4 ms·

Surprisingly enough studies have never been able to reliably correlate phone or screen usage to declines in cognitive ability of well-being. Some weak effects a

by tootie 2y ago

Surprisingly enough studies have never been able to reliably correlate phone or screen usage to declines in cognitive ability of well-being. Some weak effects appear and disappear in different studies but you'd think if the effect is this profound on society the results would jump out in studies. I can buy that it's a factor but there's more going on.

taeric 2y ago
I blame voice acting in video games. :D
- sitkack 2y ago
  I blame the shallow state machines and repetitive action cycles of NPCs in video games.
  - taeric 2y ago
    Repetition is surprisingly effective for learning. Such that that may have actually been a hidden benefit back in the day. :D
    - sitkack 2y ago
      https://www.phind.com/search?cache=ef2ftkexs44l8t5u5vzmgkg1 https://www.phind.com/search?cache=ef2ftkexs44l8t5u5vzmgkg1 Learning, attentional control and action video games https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3461277/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3461277/ Not nerd sniped at all. > in other words, an end in and of itself — we have recently considered the possibility that enhanced attention is instead a means to an end, with that end being better probabilistic inference [54] Improved probabilistic inference as a general learning mechanism with action video games [54] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20833324/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20833324/
      - taeric 2y ago
        Reminds me of the "running on cars!" video that went over some of the teaching tricks in older video games. How it would show a new enemy or mechanic in a way that is safe, but then drop you in on it with changes such that they feel different. The final "climb" of Super Mario Brothers is a great example. Just taking out the lower parts of the tower adds to the tension, when it should have no impact.
ramblenode 2y ago
The well-being literature does seem surprisingly fuzzy. I can only speculate what is going on there. A more robust finding seems to be grades: "The effects of mobile phone use on academic performance: A meta-analysis" [0] "Results indicate the summary effect of mobile phone use on student outcomes is r = −0.16 with 95% CI of −0.20 to −0.13." [0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131518302161 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03601...
- tootie 2y ago
  Published just today: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jan/29/all-in-the-mind-the-surprising-truth-about-brain-rot https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jan/29/all-in-... Refers to a more recent meta analysis from 2023 of 12000 kids and basically found no substantial negative effects from screen time

by tootie 2y ago

taeric 2y ago

I blame voice acting in video games. :D

sitkack 2y ago
I blame the shallow state machines and repetitive action cycles of NPCs in video games.
- taeric 2y ago
  Repetition is surprisingly effective for learning. Such that that may have actually been a hidden benefit back in the day. :D
  - sitkack 2y ago
    https://www.phind.com/search?cache=ef2ftkexs44l8t5u5vzmgkg1 https://www.phind.com/search?cache=ef2ftkexs44l8t5u5vzmgkg1 Learning, attentional control and action video games https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3461277/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3461277/ Not nerd sniped at all. > in other words, an end in and of itself — we have recently considered the possibility that enhanced attention is instead a means to an end, with that end being better probabilistic inference [54] Improved probabilistic inference as a general learning mechanism with action video games [54] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20833324/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20833324/
    - taeric 2y ago
      Reminds me of the "running on cars!" video that went over some of the teaching tricks in older video games. How it would show a new enemy or mechanic in a way that is safe, but then drop you in on it with changes such that they feel different. The final "climb" of Super Mario Brothers is a great example. Just taking out the lower parts of the tower adds to the tension, when it should have no impact.

ramblenode 2y ago

The well-being literature does seem surprisingly fuzzy. I can only speculate what is going on there. A more robust finding seems to be grades: "The effects of mobile phone use on academic performance: A meta-analysis" [0] "Results indicate the summary effect of mobile phone use on student outcomes is r = −0.16 with 95% CI of −0.20 to −0.13." [0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131518302161 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03601...

tootie 2y ago
Published just today: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jan/29/all-in-the-mind-the-surprising-truth-about-brain-rot https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jan/29/all-in-... Refers to a more recent meta analysis from 2023 of 12000 kids and basically found no substantial negative effects from screen time