Whether you endlessly scroll through Instagram or read every news site cover to cover, we spend a fair amount of our free time online. You might think that this wouldn’t make us smarter, but strangely enough, one aspect of our IQ has improved.
according to New study From the University of Vienna, our ability to concentrate has actually improved. To do this, the researchers looked at previous studies that included more than 20,000 people from 32 countries who were followed for decades. They have all passed the internationally recognized concentration test.
The adults performed much better on the test than before. “Our results show that adults’ ability to concentrate increased over the period studied,” the researchers wrote. As for the children, the improvement was not noticeable, but their ability to concentrate also improved slightly. Concentration is seen as an important aspect of intelligence.
A remarkable thing was observed: adults performed the test more slowly and made fewer errors. The children took the test faster, but made more errors than before. The researchers said this means that children have become more impulsive. They also argue that nowadays we place more importance on speed than accuracy.
But overall, researchers are positive: The Internet has not destroyed our ability to concentrate. In fact, we’ve gotten better at it.
“Total coffee specialist. Hardcore reader. Incurable music scholar. Web guru. Freelance troublemaker. Problem solver. Travel trailblazer.”
More Stories
Scientists produce huge amounts of carbon dioxide emissions through their trips to international conferences
Does black charcoal toothpaste whiten your teeth?
“The Federal Reserve limits the space of the European Central Bank”