several studies have found that even knowing there’s a wealth of (seemingly) reliable information available 24/7 at our fingertips makes us less likely to store new knowledge in our own memory since we can just ‘look it up’ when needed. This is the so-called ‘Google Effect.’

[Patricia Greenfield] concluded that “every medium develops some cognitive skills at the expense of others.” Our growing use of the Net and other screen-based technologies has led to the “widespread and sophisticated development of visual-spatial skills.” We can, for example, rotate objects in our minds better than we used to be able to. But our... See more