A rule of thumb for the brain: Smartphones can change our physical shape

So the smartphone thumb is not just a smart-alecky ailment dreamt up by anti-touchscreen activists determined to put off users from the invention of the century. It seems that excessive single finger — or rather, thumb — use of smartphone keypads is not only causing pain in the relevant joints, it is altering the human brain. That revelation by researchers that smartphone addiction is forcing our central processing unit to spend less capacity on traditional tasks like remembering phone numbers and coordinating handwriting and devote more of its power to control thumb movements is actually ominous. Previous studies have shown similar enhanced brain-digit links in musicians, but obviously, there are far more smartphone users around than guitarists or sitarists and, therefore, the long-term effects of enhanced brainthumb activity will be that much more.

If personal digital technology is indeed continuously reshaping our brains, how other parts of the human body will adapt to technology — instead of the other way round — should be a matter of concern too. Will our thumbs eventually become longer, to deal with the stress of smartphone usage? Will the shape of our ears also change, in order to accommodate ‘hands-free’ devices better? Will our mouths reduce in size as we all eventually talk less and text more?