Today’s smartphones give you, essentially, the world’s knowledge and fit it into the palm of your hand—and that’s not necessarily a good thing. According to a new study published in Computers in Human Behavior, people who use their smartphones more tend to use their brains less.

The 660-person study was twofold: First, subjects were asked about their phone use. Second, they were tested to determine how developed their verbal, literary and thinking skills were. Those who tested as smarter used their phone less often, researchers discovered, and co-leader Gordon Pennycook theorized that those in the less-smart camp were more inclined to look up information on their phones rather than bothering to think about it themselves.

“Our research provides support for an association between heavy smartphone use and lowered intelligence,” he said. Whether smartphone use actually lowers intelligence or whether less-intelligent people are more inclined to use their smartphones more has yet to be determined. Co-leader Dr. Nathaniel Barr said, “It seems likely that people will increasingly use their smartphones as an extended mind. It’s hard to understand how smartphones affect and relate to human psychology before these technologies are so fully ingrained that it’s hard to recall what life was like without them. We may already be at that point.” (MTV)