Social Networking and Evolution A 2010 University of Maryland study of 200 students illustrated psychological addiction to social networking. Many students exhibited withdrawal symptoms you’d easily mistake for alcohol or drug addition. Here’s one kid’s notes: “In withdrawal. Frantically craving. Very anxious. Extremely antsy. Miserable. Jittery. Crazy.” Except it wasn’t alcohol or drugs, it was Facebook and Twitter and MySpace. Yikes. I would have guessed feelings of isolation or loneliness (they had that too), but I wouldn’t have guessed those symptoms. It’s not hard to see why kids, young adults and adults are attracted to social networking. Right off the bat, it’s an outlet for loneliness and a savior for stay-athome moms and others who feel isolated. But you can see the addiction pretty clearly. All you have to do is log into your Facebook account (if you’re not already) and take a look around. I’m betting you have at least one friend who posts like 10 times a day. You know the type. You may be the type. No offense, but you’re the person your Facebook friends (not to be confused with real friends) end up blocking because you take up so much space on the news feed. I don’t want to get too into the whole “pointless Facebook post” and narcissism of it all right now, but I wonder how it’s affecting our real-life communication skills. If we’re not careful, will we take our Facebook habits to the streets without meaning to? Will our real-life conversations be like our Facebook conversations—people standing around spewing out random personal thoughts that no one cares about? I digress. Sorry. The cyber world can also be much freer and more appealing than real life. For many people (especially young adults who haven’t yet developed a true sense of self), it’s a world where they’re less inhibited or conscious of judgment. In cyber space, people can say what they want and be the person they want to be. It’s the same psychological effect as role playing or living a secret life (like George Clooney’s love interest in Up in the Air, who used her business trips as an escape from her family life).
In cyber space, people can be the person they want to be, not just the person they are. It can be subtle—as minor as a shy person voicing their opinions more confidently. But it’s there. Social media hasn’t replaced traditional forms of communication (well, maybe for some people it has), but it’s become an additional outlet or form of social interaction that can be as valid (debatable) as other forms. Meet up, talk on the phone, text, social network…it’s part of our social fabric now. The problem with social networking as a viable communication tool is the exact kinds of things the University of Maryland study on addiction set out to address. It’s affecting us, in ways we may not realize. You probably know someone who doesn’t talk much in a crowd but is a scathing wit on Facebook. Or they hate talking on the phone but will text with friends all day long. Take a closer look—you may see deeper things going on there. It’s a double-edged sword living in cyber space, especially for people with social awkwardness or anxiety. On the one hand, it enables communication that might not take place otherwise. It can even help build confidence for the real world. If a person gets some laughs on Facebook, they may feel confident enough to speak up in person. Yet living in cyber space can also enable reclusive behavior. It can, in effect, enhance shyness—letting people get on with their lives without addressing shortcomings in their social skills. But even for social butterflies who just like to keep in touch with friends online, social media can have affects, as the University of Maryland study showed. And addiction may just be part of it. Susan Greenfield, British neuroscientist and former director of the Royal Institution of Britain (a scientific education and research organization), worried parents worldwide last year by saying social networking sites could possibly rewire young minds. Greenfield said that social networking, gaming and fast-paced television shows (every cartoon out there) could make the brain rewire itself for smaller bits of information coming at it faster, which could result in attention-deficit issues. “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,” Greenfield told the Guardian. “We know that the human brain is exquisitely sensitive to the outside world.”
It is. And that’s no joke if we’re affecting how young minds develop from here going forward, which will invariably affect the evolution of our brains (for good or bad) eventually. It’s funny. Social networking seemed so trivial and innocuous at first. But it’s pretty heady stuff, it turns out.