What is it about?
Given enough time, technology use tends to produce problems related to evolutionary mismatch—whereby our evolved phenotypic design becomes misaligned with the environment—through the hyper- and hypostimulating effects of technology, as well as from an oversupply of technological solutions as humans seek to avoid the death and suffering associated with Darwinian selection. These problems then invite further introductions of newer and more technology to deal with, creating a neverending cycle of mismatch intensification.
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Why is it important?
Highlighting the three mechanisms allows us to better understand why evolutionary mismatch is inevitable, predict where our species is headed with technology, and derive ideas that can help to manage mismatch. A definition that cuts across previous notions of evolutionary mismatch is also offered, thus providing a fundamental definition that can guide further theoretical development in this area.
Perspectives
This was a fun and satisfying piece to write because the ideas had always been in my mind as I go about my day observing people get so caught up in technology and culture. It always struck me that we're on an irreversible path toward ever-greater reliance on technology without being sufficiently critical or aware of it, and sometimes we're locked into it. For instance, I wear vision-correcting glasses, which really is an oversupply problem because I am entirely reliant on them and wouldn't have survived in an ancestral environment without the technology. Once these fundamental mechanisms were identified, a wide array of phenomena ranging from food options and cars to social media and artificial intelligence and their impacts on us can be better understood.
Jose Yong
James Cook University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Why evolutionary mismatches are ubiquitous while evolutionary matches are rare when humans use technology., Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, May 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/ebs0000383.
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