In the cultural-historical perspective originating in L. S. Vygotsky’s work, cultural tools play a significant role for understanding development and learning. Thus, development is not determined by biological capacities of individuals only, but rather by their mastery of cultural tools emerging in a society. When cultural tools change, such as in the case of the invention of writing and book printing, the capacity of remembering of individuals will not be limited by their brain capacities. Currently, digital tools (tablets, apps etc.) are used by children from a very early age. This development implies that children adapt to new forms of mediation, and learn to rely on technologies when engaging in a range of activities. This increasing hybridity of human thinking is an interesting challenge for understanding development in a cultural-historical perspective.

Cultural tools and hybrid minds: Development in a digital era