Social Networking Websites Harm Children’s Brains

Facebook will rot your brain… according to a new study released this week.  Neuroscientist Susan Greenfield has revealed results from her study that show some alarming things about how social networks affect teenagers.

From the article:

Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centred.

Another neuroscientist quoted in the article, Baroness Greenfield from Oxford University, suggests that these websites might actually be “rewiring” the brain.

Excuse me for a second while I go delete my Facebook account.

But seriously, this news–while disturbing–shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.  How many of us have left a comment on a blog somewhere and then spent the rest of the day refreshing that page to see if anyone has responded to our comment?  Facebook is like that… on crack.

Are social networks popular because they connect people, or because they train us to selfishly log in contstantly to check for comments, bulletins, IM’s, and status updates?  Certainly there is plenty of positive power in a site like Myspace or Facebook… the ability to educate, connect, share knowledge, and build community.  But the fact that there might be some dangers for teenagers who are major users of these networks is not terribly surprising.  Sad, yes.  Surprising?  Not so much.

Plenty more studies to come, I’m sure, so probably not grounds for panic or banning Facebook from your household computer.  But definitely something to keep an eye on.