Twitter by name, twit by nature

A leading psychologist from Stirling University has suggested that using Twitter could have a negative effect on the brain.

According to Dr Tracy Alloway, Twitter is bad for the human memory because its endless stream of bite-sized updates doesn’t allow users to fully process or engage with what they’re reading.

YouTube also came under fire, with Alloway citing the tiny length of the video clips as a factor in helping reduce children’s attention span, which is unhelpful given the growing problem of Attention Deficit Disorder afflicted youngsters.

On a more positive note, she said that using sites such as Facebook might have the opposite effect, as the social environment and more involved updates means that people have to hold a lot more information in their memory.

We’d agree to a point; the sense of community Facebook provides is certainly laudable, although users’ status updates can still be pretty bite-sized.

We just can’t see much brain development resulting from poring over a screen-full of: “Gemma is eating a sandwich.” Or: “Fred has taken the ‘How much time can you waste at work’ quiz.”

Story link: Twitter by name, twit by nature