Why do we get so much email? Not counting spam, there are a number of reasons why we overuse email, especially in a business context. I have been party to this overuse for many years. However, it has now been documented that too much email rots your brain.
According to a study of 1,000 adults carried out by psychologists at the King's College London, heavy texting and emailing causes a reduction in mental capability equivalent to the loss of 10 IQ points.
Not that we should rely exclusively on IQ scores as a measure, but it does point to the larger point of the study: the Always On culture that all of us have by now decided to embrace or despise is of detriment. You've seen them in meetings, texting their friends, responding to emails, check voicemails (yes, I've seen it happen), even interrupt a meeting *they were running* to take a personal call without any connotation of emergency (I saw this happen *this week*).
This devotion to distraction (Hey, I like that phrase!) has been documented as lowering the effective IQ of study participants.
Dr Wilson said that the human brain finds it difficult to cope with juggling lots of tasks at once and that constantly breaking off from tasks to check emails slowed the brain down.
"It is similar to the effect on the mind of losing a night's sleep, for instance, and more than twice the effect of the four-point drop in IQ caused by smoking cannabis," he added.
While good news for the "pothead set" - better to roll a blunt in a meeting instead of whipping out your PocketPC - it's disturbing how close to home this hits. I have frequently, more and more since acquiring an HTC 8125 PocketPC from Cingular at Thanksgiving, been That Guy.
While diligence is great and commitment is paramount in American business culture, I am now more inclined than ever to leave the Sexy Device Du Jour (another great phrase) in my bag and pay attention to the task at hand as the most important task I have. This mindfulness is a general trademark of Eastern philosophy and I have many friends who practice the principle. I haven't been one of them in a long time outside of a musical context, but it may just be time to rejoin their ranks. Or, apparently, get stupid. Definitely one of the two.
