Social networks hurt children's minds

Photo: corbis.com.

Many leading British scientists warn that community websites are causing many negative changes to children's brains in the country.

Susan Greenfield, a famous British neurologist, claims social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Bebo make children more selfish, while reducing their ability to concentrate and increase complacency.

Susan's statement could upset millions of members of social networks, but it received the support of parents and teachers. Many teachers complain that part of today's teenagers are unable to communicate with others or focus on something.

Hundreds of millions of people are participating in social networks. For example, more than 150 million people use Facebook pages to communicate with friends, share photos and videos, keep up with daily activities and thoughts.

Although these sites are becoming more and more popular, many psychologists and neurologists believe they bring more harm than good. The number of scientists expressing concerns about them is increasing over time.

Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford neurologist and currently director of the Royal Institution, says that continuous exposure to social networks will reverse all brain activity. Computer games and fast-paced television programs also cause certain damage to children's brains.

'Social networks, violent video games, TV shows will slow the growth of young brains, because they are very easy to be attracted to sound and strong light,' she said.

Earlier, during a debate in the British parliament in early February, Baroness also confirmed that playing games, chatting and social networking could make a whole generation lose their ability to concentrate their minds. 'I was always afraid that the traditional way of communication would be replaced by computer dialog boxes , ' she said.

Many psychologists also think that digital technology is changing the way people think. They point out that today's students do not need to outline themselves before writing essays because of the popularity of word processing programs. Satellite navigation systems also disappear the need to locate on a traditional map.

A study by Broadcaster Audience Research Board (which collects reviews on television programs) shows that teenagers spend an average of 7.5 hours a day sitting in front of a computer screen. While educational psychologists believe that children should only play games after they are 7 years old, most video games do not stimulate their thinking and reasoning abilities.

Sue Palmer, author of the famous book Toxic Childhood, said: 'The development of children's minds today is hampered because they are not involved in the activities that humans have been doing for thousands of years. now on. I do not object to giving children access to digital technology and computers, but before engaging in virtual society, they need to know how to create relationships with real people. '