A neuroscientist has told the House of Lords that social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace may change the way brains function and lead to a more “infantilized lifestyle.” The baroness said her musing are not backed by research. Other reports say social networking is boosting dating and real-estate sales.
 In case you’ve run out of things to worry about, a British scientist has raised concerns about whether social-networking sites could be harmful to your social health. But other reports indicate new ways that social networking can expand relationships.Oxford University neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, in a debate in the House of Lords, asked if such pastimes are changing the way brains function, shortening attention spans, and possibly even contributing to the rise of autism. Greenfield is a member of the House of Lords, where she holds the title of baroness.
‘A Bit of Clinical Evidence’ “Perhaps given the brain is so impressionable,” Greenfield said, it’s possible that “screen life” is creating a more “infantilized lifestyle,” adding that Facebook and similar sites might create short attention spans. She acknowledged, however, that she did not possess any scientific research to back up her musings, and that it was “based on a little bit of neuroscience, observations, a bit of clinical evidence.”Greenfield noted that “there is no one single or conclusive killer fact,” although she did report that a teacher acquaintance has noticed a decline in her students’ ability to relate to others.In an interview with the Daily Mail, Greenfield grouped Facebook, MySpace and similar sites with fast-paced TV shows and video games. “My fear,” she told the newspaper, “is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention and who live for the moment.” She told the House of Lords that this kind of behavior, once recognized, can be described as attention deficit disorder.A spokesperson for Facebook told news media that the company had not seen any scientific research to back up Greenfield’s musings.Brad Shimmin, an analyst with Current Analysis, described her warnings as based on “very anecdotal” evidence. “If she had been around at the turn of the century,” he said, “she could have used the same phrases to describe that new technology, the telephone.”He admitted that, “as someone who grew up prior to the Internet,” it’s clear how social networking and other technologies disengage users from, say, social cues that take place in face-to-face communication. But, Shimmin added, the same could be said about TV or any number of other common activities. “There’s no correlation to attention span” that’s yet been shown, he said. Dating and Real Estate At the same time that Greenfield suggests that social networking and other electronic media could be stunting attention spans and creating an “infantilized lifestyle,” other reports indicate that social media are good for at least some kinds of relationships.Take dating, for instance. The U.K. newspaper The Daily Telegraph reports that contacts made via social sites have led to dates for about 25 percent of the British. About a third of the general public has renewed communication with an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend because of such communication, and about 10 percent have had an affair or a one-night stand.The data comes from a survey by a U.K. company, online market researcher OnePoll. The study indicated that Facebook and MySpace have replaced pubs in the U.K. as the key place to meet potential dating partners.And the Ann Arbor Business Review said a local real-estate broker, Missy Caulk, used her 1,500 Twitter followers and 1,500 Facebook friends to keep in contact with potential clients. The bottom line of all this Tweetering and posting, she said, is that she has received $80,000 in gross commissions “over the last couple of years” from her Internet referrals. |
