The social retardation of our Facebook nation

Here is another interesting article. This one was actually hung up above the copy machine at work. Here's the actual link if you want to check it out from the source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-talk-brainfeb25,0,2615704.story

Is Facebook giving us baby brains? British scientist says yes

Minds might be 'infantilized,' baroness testifies in House of Lords

10 Tips for Giving Up Facebook During Lent

—Robert Mitchum

February 25, 2009

This is your brain.

This is your brain on Facebook.

It's an advertisement you might see someday, if testimony given to the British House of Lords this month is to be believed. In remarks that have stirred up a tempest in the British media and on the Internet, Baroness Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford, warned that the instant feedback and impersonal communication offered by social networking sites could drive human brains and behavior in negative directions.

"As a consequence, the mid-21st Century mind might almost be infantilized, characterized by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathize and a shaky sense of identity," Greenfield said Feb. 12.

But American scientists, while agreeing that Facebook use could influence behavior and brain function, said research into those effects is only beginning.

"Social networking sites are very powerful," said Dr. Gary Small, a neuroscientist at UCLA and author of the book "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind." "They can really help people in many ways, but they also do have risks."

Small said the idea of Web sites affecting brain function is not far-fetched: A study he performed found increased brain activity after a computer-naive person was taught to use Google.

BJ Fogg of Stanford University, who has taught classes on "the psychology of Facebook," wasn't surprised to hear alarm spread in certain circles about the site, but he doubted it would have much of an impact.

"Even if there were evidence Facebook was somehow changing the brain in a bad way," Fogg said, "I don't think people would stop using social networking."

Ok, so here's my take on it: I think our mental capacity/capabilities/focus is constantly evolving and changing anyway. Facebook, for me, has been such an awesome experience as it has helped me reconnect with my family, especially my beloved cousins that I had become out of touch with, it also has allowed me to find friends from elementary school, college and camp that I had lost touch with. I get to easily share pictures of my girls with loved ones w/out having to print off copies and send to people or having to send out massive emails all the time. It allows me to check in with people who I care about when I don't have time to call them. I still call my friends. I still go out with and hang out with my friends every chance I get. I don't feel that it has dumbed me down or caused me to need instant gratification in terms of communication. To me, calling someone or stopping by their home is more instantly gratifying because if I post something on Facebook, I have no idea when that person will check their profile again. The drawback I see is people spending excessive time on Facebook, but I feel that that is true of the internet in general, not just Facebook. I feel that video games and television have a stronger effect on a person's attention span and a person's identity than a social networking site. What about schools with teachers who don't engage students in the learning process? What about parents who let their children sit in front of the tv and online all evening long and all weekend long? What about people who are stuck at job that they have no passion for? What about celebs who are making millions while factory workers are losing their jobs and becoming homeless? These have more effect on attention spans and identity and sensationalism than Facebook. What do you think?