The influence of generation in the usage of smart phone as a means of distributed cognition; an exploratory study of Baby boomer and Generation Y

Abstract

The term ‘distributed cognition’ is actually extended mind, which use artifacts and the environment as a medium for sharing and communicating information through “offloading” of information. Distributed cognition can provide additional skills and information, can slightly change the nature of the task, make information visible to the user, and hence reduce mental load and enhance work performances. With the advent of smart device, distributed cognition plays an important role in people’s everyday lives. Among many smart devices, smart phone as a must-have item has changed people’s lives dramatically in modern society because of its various functions embedded in a tiny single device. Many functions of smart phone can help people memorize something as a means of external representation to reduce the memory load in their mind and manage everyday tasks. Generation would be a relevant variable to intervene the relationship between smart phone use and distributed cognition. Therefore, this study explores what differences exist between two extreme generation groups (the Baby boomer and the Generation Y) in using a smart phone in terms of distributed cognition. The overall results indicate that there are significant differences in using smartphone as a means of distributed cognition between two generations.