Fears over computers’ impact on lives

Financial Times:

“For me this is almost as important as climate change,” she said, ahead of a speech on Tuesday night at the British Science Festival in Birmingham.

“While it doesn’t threaten the existence of the planet like climate change, I think the quality of our existence is threatened – and the kind of people we might be in the future.”

Lady Greenfield said the possible benefits of modern technology included a higher IQ, better memory and quicker processing of information. But she is more worried about the potential negative side. For example, social networking sites might reduce the empathy that young people felt towards others; using search engines to find facts might hinder the ability to learn; and computer games in which it was possible to start from the beginning, no matter how many mistakes were made, might make us more reckless in our day-to-day lives, she said.

Dismissing charges of scaremongering, Lady Greenfield said: “Every single parent I have spoken to so far is concerned. I have yet to find a parent who says: ‘I am really pleased that my kid is spending so much time in front of the computer.’”

She acknowledged that information technology was bringing huge benefits to society, but added: “We should be the masters and not the slaves of technology – and harnessing it in ways that we could do exciting and fulfilling things with.”