Use them or lose them. Six essential skills we must save

Smartphones have made our lives easier and AI is promising to go even further but are PRs at risk of losing the ability to look each other in the eye, give strong presentations and think for ourselves?

By Anne Nicholls

How many young adults don’t know how to change a ceiling light bulb? The answer is one in four, according to a recent survey by Halfords.

That may seem disconnected from the world of PR, but it’s symptomatic of worrying trends.

In a recent series of The Apprentice one of the tasks given to candidates was to locate and purchase a number of objects. They included a trog (no-one knew what it was), a specific EP record from 1974 (before their time) and a mould of a body part. All contestants were given a map to follow but not allowed access to the internet — only basic mobile phones. Easy-peasy, you would have thought, until one young woman said, “I can’t read maps”. Pause for a sharp intake of breath. Now most of us rely on Satnav or Google maps to give us directions, but at least we could use a map if needed. Couldn’t we?

Those of us who grew up in the era before PCs, when computers were devices the size of delivery vans, might pride ourselves on being able to read maps and write by hand. But how useful are these kinds of skills today? People are surrounded by gizmos that will do research for us, turn recorded voice into verbatim text in seconds, come up with creative ideas and write perfectly acceptable text.

So should we worry about preserving those skills that were in daily use before the birth of digital communications and AI?

There are six essential skills that we are in danger of losing unless we make special efforts to retain them. One might argue that they are no longer necessary in the world of AI, but there are sound reasons why exercising different parts of the brain has a positive impact on wellbeing, our ability to function and our risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

Deep reading

We are talking primarily about reading books, newspapers and other print media. A pal of mine who is a teaching assistant was amazed when she gave a book to a seven-year-old who immediately tried to swipe it with his finger. Apparently he had never actually opened a book before and thought it was a tablet device.

Books and newspapers may be old hat as increasingly young people are getting their news online. A recent survey revealed that nearly nine out of ten 16-24-year-olds in the UK do not read newspapers. Instead, most get their news from social media sources such as Instagram and TikTok.

There is a danger of youngsters being fed fake information, but there are other side effects.

Research shows that as we skim through text on screen, we lose the ability to really absorb information.

Deep reading activates certain areas of the brain that are responsible for memory, forges new connections between neurons, encourages critical thinking and gives us a good mental workout.

In contrast, studies indicate that online scanning and skimming can lead to a reduced ability to absorb complex ideas, engage in critical thinking and appreciate alternative viewpoints.

Preserving handwriting

My mother, who grew up in a world without computers had the most beautiful handwriting that looked like professional calligraphy. Regrettably, after decades relying on the keyboard, my writing is an illegible scrawl.

Meanwhile, many young people argue that the ability to put pen to paper is becoming irrelevant.

The Edexcel exam board is proposing that pupils sitting for GCSE English exams will soon be able to type their answers instead of writing them.

Does this matter? Recent studies using EEG technology have found that the physical act of writing by hand engages more brain regions than typing, including areas responsible for movement (fine motor skills), visualisation and memory. This involves almost the whole brain, particularly the visual, sensory and motor cortices, whereas typing hardly activates it at all.

Sadly, I have succumbed to an AI device called Otter which translates audio recordings into reasonably accurate text, thus saving hours taking notes (without shorthand) during meetings and transcribing recordings of interviews. It saves me oodles of time but maybe will affect my brain adversely.

Keeping memory alive

The internet is a boon but has made us lazy, as we can find answers to almost anything online.

What impact has this had on our brains? There is some evidence that using the internet extensively may have a detrimental impact on the regions associated with memory.

Learning by rote may have gone out of fashion (When was the last time you recited a poem by heart?) unless you are an actor, but in many occupations people need to be able to think on their feet and retrieve information from the hidden corners of their brains.

If you want to appear on Mastermind or speak a foreign language you need to be able to store and retrieve information from memory in a flash. Google Translate can give you words and phrases to use but won’t help when someone speaks back in their own language.

Just keep talking

During the pandemic we got used to communicating remotely through emails, WhatsApp and Zoom.

But along with smart phones and easy access to information, this may well have produced a generation of young people who shy away from face-to-face communication and chatting over the phone.

Even before the pandemic generation Z were heavily reliant on texting and communication through social media channels. But lockdowns accelerated this.

Friends of mine who teach in universities note many students have difficulty engaging in eye contact and interpreting body language.

Furthermore, research suggests that social isolation and loneliness were associated with increased anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts among young people during the pandemic – trends that are still present.

Being able to navigate

Research suggests that engaging in navigation without GPS, such as using physical maps, can help maintain and even boost brain plasticity.

For example, London taxi drivers who learned The Knowledge, show significant growth in their hippocampi - the parts of the brain responsible for many cognitive functions, including memory, learning, and spatial navigation.

Recent research published in the British Medical Journal showed that they also had a lower risk of Alzheimer’s than pilots or bus drivers who use pre-planned routes. We still need to retain our spatial awareness.

Being self-reliant

The widespread availability of devices like Alexa means that we no longer have to dive into libraries or talk to people to find things out.

These devices save time and effort but maybe they have made us more dependent as we can get answers to problems instantly, even if they are from a ‘virtual’ person. If information is so easily available how does this affect our ability to think, create and innovate?

Curiously, research suggests that digital communications and AI can lead to improved self-confidence – in women more than men. But it can also lead to a decline in human decision-making abilities and critical thinking, so that we become more reliant on artificial systems.

We need a panoply of skills to survive in today’s digital world, but we also need to keep other skills alive – something that teachers need to be aware of. One reason is all about mental wellbeing.

The Alzheimer’s society says there is evidence that reading books, newspapers and magazines, writing letters and doing puzzles can delay the onset of dementia.

This may seem too far into the future to make any impact on the habits of generation Z who live in world where digital skills and familiarity with AI may be essential for 90 per cent of jobs.

But employers constantly complain about the lack of “soft skills” – communication, teamwork and creativity – particularly amongst younger candidates.

Returning to The Apprentice it is fascinating to observe the impact of spending weeks without access to the internet, smart phones, AI or broadcast media. Suddenly the candidates have to work as teams, communicate face to face and come up with creative ideas. They might even work out how to change a light bulb.

Anne Nicholls is a freelance PR/communications professional specialising in education and careers. She is chair of the CIPR’s Education and Skills sector group.