Look up and connectLook up and connect
All In The Mind
When you’re waiting in a queue there are various ways to bide your time: chat to someone, gaze off into the distance, or check your phone. The science of human interaction tells us that the impact on your brain and body is vastly different depending on your choice. Live person-to-person connection changes us and the society we live in, so it’s in our best interests to use technology sensibly. This program was first broadcast in June 2019.
29:05•19 Jan 2020
Look Up, Put the Phone Down: Why Your Brain Craves Real Connection
Episode Overview
- Chatting with someone in a queue triggers mirror and spindle neurons and releases chemicals like oxytocin and dopamine that boost mood and a sense of belonging.
- Letting the mind wander without a screen on hand activates rich brain networks that support creativity and effective problem solving.
- Direct eye contact and gentle touch can quickly calm stress and pain by shifting amygdala activity, synchronising brain patterns and improving immune responses.
- Heavy, fast-paced screen use can cause cognitive fatigue, weaken self-control and reduce the deep learning needed to build true expertise.
- Across the lifespan, from babies to older adults, real human connection is crucial, while technology works best as a support rather than a substitute.
“We are basically electrochemical bags of sensors… and we start to synchronise with people mentally and physically and emotionally right from the beginning of interacting with them.”
Curious about how others manage their minds in a tech-saturated world? This episode of All In The Mind looks at something deceptively simple: whether you look up and connect, daydream, or reach for your phone when you’ve got a spare minute in a queue. Host Lynne Malcolm chats with Dr Fiona Kerr, founder and CEO of The Neurotech Institute, who explains why humans are “basically electrochemical bags of sensors” built to connect.
She breaks down what happens in your brain when you chat to the person next to you – “we start spindle neurons firing, mirror neurons firing… we start putting out oxytocin, dopamine, vasopressin” – and why even a short, pleasant conversation can leave you walking away feeling unexpectedly good.
You’ll hear how simple eye contact and touch can calm someone in pain more effectively than a quick hit of medication, and why a nurse who looks into your eyes and holds your hand can literally change how your amygdala fires. There’s a powerful reminder that babies, children, teenagers and older adults all need real-world connection to grow and maintain healthy brains, and that constant screen time can quietly chip away at that.
Dr Kerr doesn’t bash technology; she’s an engineer who works with robotics and AI. Instead, she suggests asking, “What is it that I want to do here?” first, and only then deciding if tech should be involved. From ‘brexting’ with babies to family robots and AI carers, she shows where tech helps and where it risks replacing the human contact our brains rely on.
If you’ve ever felt glued to your phone yet oddly disconnected, this conversation might nudge you to look up, meet someone’s eyes, and see what your “neural duet” can do next.
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