Or so says Dr Tracy Alloway from the University of Stirling in Scotland. She’s an expert in working memory– the ability both to remember information and to use it—and believes it to be far more important to success and happiness than IQ.
For example, at a job interview, a candidate will employ working memory to match answers to questions in the most impressive way.
In an article in The Telegraph UK she explains that using Facebook employs and strengthens these skills…with internet speed, as does playing video war games and solving Sudoku. But text messaging, micro-blogging on Twitter and watching YouTube are all considered likely to weaken one’s working memory.
The reasoning is that video games that involve planning and strategy, and may also train working memory, Dr Alloway believes. ”I’m not saying they’re good for your socialization skills, but they do make you use your working memory,” she said. ”You’re keeping track of past actions and mapping the actions you’re going to take.” But the “instant” nature of texting, Twitter and YouTube was not healthy for working memory.
”On Twitter you receive an endless stream of information, but it’s also very succinct,” said Dr Alloway. ”You don’t have to process that information.
”Your attention span is being reduced and you’re not engaging your brain and improving nerve connections.”
She said there was evidence linking TV viewing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) while extensive texting was associated with lower IQ scores.
Ben Patterson, a Yahoo Tech Blogger said, “Of course, that’s just Alloway’s theory; there’s no evidence in the Telegraph article of any studies proving that Facebook users are brainiacs compared to Twitter fanatics.” Plus, he says, if you’re actively engaging other users, or just passively reading, this may make more of a difference than what service you use.
Tags: Facebook, Internet Speed, Twitter