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arXiv · 2603.10025

A Scoping Review of the Negative Effects of Digital Technology on Cognition

Urška Žnidarič·Erik Štrumbelj·Octavian Machidon
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Abstract

The rapid integration of digital technology into daily life has prompted sustained concern regarding its impact on human cognition. To characterize documented negative effects and the conditions under which they arise, we conducted a scoping review isolating the documented negative effects of digital technology use on cognition. Using a hybrid automated and manual search strategy, we identified foundational seed papers via Scopus and executed an algorithmic citation snowballing process via the OpenAlex API to capture relevant empirical and non-empirical literature. The resulting synthesis of 937 papers (584 empirical, 353 non-empirical) spans legacy screens, multitasking, smartphones, and the nascent work on generative artificial intelligence (AI). Evidence suggests an evolution in the nature of cognitive risk: while research on earlier technologies predominantly describes disruptions to resource allocation, early findings on AI point toward a hypothesized erosion of higher-order cognition. We analyze these risks across cognitive domains through four mechanisms: functional interference, neurochemical dysregulation, structural neuroplasticity, and psychosocial displacement. Effects are frequently moderated by socioeconomic status and environmental factors, suggesting that cognitive decline is often mediated by the displacement of activities rather than direct technological toxicity. Finally, the paper examines how habitual digital offloading could theoretically deplete cognitive reserve, creating downstream risks for long-term health. The collective evidence suggests an efficiency-atrophy paradox, where digital tools optimize short-term performance at the potential expense of long-term unassisted cognition.

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Urška Žnidarič, Erik Štrumbelj, Octavian Machidon. 2026-02-23. A Scoping Review of the Negative Effects of Digital Technology on Cognition. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.10025

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