Technology isn't destroying humanity. It's rewiring it.
We're losing memory, patience, and deep thinking, but gaining speed, leverage, and god-level tools. The problem isn't tech. It's how blindly we let it think for us. This blog breaks down what tech stole, what it upgraded, and how to use it without becoming a walking NPC.
If Google went down for 24 hours, society would panic harder than during exams week.
People don't "forget" facts anymore.
They forget how to think.
We don't remember phone numbers.
We don't remember directions.
We barely remember what we searched 10 minutes ago.
And yet, some 19-year-old with a laptop, Wi-Fi, and AI can now outperform entire companies from 2010.
So… are we getting dumber?
Yes.
Also no.
Welcome to the weirdest upgrade humanity has ever received.
That's lazy thinking.
Technology doesn't make you lazy.
It makes you selectively lazy.
You stopped memorizing stuff because your brain said:
"Why store it when Google does it better?"
That's not stupidity. That's optimization.
The real issue?
We outsourced too much.
Now people feel tired, confused, and weirdly empty, something I already broke down in Why You're Tired All The Time.
Tech didn't steal your energy.
It fragmented it.
Let's not sugarcoat this.
Try reading one article without opening another tab.
Exactly.
Attention is now a battlefield. If you can focus in 2026, you're basically a monk with Wi-Fi. I went deeper into this in How To Focus in 2026, because focus is now a rare skill, not a basic one.
We don't remember things, we remember where to find them.
That sounds smart… until:
Memory isn't about trivia.
It's about pattern recognition. And patterns come from remembering.
Scrolling feels easy.
Thinking feels heavy.
That's why conspiracy theories spread faster than facts, something you'll notice if you've read Who Controls the Weather?.
Tech rewards reaction, not reflection.
Here's where people mess up.
They assume intelligence = memory.
Wrong.
Intelligence = leverage.
And tech gives insane leverage.
A single creator can:
All from one laptop.
That was impossible before.
Now it's normal.
This is why skills that AI can't replace matter more than ever (I broke that down here 👉 Skills AI Will Never Master).
You don't need to be the smartest anymore.
You need to be:
That's why Gen Z looks unserious but moves dangerous, something I touched on in Gen Z: The Most Unserious Generation.
Before:
"Do everything yourself."
Now:
"Know what to do. Let tools do how."
That's not dumber.
That's meta-thinking.
Depends on how you use it.
If AI:
Congrats, you're mentally unemployed.
But if AI:
You're upgraded.
Ask yourself honestly:
"If AI disappeared tomorrow, would I still function?"
If that question scares you, read What If AI Disappeared?.
Here's the uncomfortable truth:
People aren't dumb.
They're lost.
Tech solved survival problems.
It didn't solve existential ones.
That's why so many people feel empty, behind, or meaningless, even while being more connected than ever.
If that hits, these might hit harder:
Tech gave us tools.
It didn't give us direction.
Here's the future nobody talks about:
The smartest people won't be the ones with the most knowledge.
They'll be the ones who can:
That's why meditation is low-key a tech survival skill, not a spiritual hobby (more on that in Why Meditation Is the Cure).
Silence is becoming rare.
And rare things become valuable.
No detox nonsense. No "delete everything".
Just real rules:
If you consume more than you create, tech owns you.
Trending ≠ important.
Ask your brain before asking Google.
If your worldview changes every scroll, you don't have one.
Words shape reality more than people realize, something I explored in How Words Control Reality.
This isn't just vibes.
Studies show attention spans are shrinking due to digital overload
Constant multitasking reduces cognitive performance
Tech doesn't lower intelligence, but reshapes it
So no, you're not crazy.
The system is intense.
Technology isn't making humans dumber.
It's exposing who never learned to think deeply.
The future belongs to people who:
If you can do that?
You're not falling behind.
You're ahead, quietly.
And quietly dangerous 😌
5 questions to see if tech owns you or you own it
You're in the top 12% who actually use tech instead of being used by it. You understand that attention is your most valuable resource, and you protect it like it's your crypto wallet. You use AI as a tool, not a crutch, and can sit with your own thoughts without panicking. Basically, you're the main character in a world full of NPCs scrolling through life.
You know you're scrolling too much, but breaking the habit feels like trying to quit chips when there's a bag on your desk. You're part of the 45% who recognize the problem but haven't fully solved it. You can focus when needed, but it takes effort. Good news: awareness is the first step. Better news: you're already ahead of everyone who doesn't even realize they're addicted.
The algorithms have successfully farmed your attention. You're in the 43% whose brain has been rewired for infinite scrolling. Boredom terrifies you, focus feels painful, and your phone might as well be surgically attached. The good news? Realizing this is the first step to changing it. Start with one small habit: leave your phone in another room for 30 minutes today. Your brain will thank you.
Answering your most searched questions about tech, attention, and thinking
Yes and no. Technology is changing how we think, not making us inherently less intelligent.
The problem isn't intelligence decline, it's attention fragmentation. Our brains are optimizing for scanning instead of deep processing.
Because your brain has been trained for novelty, not depth. Every notification, tab switch, and scroll rewires your attention system.
Three key reasons:
Focus isn't disappearing, it's being competed for by better-designed systems.
Both, depending on how you use it.
Test: If AI disappeared tomorrow, could you still solve problems? If not, you're being hurt.
Start with friction, not elimination. You can't quit tech cold turkey, but you can make it harder to use thoughtlessly.
Three practical steps:
Attention is a muscle, it needs consistent, uncomfortable training to rebuild.
No, they're differently intelligent. IQ scores have actually risen (Flynn Effect), but intelligence is being redefined.
What's changing:
A Gen Z with ChatGPT can solve problems that would've taken a 2010 team weeks. That's not less intelligent, it's leverage intelligence.
💡 Reality: The smartest people today aren't know-it-alls. They're learn-it-fasts.
Skills that can't be automated, yet. Focus on human-only capabilities:
Rule: If a skill can be fully automated, don't master it, learn to oversee it.