Ever since Oxford neuroscientist Susan Greenfield claimed in a report to the British House of Lords that excessive use of social networking sites is infantilizing human mind and leading to diminishing our ability to interact in meaningful ways, there has been a huge debate going on this topic. The issue being discussed is whether social networking sites are actually reducing our ability to socialize while we believe that the opposite is true and does excessive time spend on these sites promote loneliness and affect the health of its users.
Professor Greenfield in her report argues that interaction on these social networking sites is devoid of long-term significance and is thus leading to human brains being infantilized. She states that the virtual world is miles apart from the real world in which responses are not forthcoming as quickly and as such it may lead to attention deficit disorders in people. She also believes that the importance of real time face-to-face communication, which requires sensitivity in voice and body language, is increasingly being forgotten thus leading to a loss of ability to empathize. Stating all this, Professor Greenfield warns the government that the ministers need to have a closer look at the cultural and psychological effects of social networking sites.
A lot of studies about this hypothesis have been done in the past and it would be of help to take them into context. An academic study “Adolescents on the net: Internet use and well being” by Subrahmanyam K and Lin G found that loneliness was not related to the total time spent online. Another one done by Caplan SE finds that the relationship between loneliness and preference for online social interaction is spurious. Both these results point to the fact that increased use of these social networking sites for interaction is in no way related to attention deficit disorders as Professor Greenfield believes. Of the lately conducted studies, one that could be taken into context here is the project titled “Social Isolation and New Technology” by Pew Internet. The study found that on an average, the size and diversity of people’s discussion networks is larger for people who use social networking sites than non-users. All these studies stress that increased time spent on social networking sites is in no way connected to reduced meaningful interaction and thus rebut Professor Greenfield’s stand.
While there are obviously people with opposing views than those of Professor Greenfield, there also are proponents of the same. Dr. Robert Burton, a neurologist and Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatrist both believe that increased use of these social networking sites is in some way compromising one’s degree of empathy. They both argue that the increasing use of these social networking websites is leading to replacement of the normal relationship with a virtual nature of a relationship. This virtual relationship being devoid of personal touch such as speech and body language alters the very nature of bond that exists between people.
While I agree that Professor Greenfield’s concerns should not be completely overlooked, what I feel is that one must not forget the fact that social networks allow us to do much more than what has been possible in the past. Personally speaking networks like Facebook and Orkut have allowed me to contact friends (some of them date as far as my early school days) with whom I had lost all touch. The use of features such as communities and photo albums allow one to develop and improve relationships with people by sharing our events, ideas, goals - in essence our lives. Moreover, I believe that today, social networking is about extending one’s real identity online rather than replacing it. I agree there might be some concerns about diminishing empathy however, it cannot be attributed only to the increasing use of social networking sites but is also a byproduct of today’s fast changing and demanding world.
At the end one has to keep in mind that everything has a trade-off and it is up to an individual to take advantage of the positives while taking care of the negatives. And in case of social networking, I believe that the positives easily outweigh the negatives. As an avid user of technology, which has enabled me to enrich my relations, I find myself debating against Greenfield's views. Social networking is here to stay and is to be taken advantage of to improve one’ life.
Sources :
Facebook and Bebo risk 'infantilising' the human mindhttp
www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/24/social-networking-site-changing-childrens-brains
Technology DOESN'T isolate people: New study shows the Internet and mobile phones increase your social network
Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic Internet use
Adolescents on the net: Internet use and well-being
1 comment:
Excellent. Clear, well-argued, and well-supported.
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