The article attached, titled “Facebook and Bebo risk “infantilising” the human mind,” warns that social networking sites can potential change the way our brains work. Our brains are sensitive to the outside world, molding and shaping into what we present to it. Lady Greenfield, professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford, and director of the Royal Institution, expresses concern on how these various sites, and the Internet in general is negatively changing us, and generations to come.
Greenfield states that children’s time spent on social networking sites “are devoid of cohesive narrative and long-term significance. 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.”
I think we are familiar with the outlook on new media and short attention spans, due to fast graphics and rapid delivery. But have we processed how this will continue to effect children, other than medication? Children are so interactive today classrooms are molding to fit to the child’s learning style, rather than the child molding to the teaching method. Drivers, work places, and continuous realms will be affected in ripples.
I found the next couple of points Greenfield made fascinating. She goes on to discuss how for children today on the web and video games, everything is reversible; therefore there are no consequences. Children seek the final reward, and the thrill. She says, “ The sheer compulsion of reliable and almost immediate reward is being linked to similar chemical systems in the brain that may also play a part in drug addiction.”
Loss of empathy is the next risk she addresses—she talks about children reading novels less. In games the goal is to do the task—rescue the damsel—and be rewarded; where in reading a book the goal is to find more out about the damsel, and express genuine concern for her.
And lastly, she addresses the shaky sense of identity, which we have discussed. Finding approval on the Internet is easy so is communicating, but after all face-to-face communication is vital is self-identity, and that is becoming less and less.
"Facebook "infantilising" the human mind"article
This article is intense! I have actually never thought about the fact that the Internet removes consequences. We have been focused heavily on the absence of face-to-face communication and its effects on an individual, but in reality it is just another example of how a consequence is removed. The things that people say while protected by their screen-names or avatars have no consequence, the violent games have no consequence, the bullying has no consequence. The constant conditioning, whether real or simulated, of commiting a behavior and not recieving a consequence cannot be advantageous for teenagers. The whole point of adolescence is to learn about consequence and adjust your behavior accordingly.
ReplyDeleteIt's true... I feel like many of us have been a part of some kind of conflict through the internet at some point (and regrettably so). But it is much easier to confront an issue or another person over something when you don't have to deal with them face-to-face, and that does not seem to be a healthy way to deal with those issues.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to teach the idea that conflicts should not be addressed and dealt with, but rather stew between those involved over the internet where it's hard to make the claim that arguments could ever be solved.
At the risk of this comment being viewed as simple or ignorant, or the product of facebook "infantilizing" my fragile brain, I must say that Lady Greenfield is a drama queen.
ReplyDeleteOur brains and our society and our media and our very lives are constantly undergoing change. I do not think this means we are all becoming addicts or less human. If for some reason Facebook or similar social media completely replaced face-to-face interaction, then she could be absolutely right about the bad state that would put us in, but that will never happen.
Seeing things falsely attributed to other problems and hypotheses brings me back to what Dr. Prill said today about most of the people worrying about new social media: the people who dread that texting or facebook messaging will lead to the demise of interpersonal relationships or writing/literacy are "geezers" who do not really experience the objects(in her case it is Facebook) of their speculation. Greenfied is old and clearly not in touch with the youth today. Lady Greenfield need not worry about Facebook's and technology's mind destruction because she will be long dead by the time Facebook plummets our brains to the level of stupor she predicts. Yes Facebook can have negative effects socially but we are not all becoming mindless junkies.