Is writing on digital devices better than paper and pen? This applies to students and everyone else wanting to process information being taken in. Harvard has lead many studies showing paper and pen will lead to better cognitive benefits. One key is it will help you choose to be more virtuos (see Webster definition below) or chose a moral decision. Specifically, a series of studies with participants across the U.S. and China found that people are less likely to choose the virtuous or responsible option when making a decision on a digital tablet than when using paper forms, menus, or other decision-making materials. This is because using paper makes a decision feel more real and thus more representative of the decision-maker as a person, ultimately making them more likely to make a virtuous choice. Of course, using paper doesn’t make sense in every context, but this research suggests that at least in certain situations, it can be an effective way to push employees, customers, or community members to make more-virtuous decisions.
https://hbr.org/2022/08/research-we-make-more-virtuous-choices-when-using-pen-and-paper
And writing on physical paper will help your cognition to retain information better. See article - https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/17/08/note-taking-low-tech-often-best
And that is why at Navigating Tech Family we encourage 'writing in a physical journal with a pen'. Seems foreign today but many studies demonstrate this is highly effective. Studies go back to Biblical days of how things were documented and retained. In today's world the goal is to have us dependent. Ask yourself if you could live a day without your 'xyz' tech device. If answer is 'no' then ask yourself 'why is that'. Seek to understand what drives that behavior. The team at Navigating Tech Family is here to be a resource and help you navigate these distuations with goal of being more relational and free from what is unnecessary.