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Japan’s first “smartphone dementia” clinic opens in Tokyo and online

Master Blaster Jul 3, 2025
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Ugh, the name of the clinic is on the tip of my tongue… Lemme check my smartphone.

Smartphones have become an indispensable part of our lives, for better or worse. Whether it’s finding your way around town, keeping in touch with loved ones around the world, or getting high-quality news from reliable sources like SoraNews24, it’s hard to even imagine what life was like before they came along. That’s especially worrying for me because they only came along in the latter half of my life…

Apparently, I’m not alone when it comes to suffering from what is known as “smartphone dementia,” also known as “digital dementia” in other parts of the world. This is when an excess of online time causes your brain to forget more relevant information, like what time your dentist appointment was or why you walked into the kitchen for the third time.

The human brain is a lot like a drawer. If you take the time to properly organize things like a nice underwear drawer, you always know where your underwear is, and life is easy. But using the Internet, especially quick content services like TikTok, so many little knick-knacks get tossed into your brain that it becomes a junk drawer. This can lead to cases where you never find that hex wrench to tighten up your shelf or realize you threw away that iPhone 4 case to make space only two days before you end up needing it.

▼ This is your brain on smartphones.

In other words, your frontal lobe becomes a mess of trivial information, making it hard to access the important things in life. As a result, the smartphone dementia sufferer experiences symptoms similar to an actual dementia sufferer, with the exception that a person with smartphone dementia still retains the cognitive ability to be aware of it.

The other main differences are that smartphone dementia can affect people of all ages but is reversible with the right treatment, and that’s where the Kanamachi Ekimae Neurological Clinic comes in. This is the first clinic to offer a smartphone dementia program to help people use their devices in ways that don’t diminish their quality of life.

▼ Moderation is the key.

They mention warning signs of smartphone dementia as always having a smartphone on hand, having trouble recalling people’s names quickly, forgetting how to write kanji characters (akin to forgetting how to spell in English), having to take photos of things to remember them, always feeling sleep deprived, lacking motivation, and poor organizational skills for everyday tasks.

Treatment depends on a patient’s current smartphone usage habits and mental condition, based on an interview and dementia tests if necessary. It can vary from simple lifestyle alterations to medication as needed, and although the clinic is in Tokyo, consultations can be done from anywhere in Japan online.

Whether you require the help of medical professionals or not, the key lesson to stave off smartphone dementia is to take enough time away from your phone or other devices to savor the finer things in life, like maintaining a bonsai tree, building Gundam models, or taking photos of trains… Oh wait, don’t do that last one. It rarely ends well.

Source: Kanamachi Ekimae Neurological Clinic, PR Wire, Friday Digital
Featured image: Pakutaso
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