A Review of the Negative Effects of Digital Technology on Cognition
Ur\v{s}ka \v{Z}nidari\v{c}, Erik \v{S}trumbelj, Octavian Machidon

TL;DR
This review synthesizes over 500 studies on digital technology's negative impacts on cognition, highlighting risks to higher-order functions and the importance of socioeconomic factors, with implications for long-term cognitive health.
Contribution
It provides a comprehensive analysis of documented cognitive risks associated with digital technology, including emerging concerns related to generative AI and long-term cognitive reserve depletion.
Findings
Digital technology may impair higher-order cognitive functions.
Socioeconomic and environmental factors influence cognitive outcomes.
Habitual digital offloading could deplete cognitive reserve.
Abstract
The rapid integration of digital technology into daily life has prompted sustained concern regarding its impact on human cognition. This integrative review synthesizes documented risks and negative associations across more than 500 empirical studies, including the established literature and the nascent body of work on generative artificial intelligence. Initial evidence suggests a potential evolution in the nature of cognitive risk: while research on earlier technologies predominantly describes disruptions to resource allocation, early findings on generative artificial intelligence point toward a hypothesized erosion of higher-order generative and metacognitive capabilities. We analyze these risks across basic cognitive processes, higher-order cognition, and integrated functional outcomes through four mechanisms: functional interference, neurochemical dysregulation, structural…
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Taxonomy
TopicsArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Technology Use by Older Adults
