Facebook eats brains, turns your baby into a zombie
Image by Laughing Squid via Flickr
Let’s play Find the Bias in this “news” story where neuroscientist Susan Greenfield swears that Twitter, Facebook and the like are making us all self-centered idiots. Come on! It’ll be fun. We’ll start with this one:
More than 150million use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, share photographs and videos and post regular updates of their movements and thoughts. A further six million have signed up to Twitter, the ‘micro-blogging’ service that lets users circulate text messages about themselves.
Did you see it? That part where the ONLY thing you can do with a Tweet is talk about yourself? Holy crap! I’ve been using it wrong this whole time!
Oh! And here’s Greenfield talking about how she’d rather be hunting and gathering for her supper, you know, just like we did before Twitter. What?
‘I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitised and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf.’
I’m so sick of this either/or crap. Why can’t we see some value in both Twitter and Text Book? Don’t get me wrong, I fully believe in limited TV and video game time for the under five set. I wholeheartedly support the notion that all humans – tiny and fully grown – should appreciate and nurture interpersonal, face-to-face relationships.
Here’s the deal: you don’t have to pick just one! You can read a great book and then blog about it. You can hear about an interesting blogger and go buy her book. You can Twitter a meet up and find yourself face-to-face with 200 fabulous strangers.
Children should still learn to read, write and communicate in full sentences. Adults should, too. But, IMO, they should also feel free post to a Facebook wall while they’re at it without fear of being called a selfish moron.
Agree? Or am I just blinded by the geekish glow of my laptop?
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What I hate about tripe like this is how silly it is; they treat it like they are mutually exclusive. There are some people I talk to only online because they live several hundred (or thousand) miles away. There are some people that I know in real life, but just never happen to see face-to-face (such as… well, you; I don’t think I’ve seen you since the book fair a couple of summers ago). But if I get the chance to talk to some face-to-face, I won’t eschew the opportunity in favor of a digital discourse.
This is the same doom and gloom as always, though; the telephone was supposed to be every bit the death of interpersonal conversation as I recall.
Like you said, younger generations need to be taught the importance of regular and cordial written and face-to-face communication and social interaction.
However, I do think there is a correlation between too much online usage and proper social/professional interaction. A number of younger people (children/teens, even older), in my experience, aren’t garnering those skills and other similar “common sense” notions, as well as the more of the “I’m so special” (which leads to furthering of the entitlement label for this generation) attitudes.
My friend’s sister (15 yrs old) will hardly ever even talk on the phone with her friends, but she will text and IM them to no end. I don’t know what her vocation will be, but but not having proper communication skills could be a disadvantage.
There’s also the whole situation where people are getting nastier and nastier (in forum comments/YouTube comments, etc…), partly because it’s often anonymous, or it’s just easier to say it online than to a person’s face…and it’s generally accepted/there’s no repercussions for it (how would there be, unless there’s strict rules/moderators in places). Check out Stop Cyber Bullying, they have some great (IMO) PSAs. http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying.
I admit, I haven’t read the article, but I think it has a point (though not presented in the most effective manner). If not used responsibly (and how many younger people are taught how to do so?), online usage on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, gaming sites, etc… can be somewhat detrimental.
Maybe I’m just already turning into one of those “old” people who worries about the next generation, lol (and I’m 24)…
Thanks for reading
~@FruitySpirit9
p.s. I’m sorry if some of that is a bit incoherent! Still fighting off some illnesses and fatigue.
Ev — I’m with you. They also said the same thing about Rock N Roll!
Cheryl — thank you so much for sharing your fabulous thoughts. You make very valid points, especially about nasty online comments and bullying. I’ve never understood the point of posting something anonymously anyway – if you don’t sign your name, or at least your handle, then YOU haven’t actually said anything.
Oh, and I don’t think you are turning into an old person at all, you’re just cautious.
Caution is a good thing – it’s the fear mongering and sky is falling stuff that makes me roll my eyes!
Margie???s last blog post..Time touts best blogs of 2009, world says ???duh???