That’s what neuroscientist Susan Greenfield argues in the UK’s Daily Mail:
Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centred.
I have no problems with these conclusions. In fact, they may even be true. But there’s no research to back this up, there’s no study that she’s basing these conclusions upon. In fact, this is nothing more than opinion and conjecture on her part.
I don’t think any of us have enough perspective to honestly and conclusively say anything like “Kids are so selfish these days! It must be the Facebook.” The topic is too broad, our lives are too short and the real world is too lacking in control groups to say for sure.
The problem is that the causes may come from any number of directions. Just look at her quote again: Short attention spans, instant gratification, self-centered…. wow, that almost sounds like somebody who’s been reading too much of The Daily Mail! (I kid, I kid) Actually, that sounds like the product of too much television (and it’s worth noting The Daily Mail has a whole section called “TV & Showbiz”. Make of that what you will.)
Watching TV at very young ages has been shown to damage young minds. As a person without a television I wholeheartedly support parents limiting their kids’ exposure to television, especially when they’re young. TV, after all, is replete with the most sophisticated mind-control techniques advertisers have devised, all aimed at getting Junior to want that hot new Pokémon/Power Ranger/whatever it is this week. TV is also the ultimate Web 1.0 medium; TV talks and you listen. There’s no interaction there. In my opinion, social networks are a step in the right direction.
But Lady Greenfield continues:
‘I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitized and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf,’ she said.
Ummm…. yeah…….
So, I have to ask — I’m not being snarky here, I’m really not — is she suggesting that we all stop shopping and start hunting down and killing our food?
Not that I’m against hunting, but is hunting really feasible in our modern world? We need agriculture to sustain this bustling planet of 7 billion people. I’m looking forward to hunting my prey with a spear during and after the inevitable zombie apocalypse, but until that time finally comes I’m going to be stuck staring at a screen for 8 to 10 hours a day. Luckily, instead of staring blankly and unthinkingly at a TV screen I stare at a computer screen, a device that is much more powerful and — get this — social. I can discuss things with my friends even though I am unable to spend time with them. Pretty cool, if you ask me!
Sarah Lacy, writing for TechCrunch, explains this better than I can:
Facebook makes me a more considerate friend because I now remember people’s birthdays. Over Geni, I stay in touch with my niece who I used to see once a year, but is now helping me map out our family tree. Via Twitter, my parents and in-laws know everything happening in my life so that when I call home, we have substantive conversations, not the awkward, “So…..whatcha been up to?” variety. In dozens of cases, these sites have made my real human relationships longer lasting and more substantive. They have actually given me a longer narrative, because it has rekindled friendships with dozens of people with whom I’d lost touch.
This has been my experience. It’s not just modern technology that drives people to isolation; it’s our increasingly demanding economic responsibilities. Social computing is how we can fight back and hold onto our humanity.
Is there potential for damage in social networks? Without a doubt, but the same is true of any technology. It’s all about how you use it. What we should be doing is teaching kids how to correctly, safely and intelligently use social networks while reminding them that the things they do in cyberspace can have real world consequences — both good and bad.