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Smart devices have put all of the world’s information at our fingertips. The benefits of this development are obvious, but what are the drawbacks?

People today are capable of accessing the internet through their mobile smart device. This puts them in touch with an extremely large amount of information. Although this trend has many positive ramifications, such as interconnectivity between people and the spreading of understanding, it is not without drawbacks. To illustrate this, the effect smart devices have on their user’s memory and privacy will be analysed.

For one, smart devices have caused people to rely less on their memories. For example, sites like Wikipedia make it easy for smartphone users to quickly access information on almost any topic. The problem with this convenience is that it encourages people to commit fewer and fewer things to memory, and this makes humanity’s collective understanding of the world increasingly dependent on machinery. Thus, this is one of the main drawbacks to having unrestricted access to information through smart devices.

In addition to this, smart devices reduce people’s privacy, which can lead to unwanted exposure to public scrutiny and ridicule. For instance, last year a child in America was unknowingly filmed by his classmate while performing an embarrassing dance routine. After the video was uploaded to the internet, this child suffered extreme teasing and ultimately developed anxiety issues. As this shows, the exchanging of information through smart devices is not always a positive thing.

As the above makes clear, smartphone use can weaken a user’s memory and reduce their privacy, two unfortunate drawbacks to a tool that has otherwise been very positive for humanity. These drawbacks will likely remain ongoing obstacles into the foreseeable future.