Social networks ‘rewire’ the brain
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009I’m not generally a Daily Mail reader, but I’m a sucker for a catchy headline, so today’s front page article got me.
Daily Mail Headline 24th February 2009: “Social websites harm children’s brains: Chilling warning to parents from top neuroscientist”
We all know sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are bad for you. Now, thanks to Baroness Susan Greenfield we now know why.
Social Networks (or was that websites in general), as well as computer games and fast-paced TV shows, are supposed to shorten our attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centred
… sorry, got distracted, checking my latest video on YouTube … where was I … Oh yes.
According to the Daily Mail article, Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University neuroscientist and director of the Royal Institution, believes “repeated exposure” to these social networks “could effectively ‘rewire’ the brain”.
Reporting her words, the Daily Mail quotes, “My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.”
Now, if you’ve been following the web links, as you should, you’ll have discovered that Baroness Greenfield, is also a director of MindWeavers, a Oxford University spin-out company that have developed MindFit - a computer brain training game. So it seems using websites and computer games to “rewire” the brain is not only good for us, but also makes commercial sense. Maybe then it’s only the Daily Mail, and a few modern anti-technology authors, who find these claims “disturbing”.
Personally I think following the social lives of your family and friends is a good thing, and logging onto our favourite newsfeeds, blogs and scientific websites helps improve our understanding of the world. If a shortened attention span, propensity to seek instant gratification and a slightly self-centred approach is the outcome, then it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
