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Peter Han

Advisor to families/schools on creativity, play and projects., Play.Fully.Creative

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How does the intense use of social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) impact our youngsters' ability to engage in creative, reflective thinking?

Articles such as "Is Google Making Us Stupid" (Atlantic Magazine, July 2008), "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction" (NYTimes, Nov 21, 2010), and "Wired for Distraction" (Time Magazine, Feb. 21, 2011) suggest that the nature of interactions that youth engage in whilst using social media is fundamentally restructuring their brains...and not all for the better. In particular, the ability and desire to ponder, think deeply, reflect, and struggle with conflicting ideas diminished after prolonged use of social media that required quick, superficial, reactionary scanning and responding. Is this trend going to cripple our young people's ability to understand and solve ever more complex and unpredictable problems? Please share your thoughts, experiences and research findings that are germane to this topic.

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    SANTHIP KANHOLY

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    Feb 16 2011: Social media, can used to enhance the youth in a positive manner, provided its use is limited to its function it is capable of - which is to connect different people on the same page. Hence it is extremely powerful. However the connection shouldn't be restricted on to a mere website. If there is the intent to actualize the social media connection as a real physical connection with actual individuals, then the power of the social media, as was seen in Egypt, can be revolutionary.

    The question that was mentioned is whether social media affects deeper reflection, if its use is intense. I would agree so. If one lives within their computer alone, and is focussed only on skimming articles without any actual input of digested information, then one could actually end up getting a false sense of superiority with lack of capacity to reflect deeply without the use of a computer. The entire brain would adapt to the circumstances it is forced to. And definitely a lot of restructuring will take place within the brain.

    However, these media can be powerful in allowing for self-expression of ideas for different individuals. And the benefits could be enhancing for the individuals involved. Such as this particular social media site you are using.

    Another factor is that the social media can increase the awareness of a particular idea. And it could thus enhance one's information about a particular topic, as all media can.

    While the benefits of social media iarenumerous, the argument that they are responsible for making the youth dumber is not true. It is my idea that the youth should be responsible for their own thinking ability, analytical ability and deeper reflection. You can't blame technology. You only have yourself to blame ;-)
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