grooves we have already carved, lacking those moments of discontinuity that push us to look elsewhere.
Experiencing the unprecedented requires extra effort, but that effort rewards us with the thrill and gratification of novelty, discovery, and the unexpected.
For years, the public debate has centered on filter bubbles and echo chambers: can democracy ever flourish if everyone only listens to the voices that please them?
The absurd polarization of public opinion is partly a product of these dynamics: everyone remains enclosed in their own little backyard, shunning confrontation and mediation.
2. We become incapable of re-elaborating (and remembering)
In Phaedrus, one of Plato's most fascinating dialogues, Socrates traces the origins of writing: according to the myth, it was invented by Theuth, an ancient Egyptian deity.
King Thamus, however, did not appreciate the invention: instead of strengthening memory, writing would weaken it by exempting readers from the effort of remembering. Furthermore, written texts don't generate true wisdom, as they don't engage in dialogue with readers and remain silent when questioned. Moreover, they can roll anywhere, ending up in the hands of those who cannot understand them.
Today, it is generative AI that concerns us: can having everything ready with a prompt weaken our thinking?
A recent experiment by the MIT Media Lab suggests so: three groups of participants were asked to write an essay. The first group could use ChatGPT; the second, Google; the third, no tools at all.
Participants in the first group were 60% faster, and their cognitive load was reduced by 32%.
However, their essays were banal, similar to one another, and lacking in original thought: soulless, to quote two teachers who evaluated them. 83% can't remember what they had written, and many had just copied and pasted.
In contrast, the group without tools reported higher levels of creative ideation, semantic processing, memorization, and satisfaction.
The issue is crucial: children and adolescents are using AI extensively while their brains are still developing. Overusing it could weaken memory, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving.
3. We succumb to conformity
For decades, the web has been flooded with articles like 7 rules for SEO copywriting or 10 tricks for your first Facebook campaign.
They are easy to write and easy to read, designed to attract clicks.
But they all seem like carbon copies.
In the past, I also applied these simple, predictable formats. Then I realized I was producing impersonal, hollow, and totally forgettable content.
The bottom line is: if we all follow the same rules, we will all do the same things, erasing every shred of personality and originality.
With AI, it is even worse: since they are trained on massive volumes of data, they reflect what is mainstream, most common, or most frequent, marginalizing other ideas, opinions, and trends.
Thus, we obtain a uniform, stereotyped, and biased worldview. We miss the nuances, the differences, and the non-conforming thoughts.
4. We fail to value our positive stress
Life online is convenient, too convenient, and offers us countless shortcuts.
It happens when we message someone without looking them in the eye; when we turn on the GPS instead of shyly asking passersby for directions; when we trust recommended products rather than browsing through endless catalogs and getting lost in the paradox of choice; or when we brainstorm new ideas or need to write a text.
In the short term, everything seems easier; but in the long run, escaping every form of discomfort can weaken our coping mechanisms and lead to avoidance behaviors.
Tricky and challenging experiences can improve us.
Moderate levels of stress, when embraced as a challenge rather than a threat, test our mental resilience and enhance both performance and adaptability.
5. We no longer cultivate the magic of waiting
Another side effect of apps, e-commerce, and digital media (driven also by our broader culture) is the frenzy that pervades every moment of our lives: we want everything at our fingertips within minutes.
Once, it was normal to wait days, if not weeks, to receive a mail-order product, to develop photos taken with an analog camera, to unwrap Christmas gifts or Easter eggs, or to see the person who made our heart skip a beat (back when we didn't yet spy others on social media).
Now everything demands practicality, speed, and immediacy: same-day deliveries, photos shared in real-time (often at the cost of actually living the experience, which is reduced to a mere pretext for our representations), and gifts unwrapped in a rush just to get them out of the way, while potential partners are distractedly swiped on dating apps, their fate decided in a matter of seconds.
The brutal paradigm of efficiency has conquered every aspect of our lives: passions, leisure, and even love must be functional, fast, and productive.
Everything, immediately? No, thanks
Yet, knowing how to delay gratification is crucial for personal success and well-being.
The marshmallow experiments of the 1970s are still a landmark: in these studies, children had to choose between enjoying a treat immediately or waiting fifteen minutes to receive two.
The more impulsive children were unable to resist, partly because they came from difficult socio-economic backgrounds that had made them more impatient and distrustful.
Other children, however, were able to wait: these are the same individuals who, as adults, achieved better outcomes in terms of physical health, emotional stability, social skills, and academic performance, showing a lower propensity for addiction and a greater ability to focus under pressure.
The cure lies within us
The convenience and immediacy of digital media must not become a pretext to stop reflecting, critically re-elaborating, or developing complex and articulate thoughts.
These are all activities that require authentic, healthy intellectual effort.
We can combat digital atrophy if we educate ourselves to dominate our tools, rather than being dominated by them.