Twice now in the past few months, I’ve come across science that suggests that social media is bad for developing brains. Specifically, researchers including Sherry Turkle of MIT, who I’ve referenced before because she’s been studying this phenomenon since the 1970s and knows her stuff, are finding the following:
- The connectivity made possible by interactive technologies is a wondrous thing when used by people who are mature and self-confident.
- Interactive technologies delay development of people whose brains have not yet fully matured.
- Interactive technologies can provide a crutch for people who aren’t getting the emotional support they need from the real world… and the jury’s still out on whether or not this is a good thing. (Existing research on what happens when monkeys downgrade from a real living mother to a placebo gives us reason to doubt.)
The reactions I’ve gotten to this message are pretty much split along generational lines: older folks say this research verifies the obvious. Younger folks tell me—almost to a person—something along the lines of, “The research describes a general trend, but it doesn’t describe me. I’m not the norm.”
Younger generations will probably find it aggravating to know that science can also predict their overconfidence.
Oh, snap!
Social media is ushering in some pretty amazing changes; frankly, I think what we’re experiencing today is as dramatic and revolutionary as when the printing press was invented, and that the fruits of this revolution will be every bit as amazing as the Renaissance.
But let’s not kid ourselves: we’re not at that Renaissance yet. We’re barely digitally literate! So use social media to connect, yes. Play with it. Push its limits. Explore and experiment. But every now and then, pick up the phone or go to lunch with someone, and turn a connection into a relationship.
Jason Seiden is CEO of Ajax Workforce Marketing. Ajax amplifies brands by aligning employees' online messaging.
I'm Jason. I run a brand agency with a specialization in workforce marketing.
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As someone who has been around computers since I was old enough to reach the keyboard, someone who participated in AOL chats and Yahoo Groups and message boards, and someone who now owns and operates a social media marketing business for local small businesses, I can tell you that it absolutely is a *different* way of gathering social (or societal) support.
It’s one thing to go from a stuffed monkey to a real monkey… it’s an entirely different thing to see these tools for what they are: bridges.
If I wanted to tell William Shatner something ten years ago, I had to find his agency, write a letter, and mail it off – in hopes he’d get it.
Now, I can Tweet to him. It’s a bridge. I don’t expect that we’re best buds because of it – and it certainly doesn’t replace meeting him in person, right? I just know that now I don’t have to jump through so many hoops.
Technology – at any age – as long as it’s placed in the context of a tool, is absolutely fine. Tools can be horrendously dangerous. You don’t hand a 5-year-old a bandsaw with no training; you ease them into it. Accidents may still happen, but the chance and severity of those accidents is mitigated when proper training is applied.
Interestingly, some of the comments seem to remind me of the days when we feared that marijuana would rot minds and undermine our society. Change is a process that needs the democratic exchange of ideas both pro and con. I agree with you, Jason that we are at the very beginnings of the curve in working in a digital world.
My inspiration comes from the ideas that are realizations that those who have been marginalized for their disabilities (hearing, sight, speech, etc.), there illnesses (autism, asbergers, even dementia, etc.), psychological issues, social and economic issues and well beyond that into creative innovations are being invited to the table to participate on their own terms.
The digital world is one that has unlimited potential for inclusion on a global basis.
So considering blue pronouncements such as “Interactive technologies delay development of people whose brains have not yet fully matured” are short-sighted and limiting…think about the 16 year old who has been diagnosed with Autism who has an Ipad and can communicate freely and comfortably. Think twice before making broad limiting pronouncements that reflect the fear of our society instead of the future of possibilities for ALL.
@Nick—Great points. And great analogy about handing a 5yo a power tool. But let’s not kid ourselves: you’re not the one we’re worried about here.
@Andy—The population considered by these scientists did not include individuals with mental or physical disabilities. Within the context of those around the middle of the bell curve, there was nothing short-sighted about their pronouncement… these statements reflect where the data shakes out.
Thanks for bringing in those other populations into the discussion. It’s important that this topic be handled from every perspective.