Step away from the screen

Posted at 4:20 PM on February 25, 2009 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)
Filed under: Health

It doesn't take much to get the social networking sites going but they're abuzz today over the comments of Lady Greenfield, a neuroscientist in the UK who is theorizing that relationships online -- via Twitter and Facebook, for example -- are doing things to our brains that we probably don't want done.

On Tuesday she said social networking sites remind her of the way that "small babies need constant reassurance that they exist, according to the NY Times.

Asked to explain further, she suggested it may even have something to do with ADHD and autism.

Comments (3)

The headline should have read "Reknowned scientist forgets scientific method in favor of blather." I think we have more to worry about with those darn pesky books! Think of how antisocial reading is: it ruins your eyes, you spend hours NOT socializing with other people, and if you read a lot, people think you are a geek. Seriously, Lady whatshername should have been talking about the dangers to the brain of that unnatural activity reading (although Plato beat her to it).

Posted by Joanna | February 25, 2009 7:08 PM

I'm not an expert in the subject matter, but Lady Greenfield seems to be on to something. Facebook, for example, seems to thrive on the users that measure self-worth through the number of 'friends' they've acquired.

Posted by bsimon | February 26, 2009 9:10 AM

At least books provide topics for intelligent discussion, in comparison to "OMG lolz ur relationship status sez 'single.'" [sic]

Posted by Kim V | February 27, 2009 2:03 PM

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