What is happening to our brains in an increasingly tech-driven world?
This question has been plaguing researchers around the world as many leading institutes look to investigate the impact of technology on our brain development and cognitive abilities. A key marker indicating a relationship between brain development and use of technology has been the decline in IQ scores across many developed countries, with the tipping point aligning closely to the increase in the use of technology.
Fifth Dimension, one of Australia’s leading and award-winning strategic research agencies, has been exploring the impact of technology on consumer behaviour and decision making over the past three years and has released highlights of its groundbreaking research.
• Consumers are becoming more tech dependent, less self-reliant and able to make confident and informed decisions on their own and increasingly pessimistic of their future
• The more reliant on tech to facilitate their buying decisions, the more likely a consumer will experience issues with their purchase and feel less connected to the company they have purchased from
• Companies need to reconsider how they market and communicate with consumers, accounting for altered psychological profiles and decision-making due to tech dependence and reluctance to take on complex cognitive tasks
• Businesses should adopt ethical practices in using consumer data, ensuring they do not exploit increasing psychological vulnerabilities at the expense of optimal consumer outcomes
According to Lyndall Spooner, the results of her firm’s research have identified a number of urgent and significant criticalities for businesses investing in technology to support and facilitate the customer experience.
Lyndall Spooner is the founder and CEO of Fifth Dimension and a leading authority on brand trust. Fifth Dimension’s groundbreaking Trust Matrix centres on the premise that trust in brands has its foundations laid in two traits – the capability of the brand to do what it promises and the character of the brand to operate in an honest and ethical manner. Fail on both trust traits and brands risk losing a customer they have let down for life and weakening brand growth due to the legacy of a proven poor reputation.
Overview of the research project: Decoding the tech-nurtured brain
The research project, titled ‘Decoding the tech-nurtured brain’, explored the influence of technology on different generations, focussing on ‘digital natives’ born after 1980 (Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha). It showed marked differences between digital natives and Gen X and Baby Boomers, in terms of their psychology, how they make decisions and their overall trust and use of technology.
Over 1,000 Australians participated in the comprehensive survey that assessed their technology usage, decision-making habits, psychological profiles and overall reliance on digital tools. Fifth Dimension employed an analysis of personality types and consumer behaviour when undertaking the study.
Spooner explained that a key part of the research involved developing a predictive psychological based segmentation model that explains the relationship between how people think and how they behave in making decisions and using technology to assist in those decisions.
“We used a series of statements to represent the big five personality dimensions, also known as the Five-Factor Model FFM, as our basic framework for understanding the personality profile of respondents. We could then leverage data that linked the big five personality dimensions to a person’s IQ and self-efficacy,” Spooner said.
“Personality dimensions have been found to be universal in that they can be used to accurately describe the personality traits of people across 50 different cultures, which is important in Australia as we are a strong multi-national country. But they are also found to be consistent over time, which means we develop our personality during our childhood, and it defines who we are as an adult, even when we are faced with adverse life events. This is important when we are looking to determine differences between generations that are broader than just exposure to technology or experience in making decisions.
“We have been able to show statistically changes to these psychological profiles over the past four generations are related to fundamental changes in cognitive functions and emotional intelligence, with significant implications for marketers, product designers and society in general.”
Findings: Technology’s double-edged sword
“Our research confirmed that a greater dependence on technology is highly likely to be altering brain development and function, negatively impacting problem-solving skills, memory function and impulsivity.” Spooner said.
Digital natives have grown-up using technology to supplement their decision processes and to increase the ease and efficiency of making decisions. Not only do they use technology to make a decision they also use technology to explore and understand their own needs and are more likely to be influenced in defining what they need and what is the best option.
“Technology is essentially overshadowing our ability to make independent and personally informed decisions.”
Spooner added that in the digital world, our brains are increasingly relying on technology to make decisions, often to increase pleasure and reduce cognitive load, at the expense of our self-sufficiency and optimal outcomes.
“Our brains are addicted to technology, and consumers who we found to be the most addicted displayed lower IQ traits, greater pessimism of their future and their ability to positively impact their own future, reduced levels of comprehension and a greater likelihood of experiencing problems due to a weakened decision-making process increasing their likelihood to make complaints to companies and switch providers more frequently,” Spooner said.
Conversely, consumers who are less reliant on technology and have personality traits related to higher IQs and greater self-confidence, showed better decision-making outcomes and higher levels of satisfaction and advocacy for brands. This segment also shows much less churn in terms of brand loyalty.
Recommendations for marketers and brands
“Increases in our reliance on technology to make decisions has seen a marked shift in the way we think and our psychological profile with each new generation showing weaker confidence, weaker optimism and levels of conscientiousness. Digital natives might be the most confident at using technology and put the most trust in technology, however the data suggests they are trading off their own self-reliance and quality of outcomes in return for an easier ride through life,” Spooner said.
“Brands need to appreciate that with the transition to pure digital servicing we are creating customer experiences that are potentially feeding the decline in cognitive functions, self-efficacy and brand engagement.”
Speed and ease should no longer be the primary driver of digital experiences. Instead of having a one size fits all digital customer journey, the data suggests that having more engaging options for consumers to explore their needs and desired outcomes and giving consumers confidence they can positively impact their future can lead to improved informed decision making, customer loyalty and engagement.
About Fifth Dimension Consulting
Fifth Dimension is an award-winning strategic research consultancy known for its innovative approaches in strategy, experience, research, and technology. With accolades including multiple FORSTA AIR Awards including: 2021 Judges Choice, a 2021 Confirmit ACE (Achievement in Customer Excellence) Award in the Innovation category, and a 2020 Confirmit AIR Insight and Research Award. Fifth Dimension was listed in the GreenBook Research Industry Trends (GRIT) Top 25 Strategic Consultancies and continues to lead the industry in groundbreaking research and insights. Since its launch in 2006, Fifth Dimension’s four pillars of expertise have continued to evolve new capabilities to embrace uncertainty and drive the development of market leading approaches: strategy, experience, research and technology.
