TXTING MKS U STPID
It lowers your IQ more than smoking cannabis
By Robert Stansfield
EMAILING and texting can lower a person's IQ by more than if they smoke cannabis, an expert warned yesterday.
Checking messages or tapping away on a keyboard temporarily knocks 10 points off a users' intelligence, compared to four for a joint, tests show.
Researchers say office staff are the most common sufferers of "infomania" - losing concentration at work as their minds are in a permanent state of readiness to reply to texts and emails. Some even interrupt the flow of meetings to answer calls.
University of London psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson studied 1,100 people. He found "infomania" had the same effect on the brain as losing a night's sleep.
He said: "We have found that infomania will damage a worker's performance by reducing their mental sharpness." More than six in 10 workers admitted being "addicted" to checking texts and email.
Technology firm Hewlett Packard, which commissioned the research, said: "We know that technology makes us more effective but we also know that misuse can be counter productive."