Social Media: Good or Evil?

I’ve just finished reading The Shallows, a book by Nicholas Carr. It’s a reasonably technical book that goes in-depth into the workings of our brains to look at how the Internet is affecting the way we “think, read, and remember”. It was without a doubt one of the most fascinating books I’ve read in a while, and I’m still thinking about it a lot.

From there, Carr goes on to describe in detail (with lots of scientific facts and research) why it is that we’re finding ourselves so distracted nowadays. In essence, his thesis is that new media will change the way that our brain works, and there are many side-effects to this. A side effect of the Internet is that we find it harder to focus.

Many researchers believe that excessive gaming before age 21 or 22 can physically rewire the brain.

Researchers in China, for example, performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies on the brains of 18 college students who spent an average of 10 hours a day online, primarily playing games like World of Warcraft. Compared with a control group who spent less than two hours a day online, gamers had less gray matter (the thinking part of the brain).

As far back as the early 1990s, scientists warned that because video games only stimulate brain regions that control vision and movement, other parts of the mind responsible for behavior, emotion, and learning could become underdeveloped.

A study published in the scientific journal Nature in 1998 showed that playing video games releases the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. The amount of dopamine released while playing video games was similar to what is seen after intravenous injection of the stimulant drugs amphetamine or methylphenidate.

Got a Gaming Addiction?

The following warning signs may indicate a problem:

1. Spending excessive amounts of time on the computer.
2. Becoming defensive when confronted about gaming.
3. Losing track of time.
4. Preferring to spend more time with the computer than with friends or family.
5. Losing interest in previously important activities or hobbies.
6. Becoming socially isolated, moody, or irritable.
7. Establishing a new life with online friends.
8. Neglecting schoolwork and struggling to achieve acceptable grades.
9. Spending money on unexplained activities.
10. Attempting to hide gaming activities.

Most experts agree that gaming has addictive qualities. The human brain is wired to crave instant gratification, fast pace, and unpredictability. All three are satisfied in video games.

“Playing video games floods the pleasure center of the brain with dopamine,” says David Greenfield, Ph.D., founder of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University Of Connecticut School Of Medicine. That gives gamers a rush—but only temporarily, he explains. With all that extra dopamine lurking around, the brain gets the message to produce less of this critical neurotransmitter. The end result: players can end up with a diminished supply of dopamine and that can lead to other neurological issues.

My point is not to jump on the Luddite band wagon and take to the streets in protest against such technology. I have freely embraced Social networking, blogging and devices such as Wi-Fi-equipped DVD players that allow people to stream music, movies and YouTube videos through their entertainment systems. However my concern is summed up in this statement: “Any strength pushed to an extreme becomes a weakness.”

I feel that we are losing the ability for Deep Contemplative Thinking, which requires sustained, unbroken attention to a single, static object. This meditative deep thinking has for ages allowed people to make their own associations, draw their own inferences and analogies, and enabled them to foster their own ideas. The Internet works against this, Carr writes. "Dozens of studies by psychologists, neurobiologists, educators and Web designers point to the same conclusion: when we go online, we enter an environment that promotes cursory reading, hurried and distracted thinking, and superficial learning."

I agree with Carr from personal experience and from overseeing hundreds of counseling sessions with young people, that attempts need to be made to snap us out of the hypnotic pull of our iPhones, laptops and desktops. He reveals why we're suddenly having a hard time focusing at length on any given thing, and why we compulsively check our e-mail accounts and Twitter feeds and never seem to be able to get our work done. (It's because we've been abusing our brains.) He wants us to value wisdom over knowledge, and to use new technology intelligently. "We shouldn't allow the glories of technology to blind our inner watchdog to the possibility that we've numbed an essential part of our self.”

In actuality, there are many consequences that we may have to face as Individuals when it comes to social media and networking issues. We have to understand that even though there’s no stopping our society from using them, it's possible to maintain control. Trying to force people to stop using social networking sites will probably not work too well, but a parent that is lovingly and constantly involved in their child’s life will have a much better time keeping watch over their online activities. Through this active monitoring, one can at least limit the negative effects and accentuate the positive good these technologies were designed to foster.

In the choices we have made, consciously or not, about how we use our social media, we need to be ever vigilant so that we do not reject the intellectual tradition of solitary, single-minded concentration. After all, there is a reason why the Psalmist wrote:  "Be still, and know that I am God; . . .” (Psalm 46:10).