Social websites harm children's brains: Chilling warning to parents from top neuroscientist
By
David Derbyshire
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 24th February 2009
Social networking websites are causing alarming changes in the brains of young users, an eminent scientist has warned.
Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans, encourage instant gratification and make young people more self-centred.
The claims from neuroscientist Susan Greenfield will make disturbing reading for the millions whose social lives depend on logging on to their favourite websites each day.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The popular website has made him a very rich man, but at what cost to human relationships?
But they will strike a chord with parents and teachers who complain that many youngsters lack the ability to communicate or concentrate away from their screens.
More than 150million use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, share photographs and videos and post regular updates of their movements and thoughts.
A further six million have signed up to Twitter, the 'micro-blogging' service that lets users circulate text messages about themselves.
But while the sites are popular - and extremely profitable - a growing number of psychologists and neuroscientists believe they may be doing more harm than good.
Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University neuroscientist and director of the Royal Institution, believes repeated exposure could effectively 'rewire' the brain.
Experts are concerned children's online social interactions can 'rewire' the brain
Computer games and fast-paced TV shows were also a factor, she said.
'We know how small babies need constant reassurance that they exist,' she told the Mail yesterday.
'My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.'
Professor Susan Greenfield: Concerned
Her comments echoed those she made during a House of Lords debate earlier this month. Then she argued that exposure to computer games, instant messaging, chat rooms and social networking sites could leave a generation with poor attention spans.
'I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitised and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf,' she said.
Lady Greenfield told the Lords a teacher of 30 years had told her she had noticed a sharp decline in the ability of her pupils to understand others.
'It is hard to see how living this way on a daily basis will not result in brains, or rather minds, different from those of previous generations,' she said.
She pointed out that autistic people, who usually find it hard to communicate, were particularly comfortable using computers.
'Of course, we do not know whether the current increase in autism is due more to increased awareness and diagnosis of autism, or whether it can - if there is a true increase - be in any way linked to an increased prevalence among people of spending time in screen relationships. Surely it is a point worth considering,' she added.
Psychologists have also argued that digital technology is changing the way we think. They point out that students no longer need to plan essays before starting to write - thanks to word processors they can edit as they go along. Satellite navigation systems have negated the need to decipher maps.
A study by the Broadcaster Audience Research Board found teenagers now spend seven-and-a-half hours a day in front of a screen.
Educational psychologist Jane Healy believes children should be kept away from computer games until they are seven. Most games only trigger the 'flight or fight' region of the brain, rather than the vital areas responsible for reasoning.
Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood, said: 'We are seeing children's brain development damaged because they don't engage in the activity they have engaged in for millennia.
'I'm not against technology and computers. But before they start social networking, they need to learn to make real relationships with people.'
Share this article:
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below?
I was immunized as a child, enjoy television and movies (to a reasonable degree), and have a facebook account I update regularly. And I am not autistic, retarded, dim-witted, or a misanthrope. I agree with Rollo. This woman is just flaunting her academic credentials to support a tenuous link between two unrelated things.
You blame all this on Facebook? What about the internet in general? Or decades of television and video games?
Add your comment
Autism Spectrum Disordersand Visual ImpairmentImportant information for teacherswww.afb.org/store
A Place For Moms and DadsMeet other Parents Just Like YouShare Info Join Groups Learn Growwww.BananaSwirl.com
Social Network PlatformCreate Custom Social Networks toConnect with Customers & Employees.SmallWorldLabs.com/SocialNetworks
FEMAIL TODAY
- Minister's wife gets a royal lesson in fashion The Culture Secretary wife's rosy outfit stood out at the sombre unveiling of a memorial to the Queen Mother
- Is Wogan on his way? 'I'll leave before BBC forces me to retire,' vows Sir Terry The 70-year-old reveals he is considering quitting Radio 2
- 'I'm ready to go to heaven:' Tearful Jade returns home alone after fairytale wedding Frail newlywed managed a brave smile despite the pain and Jack's absence
- 'My husband begged me not to donate my eggs the first time, but I can't wait to do it again' Jackie collapsed with complications after the operation last year
- Walliams is not only old enough to be her dad, he dances like one too! Cringe as comic, 37, tries to keep up with teen lover on dance floor
- How a child's painting inspired me to lose 13st Nursery teacher Linda McKnight took the three-year-old's picture of her home and looked at it every day
- Pregnant Tess Daly keeps up with the fashion pack in a £65 bandage-style dress minidress Strictly host isn't letting standards slip
- Model student Lily Cole swaps catwalk for Cambridge as she focuses on studies She was back in art class at uni today, skipping London Fashion Week
- Polygamy UK: How thousands of men are milking the benefits system Officialdom is turning a blind eye to multiple marriage
- Will you ever put it down, Kate? Why 24 hours on, Winslet and her best actress Oscar are inseparable
- I'm A Celebrity's David Van Day has face and eye lift on TV makeover show The 52-year-old's said his head 'was the size of a television' after the op
- Jennifer Lopez shows off her enormous... bag She's famous for living it large and now has the perfect handbag to match
- From superglam to supermum: Jessica Alba takes daughter to park hours after wowing the Oscars Actress gets back in the daily routine with Honor
- What do they have to hide? Fury as Straw blocks release of minutes of key Cabinet meeting held before Iraq war
- Policeman hauled before court and suspended for 20 months for defending himself against yob who headbutted him
- Jaguar Land Rover offers its workers no job cuts in return for four-day week and a pay freeze
- One in nine people living in Britain now born overseas as 300,000 more foreigners settle in UK
- Labour aides may quit as revolt over Royal Mail privatisation hits Cabinet
- OAP trying to report crime turned away from police HQ... as all the officers were playing POKER
- Brown branded 'a headless chicken' over new Lloyds bail-out
- Police allowed door handle and pool thermometer to go missing during bungled inquiry into Barrymore drugs party pool death
- Mother used her hands to dig through burning rubble after exploding house collapsed on her daughter
- Number of Britons taking holidays in Spain plummets by 20% as pound tumbles
- 'Apartheid' row rocks Met police: Claims PCSOs 'had one van for white officers, one for blacks'
- Four Arabian horses burnt alive in suspected arson attack on stables
- Brave cancer sufferer who died hours after receiving MBE 'clung to life to meet the Queen'
- Woman haunted by mystery noise at her 18th-century home moves to B&B for some sleep
- Return of winter as another flurry of snow heads toward Britain
- Google apologises to millions after Gmail crash
- Woman, 63, who gave teenager 'clip round the ear' found guilty of assault
- Why has mansion Prince Andrew sold in mystery £15m deal gone to ruin?
