Manfred Spitzer

Researchers · University of Ulm

Ulm psychiatrist-neuroscientist who coined the provocative term "digital dementia" in 2012.

Manfred Spitzer is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at the University of Ulm in Germany. His 2012 book "Digitale Demenz" introduced the term "digital dementia" to describe the cognitive decline he associated with heavy digital-device use, particularly among children, and helped launch Germany's early public debate over screens and kids. The term is contested by some academics, and TechKids treats it as one attributed characterization within a broader, still-developing research field rather than an established diagnosis. Spitzer remains a prominent, if debated, voice in German-language research on screens and child development.