Image: iStock.
It’s official: we, as a society, have lost the art of watching TV.
We might have one eye studiously glued to Mad Men, but the other is almost always flicking over to the screen on another device, if not two, at the same time. Which is absurd, because TV watching is supposed to be a leisurely, uncomplicated activity.
Related: The cling wrap weight loss trend that’s as dangerous as it is bizarre.
If you’re guilty of a bit of screen-on-screen-on-screen action, you might want to listen up: this juggling act isn’t only distracting you from the plot of your favourite show — making you that annoying person who always has to ask ‘Wait, what just happened? Who’s that?’ — it could also be messing with your brain.
A study from the University of Copenhagen has concluded flicking between your phone, tablet, TV and/or computer (you multi-tasker, you) at the same time could be making you, ah… dumb.
If you really struggle to watch TV without multi-tasking, turn your favourite show into a workout game instead (post continues after gallery).
TV Workout Games
“Use of technology in our everyday lives is damaging the brain, causing it to rewire itself and lowering our IQ as a result,” the researchers concluded.
As the Daily Mail reports, using multiple devices at once was also found to be worse for your brain than being stoned. Yes, smoking marijuana is preferable health-wise to having your tablet on your lap during an episode of My Kitchen Rules. Evidently, this is because dividing your attention between different screens triggers the production of dopamine, a hormone that can affect your thought processes and cognitive ability and is often associated with drug use.