- Manchester United WAG threatened with knife as masked burglars raid star's home
- Nasa's £190m 'global warming' satellite crashes
- Working 55 hours a week 'puts millions at risk of dementia'
- Degrading rap lyrics linked to underage sex
- Pensioner fined £300 after being filmed rollerblading in town
- Social worker visited two children just days before mother left them trapped in house fire
- Majority want religious values respected by the law
- MORE HEADLINES
- The fall of the house of York: Why has the mansion sold by Duke in mystery £15m deal gone to ruin?
- Two million extra viewers tune in to see University Challenge brainbox Gail lead her team to final TV triumph
- Mind the crevasse: The amazing 3D pavement art that has pedestrians on edge
- At a sombre unveiling of a statue of the Queen Mum, one New Labour wife stands out like a sore thumb
- Executed in suburbia, the victim left in a pool of blood as families walked their children to the park
- Brave cancer sufferer who died hours after receiving MBE 'clung to life to meet the Queen'
- Policeman hauled before court and suspended for 20 months for defending himself against yob who headbutted him
- Return of winter as another flurry of snow heads toward Britain
- £250,000 bill for return of 'torture' prisoner as luxury jet flies him from Guantanamo to Britain
- One-armed presenter is scaring children, parents tell BBC
- Social websites harm children's brains: Chilling warning to parents from top neuroscientist
- Manchester United WAG threatened with knife as 'Away Day' thieves target star's £2m mansion
- World record as British angler lands 55-stone stingray that's FIVE TIMES his weight
- One in nine people living in Britain now born overseas as 300,000 more foreigners settle in the UK
- Father to lose flat after CSA demands £18k for upkeep of son, 16, he never knew he had
- Mother 'left her two children trapped in their blazing home'
- Stuart Lubbock's father: Police let my son's killer cheat justice after Barrymore drugs party
- £50,000 benefit cheat couple sailed halfway around the world on yacht while she claimed she was too ill to get out of bed
- Your starter for ten: Why do so many hate this girl simply for being clever?
- Waiter jailed for life for horrific murder of Olympic judo competitor in front of commuters
- MOST READ IN DETAIL
EDITOR'S SIX OF THE BEST
-
MAX HASTINGS: Torture is wrong but why, in the name of sanity, should we allow those who hate us to live here?
-
ALLISON PEARSON: How society is University Challenged ... Gail's trouble is she's a bluestocking not a fishnet
-
Pictured: British angler lands 55-stone stingray that's FIVE TIMES as big as he is
-
Computer games players warned of 'PlayStation palm' after doctors identify new medical condition
-
Antarctica scientists map Earth's last unexplored mountains entombed under miles of ice
-
Feeling glum? It could all be down to your blue genes
Your Child w/ AutismTeach Your Child to Talk &Communicate - Guaranteedwww.BabyBumbleBee.com
Child Fitness Tax CreditClaim expenses for registering kidsfor sports - reduce your taxes.www.cra-arc.gc.ca/fitness
Is Your Child Bi Polar?The Latest News, Info & Support forBipolar Disorder. Get Answers Now!www.EverydayHealth.com
Help For AutismAutism's underlying causes and whatyou can do to reverse autism.Health-Reports.com
Children DevelopmentOffering Interactive EducationalResources for Families in OntarioTVO.org/Parents
Hear Our VoicesSchool & Centerfor Children with Autismwww.hear-our-voices.org
Aspergers HelpSeeking help with aspergers?Free support community to help.www.AutismSupportNetwork.com




Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard & Metro Media Group
It is a scientifically proven fact that the brains of children (and that includes those of high school age) are neurologically "soft," meaning they are still quite vulnerable to developmental disruptions due to environmental factors such as the presence or absence, or even the super-abundance, of selected stimuli. A large body of evidence (dating back to Maslow) shows that sensory disruptions such as a lack of touch, absence of of a mother or father (and the developmental sensory stimulation they provide for the developing brain) can and indeed do result in neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADD, ADHD, as well as personality disorders, antisocial and criminogenic behavior, and so on. These are not matters be ignored in a civilized society. Computer games train children to practice violence through a scientifically proven process called systematic desensitization, used to in video games to train soldiers to kill. Those who scoff at these issues are either ignorant fools or worse.
- Dr Max Hatchoat, Denver, CO, USA, 24/2/2009 08:12